After Hours

France Gall. Poupée de cire, poupée de son

Serge Gainsbourg wrote this tune for France (her real name is Isabelle) to sing at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965. For some reason, she sang on behalf of Luxembourg. Serge was in the habit of writing songs that made fun of her. This is no exception. Over and over again, she sings about how she's a doll made of wax and sawdust (Poupée de cire, poupée de son). Well, she was only 18 at the time, so she had no idea. That's not nearly as bad as her duet with Serge called "Les sucettes." It's supposed to be about lollipops, but it really has to do with oral sex. Yeah, she was 19 when she sang that and thought it was really about lollipops. And speaking of singing, you'll notice that she's a sub-par singer. The story goes that she was so terrible that the crowd booed her during the Eurovision rehearsals in Naples. No matter, she won the grand prize - all for the glory of mighty Luxembourg. OK yes, she's not a good singer, but my lord, she is so cute. And the tune is totally contagious. If you hear it once, you'll be humming it for the next week. Thank Serge for that, folks. It's a true sixties pop gem.

If you'd like to have a look at "Les sucettes," go here. For some reason, they won't allow this clip to embed, the rats. My favorite part is Serge totally staring at her rack during the instrumental break. Check it out.