Caroline Elisabeth Paulus, known as Bambou, was Serge Gainsbourg's last companion. Staying together for a decade (from the very beginning of the 1980s to 1991, the year of the singer's death), the couple had time to love each other. And even, moreover, to have a son, Lulu, born in 1986.
Having remained (very) discreet about her private life for a long time, Bambou has decided to come out of the shadows. She published the book Step by step in the nightpublished by XO. As part of her promotion, she was present on the set of Anne-Élisabeth Lemoine, on France 5, on November 7. Still as moving as ever, she recounted for the first time the torments of her past, between abandonment by her parents and childhood on welfare. Until she met Serge, when she was 19, she had no taste for life.
Bambou on Serge Gainsbourg: “an old fool who wrote shit”
Archive images were passed into C to you. We see Serge Gainsbourg arguing with Guy Béart on the set of Apostrophes about music, which is, according to the man with the head of cabbage, not a “major art”. Bambou contextualized these remarks. As she explained, the love of her life had always been frustrated by not being recognized for his true worth. In addition to making music, Serge Gainsbourg painted pictures and wrote poetry. Disciplines that he considered more noble.
“Until the day before he died, he thought he was an old fart who wrote shit”said Bambou. Words which say a lot about the self-esteem of the interpreter of I love you, me neither. The one who is now 65 years old explained: “He had a very low opinion of himself. »
Anne Élisabeth Lemoine: “You saved each other”
As Bambou explained, the king of provocation actually regretted having given up painting for something that was in his eyes “easier” and more lucrative: music, which nevertheless made him successful.
In his autobiography, the ex-model describes how Serge Gainsbourg found in her someone who understood him without having to speak to him. “You loved each other, you fought, and you write it very beautifully. You saved each other”summarized Anne-Élisabeth Lemoine.
