She was already sick but wanted to go back on stage again. In 2022, Jane Birkin was celebrated in all directions, starting with the publication of a complete set of her albums. But the tour scheduled for winter and spring will be disrupted by the singer’s health problems. On the eve of hitting the road again, she confided in Le Figaro, eager to display her energy and rocked by her memories.
LE FIGARO. – You release a complete of your recordings. What does this mean to you?
Jane BIRKIN. – It’s an honor that doesn’t happen every day! In fact, I’m quite surprised: I’m not dead yet. I don’t know the reason for the case. There is a book that goes with it. And also my brother’s photo album, coming out soon. Plus Didier Varrod’s TV documentary. It’s too much, really! Seeing photos always touches me because they remind me of such a beautiful time: it is difficult not to be moved.
This integral consecrates your career as a singer. When did you consider yourself as such?
The day of my premiere at the Bataclan, in 1987. This proposal to sing on stage came from Bertrand de Labbey. I had answered him “maybe one day” but he insisted. I did it because I got a hit with the song Quoi? The day I found myself in front of the public, with the orchestra behind, I realized that the music hall was a profession. And I started to take it seriously. Until then, I had sung because I was living with a great author, without considering it important.
This activity has become a very important part of your life
Yes yes. To be honest, I’m never happier than on stage with my musicians. It’s easier than life because there are no surprises. I used to be allergic to the idea of doing the same thing every night. Today is a wonderful comfort. I know that an hour and a half after the start of the concert I will be on my way to my hotel. I am safe.
Like in a bubble?
Yes. I’m not good at holidays, I have no hobbies, I’m not happy alone in my house. I find myself talking from morning till night with my dog. He is the being with whom I have the most conversation. My daughters Charlotte (Gainsbourg) and Lou (Doillon), my best friend or one of my two friends are all that matters to me. I want to be where they are. I think it can be heavy for them. I am dependent on my friends and my daughters.
Paradoxically, now that you are writing your songs, you are less dependent on collaborators.
That is thanks to the encouragement of Étienne Daho. He found merit in the text of my play, Oh! Sorry, you were sleeping. He also liked things in my diaries. Étienne conceived the song I wanted to be such a perfection for you like an exquisite corpse, by linking thoughts that had nothing to do with each other.
What is the greatest pleasure of singing on stage?
When we do it, there are always one or two people we are targeting, in whom we are watching for emotion or a smile, and that is marvellous. It’s impossible when you’re acting because you have to look at your partner. And, in the cinema, it is something else again. But I’ve lost the habit of the camera so much that I would be scared now. When you have given your maximum, you have the impression that you could die right after. What I have learned is that it is important not to spare yourself. I realized this while playing L’Aide-mémoire with Pierre Arditi. Sometimes we played twice a day, with an hour or two break. I didn’t think I could be in tears at the end of the first performance and do it again the second time. But it is possible, because the emotion goes through the words.
You sing a lot of the Histoire de Melody Nelson album, and the audience loves it…
Serge is part of their life. They’re part of mine, and maybe I’m part of theirs. This album, I always thought it would be Serge’s greatest success, it seemed obvious. It took twenty years for it to be gold… Even if I was on the cover and appeared on a few songs, I considered that I had nothing to do with this disc. Yet as soon as I recount the London studio sessions with Serge, I feel a shiver in the room. It’s as if they had extra money from Serge, a gift or a third half.
This is the first time a show has told you so well, from your beginnings to today.
Like a self-portrait? There too, it is the influence of Etienne. He wanted me to be like he loved me the first time. And then I interpret titles that I have not sung for a long time by mixing them with recent ones. And then I am surrounded by a superb group, real cracks. I’m glad we still have a long way to go together.
Do you re-listen to your records?
No. Besides, I don’t even have a pick-up at home. I’m listening to the radio. I buy albums because I like the subject.
Are you a fan of sixties music?
I’m no more knowledgeable (sic) than that. The Beatles, of course, but I think the T-Rex reference in the song is Serge. And then it’s a story of rhymes. I always love to sing ‘where is the shadow of the Shadows?’ it’s so pretty.
When did you measure the genius of Gainsbourg in terms of lyrics?
I didn’t realize it when we started living together. Until the day he gave me his little book of cruel songs. It was to show me that he was a serious author. But the amazement came with the song Quoi? It was a very pretty Italian melody for which I had asked him for a text. I had left him five years before, he owed me nothing, and it took a lot of modesty to write to someone else’s music. When his words came, I realized their sadness. It was difficult to sing. After playing him the recording, I called him to ask if he was okay. On the other end of the line, I only heard a sob. I think about it every time I sing it now.
What memories do you have of your collaboration with Godard?
His death is a big shock because we thought he would always be there. He made me turn in the film Heal Your Right. He had a bad cold the day I met him, and I found that very attractive. He played me the scene I was supposed to have with Jacques Villeret, in a convertible car. He did it much more viciously than him. At one point, he took a rag to wipe my face and the window. He also pulled a suitcase behind me so that my head would throw back. He was a great actor, which few people know. He was awesome in that scene.
