The other day I had Radio Nostalgie on which plays a mix of English language and French music. For anyone trying to learn French, listening to French radio is a challenge but can be very effective. On came the song which has started to haunt my dreams – Bonnie and Clyde. And seriously if you’ve never heard it you must as this song is unforgettable.
I looked into it and it seems that the song was written and performed by French icon Serge Gainsbourg with Brigitte Bardot who, whilst she might have been an absolutely gorgeous looking woman couldn’t sing – at all. Serge does his best but Bardot’s weird and quaverous mumbling sounds are interspersed by an odd sort of ape mating call throughout the song as they repeatedly sing the words “Bonnie and Cly(hy)de”. He apparently wrote the song for her when they were lovers and she demanded that he write her ‘the most beautiful love song you can imagine” – and this was it.
When I was looking into the song, I came across numerous websites which praise the song for its originality. And I grant you – it is certainly original. And unique!
