Variations sur le même t'aime

Background and writing

For this album, she reunited with the team of writers and producers of her first album. However, she also collaborated with someone new - Serge Gainsbourg. Gainsbourg came aboard and helped to write and produce the album. Although the album was successful and charted higher than her debut, none of its singles matched the success of "Joe le Taxi" from her first album.

Consistently termed her most cohesive work, this album remains one of French music's most celebrated artifacts from the 1990s. The best recognized single is "Tandem". Of prime importance are the lyrics by Serge Gainsbourg: every other line is dripping in innuendo or double entendre, including the album's title. Due to this, each song has up to three different interpretations, depending on the point of view of the listener.

"Variations sur le même t'aime" literally means "Variations on the same 'love you'" with the double meaning of "Variations on the same theme", - the title was coined by Serge Gainsbourg as well, an allusion to his hit song with Jane Birkin "Je t'aime". The album is notable as being the last record Gainsbourg worked on for a female singer before his death in 1991.

Keeping in tradition with all of Vanessa Paradis' albums, Variations sur le même t'aime features one English language track, a cover of Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side". The single "Dis-lui toi que je t'aime" remains the most performed song (live) from this album. Despite being released in 1990, the album has consistently remained in print and sells a sizable number of copies each year, primarily in Paradis' native France, as well as in French-speaking Canada.

Track listing

1. "L'Amour à deux" 4:55
2. "Dis-lui toi que je t'aime" 3:58
3. "L'Amour en soi" 5:07
4. "La Vague à lames" 3:15
5. "Ophélie" 4:01
6. "Flagrant délire" 3:45
7. "Tandem" 3:30
8. "Au charme non plus" 3:50
9. "Variations sur le même t'aime" 3:59
10. "Amour jamais" 4:17
11. "Ardoise" 4:00
12. "Walk on the Wild Side" (Lou Reed) 4:28

All songs written by Serge Gainsbourg (lyrics) and Franck Langolff (music), except where noted.

Album credits