La Javanaise

"La Javanaise"
Single by
Serge Gainsbourg or
Juliette Gréco
Released1963
Recorded1963
GenreChanson
LabelPhilips
Songwriter(s)Serge Gainsbourg

"La Javanaise" is a song written and composed by Serge Gainsbourg originally for Juliette Gréco, and interpreted by both her and Gainsbourg in 1963. The first recordings of both artists constituted the B-sides of each of the two 45s. The title is a pun playing on the Parisian java dance and the javanais argot. The song heavily employs unaltered French words that naturally have an av sequence; thus the lyrics resemble the argot.