La Javanaise
La Javanaise is one of Serge Gainsbourg’s wordplays. Technically, it refers to inhabitants of the Indonesian island of Java. It is also an old form of slang as explained below. Finally, it is a dance form that appeared in Paris around 1925.
Serge Gainsbourg wrote “La Javanaise” specifically for Juliette Gréco, and in 1963 they recorded back-to-back versions. As the story goes, one sweet summer evening in 1962, Gréco and Gainsbourg spent the evening listening to records and drinking champagne. The next day, he sent her "La Javanaise." The title is Gainsbourg’s wordplay referring to both Parisian java dancing and the "javanais" style of speaking.
Java is a dance form evolved from the waltz that arose in France in the early part of the 20th century. "Javanais" is a type of French slang or pig-latin where an extra syllable (“av”, or “at” or “ab”) is inserted inside a word after every consonant that is followed by a vowel, so speech becomes incomprehensible to the uninitiated (like police). Examples are "gros" (fat) which becomes "gravos", "bonjour" which becomes "bavonjavour," and Paris becomes "Pavaravis."
The title of the song therefore refers to java dancing, while the song's words themselves play with the javanais form of speech. The wordplay and sonority of the words in the song are key to its rhythm and arise from predominant vowel sounds like “ah,” “ou,” “on,” and “en.” Essentially, Gainsbourg imitates the sounds of Javanais speech while using conventional French words. These sounds are highlighted in bold and larger size in the first stanza below and several esoteric phrases are explained in the following notes. The song itself has been covered by other artists and was featured as an iconic French tune in such films as Ron Howard’s “Da Vinci Code” and Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.”
La Javanaise is one of Serge Gainsbourg’s wordplays. Technically, it refers to inhabitants of the Indonesian island of Java. It is also an old form of slang as explained below. Finally, it is a dance form that appeared in Paris around 1925.
Serge Gainsbourg wrote “La Javanaise” specifically for Juliette Gréco, and in 1963 they recorded back-to-back versions. As the story goes, one sweet summer evening in 1962, Gréco and Gainsbourg spent the evening listening to records and drinking champagne. The next day, he sent her "La Javanaise." The title is Gainsbourg’s wordplay referring to both Parisian java dancing and the "javanais" style of speaking.
Java is a dance form evolved from the waltz that arose in France in the early part of the 20th century. "Javanais" is a type of French slang or pig-latin where an extra syllable (“av”, or “at” or “ab”) is inserted inside a word after every consonant that is followed by a vowel, so speech becomes incomprehensible to the uninitiated (like police). Examples are "gros" (fat) which becomes "gravos", "bonjour" which becomes "bavonjavour," and Paris becomes "Pavaravis."
The title of the song therefore refers to java dancing, while the song's words themselves play with the javanais form of speech. The wordplay and sonority of the words in the song are key to its rhythm and arise from predominant vowel sounds like “ah,” “ou,” “on,” and “en.” Essentially, Gainsbourg imitates the sounds of Javanais speech while using conventional French words. These sounds are highlighted in bold and larger size in the first stanza below and several esoteric phrases are explained in the following notes. The song itself has been covered by other artists and was featured as an iconic French tune in such films as Ron Howard’s “Da Vinci Code” and Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water.”
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J’avoue j’en ai bavé, pas vous
Mon amour Avant d’avoir eu vent de vous Mon amour Ne vous déplaise En dansant la javanaise Nous nous aimions Le temps d’une chanson A votre avis, qu’avons nous vu de l’amour? De vous a moi, vous avez eu mon amour Ne vous déplaise En dansant la javanaise Nous nous aimions Le temps d’une chanson Hélas, April en vain me voue à l’amour J’avais envie de voir en vous cet amour Ne vous déplaise En dansant la javanaise Nous nous aimions Le temps d’une chanson La vie ne vaut d’être vecue sans amour Mais c’est vous qui l’avait voulu, mon amour Ne vous déplaise En dansant la javanaise Nous nous aimions Le temps d’une chanson |
I admit I suffered, unlike you,
My love Before getting wind of you, My love No offense, Dancing the javanaise We were in love The length of a song In your opinion, what have we seen of love? Between you and me, you had my love. No offense, Dancing the javanaise We were in love The length of a song Alas, April vainly dooms me to love I wanted to see this love in you No offense, Dancing the javanaise We were in love The length of a song Life is not worth living without love But it’s you who wished it, my love No offense, Dancing the javanaise We were in love The length of a song |
NB:
- “J’en ai bavé:” “baver” means to drool, but this expression means: “I went through a lot.”
- “d’avoir eu vent de:” “avoir vent de” means “to get wind of”
- “Ne vous déplaise:” literally it means “don’t be displeased.” Colloquially: “if you don’t mind,” “don’t worry,” “don’t take it badly,” “no offense.”
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