music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Lemon Incest" is a song written, composed and performed by Serge Gainsbourg in duet with his daughter Charlotte Gainsbourg. Recorded in 1984, the song was released as a single from Gainsbourg's album Love on the Beat in 1985. It is also available on Charlotte's 1986 album Charlotte for Ever. It was controversial because of its theme, and reached number 2 on the French charts.

"Lemon Incest"
Single by Serge and Charlotte Gainsbourg
from the album Love on the Beat and Charlotte for Ever
B-side	"Hmm Hmm Hmm"
Released	1985
Recorded	1984
Genre	Pop
Length	5:12
Label	Philips
Songwriter(s)	Serge Gainsbourg Frédéric Chopin
Producer(s)	Philippe Lerichomme Billy Rush
Serge Gainsbourg singles chronology
"Love on the Beat" (1984) "Lemon Incest" (1985) "No Comment" (1985)
Charlotte Gainsbourg singles chronology
"Lemon Incest" (1985) "If" (2004)

Release, composition and video

"Lemon Incest" is a "sultry" and "suggestive"[1] pop[2] duet and ballad[3] recorded by Serge Gainsbourg and his then-12- or 13-year-old[upper-alpha 1] daughter, Charlotte Gainsbourg, who made her musical debut with the song.[8][10] It was recorded in 1984 and included on Serge's controversial new wave album Love on the Beat, which was released the same year, as well as on Charlotte's 1986 debut album Charlotte For Ever.[11][12][13]

The title of "Lemon Incest" is a play on the phrase un zeste de citron, or lemon zest.[3] Its lyrics, written by Serge,[14] describe an incestuous[15] relationship between Serge and Charlotte, the latter of whom sings, in French, "The love we will never make together is the most beautiful, the most violent, the purest."[5] The song's melody is taken from Étude Op. 10, No. 3 in E major by Frédéric Chopin.[14] Charlotte sings with "wobbly",[3] "shrill",[13] and "breathy" vocals, described by AllMusic's Thom Jurek as a "cracking whisper", backed by synths, keyboards, and a chorus singing the song's title.[11][16]

The music video for the song shows Serge, shirtless and in jeans,[16] and Charlotte, wearing a nightshirt and panties,[12] lying side-by-side in a large white double bed,[10][17] with Serge caressing Charlotte.[18]

Reception, controversy, and aftermath

Upon its release, "Lemon Incest" and its accompanying music video were widely condemned in France based on accusations that they glamorised paedophilia and incest, which Serge denied.[4][19] Charlotte also later denied claims that the song was actually about incest, saying that, although the song uses the word "incest", "[Serge is] just talking about the infinite love of a father for his daughter and of a daughter for her father."[18] According to The Guardian's Francine Gorman, "Lemon Incest" "caused one of the biggest scandals of [Serge] Gainsbourg's career" and was "his most highly contested release."[12] Sylvie Simmons wrote in her 2001 biography Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes that the song's music video "hit [a] 10 on the scandalometer", while Far Out's Sam Kemp listed it as the most controversial music video of all time.[7][19]

Charlotte remained unaware of the controversy surrounding the song during its popularity, as she was attending boarding school in Switzerland when it was released.[13][10] As an adult, Charlotte described both her and Serge's real-life relationship at the time of recording "Lemon Incest" and the song itself as "very innocent" and "very pure", adding that, although her father was "playing with provocation" on the song, he was being "extremely sincere and honest" and that she was still "very proud" of and "never embarrassed" by the song, as she understood the lyrics when she sang them.[4][20] She also stated that it was "very generous" of her mother, actress Jane Birkin— who called the song "a bit dodgy"—to "let [her] be free like that".[21][3] Charlotte was, however, critical of the video, stating, "But that video—ack."[22]

For The Guardian, James Wignall wrote retrospectively that he "actually quite like[d]" the song and that its lyrics were "quite benign" despite accusations that they were pro-paedophilia.[7] Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the Financial Times compared "Lemon Incest" to "Je t'aime... moi non plus", Serge's 1969 duet with Birkin, his then-wife, writing that Charlotte "disturbingly reprised the erotic role her mother played in the Serge-penned 1969 hit."[20] AllMusic's Thom Jurek also compared Charlotte's vocal performance on "Lemon Incest" to her mother's on "Je t'aime... moi non plus" and described the song as "one of a kind" and "sick, cheap, and somehow strangely compelling." He also wrote, however, that the song was "nothing special" musically.[11] For Spin's list of the "worst songs by otherwise great artists", Liza Lentini praised Charlotte's "beautiful" voice on the song, but wrote that its subject matter "never, ever sat quite right for [her]", also writing, "I don't think the song itself...has much merit."[14] Derrick Clifton of Mic called "Lemon Incest" "perhaps one of the most disturbing songs and music videos ever recorded", and identified it as an example of rape culture in music videos due to its implications of statutory rape.[23]

Two years after the release of "Lemon Incest", Serge directed the film Charlotte for Ever, which he starred in alongside Charlotte. It involved similar themes of father-daughter incest.[24] Serge produced Charlotte's debut album of the same name, which was released the same year and featured two other duets between the two: "Plus Doux Avec Moi" and the title track. On the latter, she sings, in French, "Daddy, daddy, I'm afraid to taste your flavor."[13] She did not return to music until over a decade later, and her sophomore album, 5:55, was released in 2006.[25][10] As of 2019^[update], she regularly closes her tours with a performance of "Lemon Incest".[13]

Chart performance

On the SNEP's Top 50 chart, "Lemon Incest" debuted at number four for the week of 27 October 1985, then peaked at number two the following week. The song spent a total of 14 weeks on the chart, 10 of which were spent in the top-10 of the chart.[26][10] The song failed to make an impact in the United States.[27]

Uses in media

The track is also used in the 2009 film Genova.[28]

Track listings

7-inch single

1. "Lemon Incest"
2. "Hmm Hmm Hmm"

CD maxi

1. "Lemon Incest"
2. "Hmm Hmm Hmm"
3. "Lemon Incest" (video)

CD single

1. "Lemon Incest" – 5:12
2. "Hey Man Amen" (Live Zénith 1988) by Serge Gainsbourg – 4:04

Charts

Chart (1985–1986)	Peak position
France (SNEP)[29]	2

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
France (SNEP)[30]	Silver	250,000*
* Sales figures based on certification alone.

Notes

References

На других языках

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[de] Lemon Incest

Lemon Incest ist ein Lied, das Serge Gainsbourg im Duett mit seiner Tochter Charlotte Gainsbourg geschrieben, komponiert und aufgeführt hat. Das 1984 aufgenommene Lied wurde 1985 als Single aus Gainsbourgs Album Love on the Beat veröffentlicht. Es ist auch auf Charlottes Album Charlotte for Ever (1986) erschienen. Der Song war wegen seines Themas umstritten, aber dennoch erfolgreich und erreichte Platz 2 der französischen Charts.

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- [en] Lemon Incest

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