Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus

The meaning of "reins"

rein - means kidney but "les reins" is plural form and means loins. They don't use the single world "rein" for "loin" in French. Of course in a total different context "les reins" may mean "kidneys" in plural too, but obvously not in this context.

French is a language where the context determines the specific meaning of a word, whereas in English it's the opposite and one word creates a whole context. It's the reason why French is a rather wordy language... the context must be created before the meaning can come through.

Serge was a genious.

Serge's voice is sooo sexy

"entre te riens" means "between your kidneys." Basic french!

It's about fuckin'.

Maybe a translation would be in order, for all you francophobes out there. These are the lyrics from Nick Cave's english version of the song.

I love you, I love you, Oh yes I love you Nor do I Oh my love Like the wave, irresolute I go, I go and I come, Inside you my love I go and I come, Inside you my love And then I hold on

I love you, I love you, Oh Yes I love you Nor do I You are the wave, And I the naked island You go, you go and you come, inside me me love you go and you come inside me my love and then we are one

I love you, I love you, Oh yes I love you Nor do I Oh my love Like the wave, irresolute I go, i go and I come, Inside you my love I go and I come, Inside you my love And then I hold on

I love, I love you my love, Inside me my love I love you my love, Deep inside me my love And then we are one

I love you, I love you, Oh yes I love Nor do I Oh my love Physical love is a dead end I go, I go and I come, Inside you my love I go and I come And I hold on

No. Now...come

There are lots of interesting little facts concernings this song. As for its meaning, this is what Serge himself once said:

"I love women as an object, the beautiful women, the mannequins, the models. This is the inner painter in me. I never tell them I love them. Je t'aime... moi non plus (I love you... me neither) expresses erotism overcoming sentimentalism… So many songs about romantic and sentimental love, encounters, discoveries, jealousy, illusions, desillusions, betrayals, remorses, hatred, etc... Then why not devote a song to a sort of love much more current these days: physical love? "Je t'aime" isn't an obscene song, it's very reasonable to me, and fills this gap. Its explanation is that girls say "I love you" during sex, and the man with their ridiculous virility doesn't believe them. They think the girls only say it as a result of enjoyment, of pleasure. I guess I believe the girls, or maybe that's a result of my fear. But that's also an aesthetic step, a search of absoluteness"

Everything's fair in love and the search for absoluteness.

Now for the interesting little facts. This song was released in 1968. It was originally intended that Brigitte Bardot do the female part, but when she backed out Jane Birkin, Serge's future lover and mother of his daughter Charlotte, stepped in. You might remember Jane Birkin as the blond girl who got naked in Antonioni's "Blow-Up". The song received strong criticism for its language and the suggestive panting and moaning, particularly from the Vatican which condemned it in its official newspaper. The song was banned from radio and television in many countries including Italy, UK, Spain and the otherwise so liberal Sweden. This didn't stop it from reaching no. 1 in the charts in the UK and other European countries, pretty spectacular for a song in French. In the US the song made no. 69(!) in the charts.

I just love how it's I love you, nor do I. I think that would mean, yeah you say you love me now, but I know it's just the pleasure talking, so me neither, I don't really love you either, just the pleasure I get from you. Nevertheless, it's a really beautiful song and the new, I kid you not, Vibrator remix is just as excellent!! I agree with WanderingGypsy!

The king of sleaze strikes again.