Jessica Paré’s scene-stealing moment came in Sunday’s Season 5 premiere, as she slinked her way through a birthday-party performance for Don of the French song “Zou Bisou Bisou.”
French-raised chanteuse Gillian Hills first made the song a hit in France in 1960, and Sophia Loren sang a translation in “The Millionairess,” released stateside in 1961.
Hills was one face of the “yé-yé” movement, a light, faux-innocent pop genre of the time. She’d later go on to appear in the 1966 Michelangelo Antonioni film “Blow-Up,” which featured the song as she participated in a threesome with a photographer (David Hemmings) and another model (Jane Birkin).
The “Mad Men” scene takes place in the summer of 1966, several months before the film popularized the song. Megan (Paré) probably heard the original number at home in Montreal, but the rest of the gang would likely also be familiar with it. The scene was a breakout for Paré’s character, and the show’s producer hopes audiences appreciate the number.
Paré’s recording was released as a single on iTunes after the premiere, and in true “Mad Men” form, it’s also available on vinyl at amctv.com/shows/mad-men/merchandise.
Slate.com translates the French ditty as follows:
Kiss kiss kiss, etc.
My God, how soft they are!
Kiss kiss kiss, etc.
The sound of kisses!
In the bushes, under the August sky
Lovers glide stealthily
Like birds, they have dates
Everywhere you hear:
Kiss kiss kiss, etc.
My God, how soft they are!
But tell me, do you know
What that means, between us,
What does “zou bisou” mean?
It means, I confess to you,
But yes, I love only you!