French song lost one of its pillars on March 2, 1991. Despite his disappearance, Serge Gainsbourg
remains a legend and a source of inspiration. Many artists do not hesitate to make reference to the iconic companion of Jane Birkin
which remains unforgettable. In addition to his music, his personality left an impression like his love for Parisian evenings where alcohol flowed freely and cigarettes were smoked.
But behind this festive side, Charlotte Gainsbourg’s father
actually hid a deep malaise. “Glory somewhere destroys me, destroys my soul, my conscious and my subconscious“, he declared in the posthumous film “I came to tell you…” released in 2010.
Conscious even when drunk
To see: Serge Gainsbourg’s incredible gift to his daughter
Although Serge Gainsbourg had no limits when it came to his social evenings, the singer still remained aware that he had to ensure his safety. This is particularly what made him forge special links with the police. In this Thursday, September 21 edition of Paris Match, a police officer who worked with him at that time returned to the surprising habit of the father of the family when returning home after a drunken party. “He dialed 17 as others call taxis G7”, he remembered.
These repatriation races which did not comply with the regulations had a code name: Golf. “Everyone brought a drunk friend home and put him to bed, his Gainsbarre side could be a bit annoying”added Raphaël V. During one of these missions, the police officer was even forced to go further by taking him to his sofa to make him sleep. “I had affection for the man, but I’m not a social worker. I wasn’t going to take his socks off and put him to bed,” he admitted.
Serge Gainsbourg never forgot the calls he made to the police to return home but was not embarrassed by it. “I’m the only drunk in Paris who calls the cops when he wants to go home.”, he had declared, not without amusement, on several occasions. Holy Gainsbourg!
J.G.