Famous Ephebophile: Serge Gainsbourg | Teen Oral Sex, "Lemon Incest" & French Schoolgirl Seduction

Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin

Serge Gainsbourg, the infamous French songwriter, poet, artist, actor and director, had a famous age-gap relationship with Jane Birkin, but their affair didn't fit the strict definition of ephebophilia, because Birkin only looked like she was 18; however, their eighteen-year age is close enough to warrant a honorable mention. 

Interestingly, in 1966 Serge wrote “Les Sucettes [Enlgish: Lollipops]” for 18-year-old blonde songstress France Gall. 

The song is about Anna, a young girl who is in paradise every time that “stick slides down her throat”. Gall emphatically claimed that, even after shooting the video while seductively holding an ≈ 12-inch long lollipop, she didn't know that the song, which admittedly on the surface appears to be a children's song, was about oral sex. Unsurprisingly, “Les Sucettes” was Gall's biggest hit.

In 1971, Serge released the ephebophilia themed French concept album, Histoire de Melody Nelson. The theme of the album explores an affair between Gainsbourg and nymphet Melody Nelson. 

The song “Melody” reveals that the age-gap couple met after Gainsbourg accidentally knocked Melody off her bike with his Rolls Royce. As Gainsbourg exited his “Silver Ghost from the nineteen hundreds”, he noticed: “Melody Nelson has red hair\And it’s her natural colour.” And he noticed: “Her skirt pulled over her white Knickers.”

“Ballade de Melody Nelson” informs that Melody is f15-years-old: “Fourteen autumns\And fifteen summers”. And Gainsbourg describes Melody as “such a delicious child.”

It's implied in “Hotel Particulier” that Gainsbourg and Melody made love in room forty-four, the Cleopatra room, of the private hotel: 'While above us a mirror reflects our image\Slowly I embrace Melody.'

The album concludes with “Cargo Culte” and the conclusion of their age-discrepant relationship with Gainsbourg hoping for a miracle: '[t]hat would bring me Melody back\Juvenile girl veered off the disastrous attraction.'

The February 2010 French edition of Rolling Stone ranked Histoire de Melody Nelson the 4th finest French language rock recording of all time.

Lemon Incest (1985)

In 1985, “Lemon Incest” was released on the Gainsbourg's album Love on the Beat. The duet, which was written by Gainsbourg, was performed with Charlotte, his 12-year-old daughter. The song was controversial, because it contained lyrics with, you guessed it, incenteous themes, and Gainsbourg was (incorrectly) accused of promoting pedophilia. And it did not help that in the music video the father and daughter frolicked in bed while Gainsbourg was topless and Charlotte was in panties. Despite the controversial aspects of the song, it reached number 2 on the French charts.

However, ≈ 14-year-old Charlotte appeared topless in a number of scenes in Charlotte for Ever (1986) while her father, the film's director, caressed her in bed.  And it's worth noting that 13-year-old Charlotte appeared topless in Claude Miller's L'effrontée (1985) as well.

Serge Gainsbourg wrote the screenplay for Stan the Flasher (1990) - in seven days in Paris' Hotel Raphael. In the film, which Gainsbourg directed as well, Stan Goldberg, an English teacher, attempts to seduce Natacha, his English tutee. 

Natacha rejects her English teacher's aggressive advances (e.g., a hand under her skirt and down her blouse). But in the end, she appears to be intrigued by his flashes.