A muse for musicians: 11 songs inspired by Brigitte Bardot

NEW YORK — In addition to being a 1960s French sex symbol, actor, singer and animal welfare activist, Brigitte Bardot was a muse to many — in particular, musicians.

Her name, with its alliterative cadence, became synonymous with a kind of classic beauty. In songs, Bardot is often not Bardot the woman, but a symbol for desire — shorthand for a bombshell. Decades removed from the peak of her screen fame, contemporary performers continue to sing her name despite her many controversies, including being convicted five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred and provocative comments about the #MeToo movement.

It may not be her main legacy, but Bardot, who died Sunday in southern France, will live in on the songs that mention her. Across genre and language, here is a sampling.

Bob Dylan (1963)

The last track of the canonical “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” exhibits Dylan’s wicked verbosity and elastic folk. “Well, my telephone rang it would not stop / It’s President Kennedy callin’ me up / He said, My friend, Bob, what do we need to make the country grow? I said my friend, John, Brigitte Bardot,” he sings. “Anita Ekberg / Sophia Loren / Country’ll grow.”

Caetano Veloso (1967)

The Brazilian artist Caetano Veloso composed the protest song at the beginning of the tropicalismo movement; it became a hallmark of his career and one of the best-known Brazilian songs of all time. In it, he sings, “Em caras de presidentes / Em grandes beijos de amor / Em dentes, pernas, bandeiras / Bomba e Brigitte Bardot” (“In faces of presidents / In big kisses of love / In teeth, legs, flags / Bombs and Brigitte Bardot”).

Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot (1968)

A central architect of French pop, singer Serge Gainsbourg wrote this duet for himself and Bardot. It’s styled after a poem the outlaw Bonnie Parker wrote, titled “The Trail’s End,” shortly before she and partner Clyde Barrow were killed.

Elton John (1972)

Jaunty piano and Elton John’s ascendent vocal melodies, all for a song with a less-than-optimistic title. John sings the words from his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin: “I’d make an exception / If you want to save my life / Brigitte Bardot gotta come / And see me every night.”

The Pretenders (1981)

The Pretenders know a little something about the social power of Bardot. The English rock band’s principal songwriter and frontperson Chrissie Hynde sings: “When love walks in the room / Everybody stand up / Oh, it’s good, good, good / Like Brigitte Bardot.”

Billy Joel (1989)

Maybe it’s a bit unfair to include Billy Joel’s classic here, which name-drops more than most pop hits, but it’s telling that Bardot gets a shoutout alongside “Budapest, Alabama, Khrushchev / Princess Grace, Peyton Place, trouble in the Suez,” and just after “Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn’s got a winning team / Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland.” Not an obscure name in sight.

Liz Phair (1993)

“Stratford-On-Guy,” from influential indie rocker Liz Phair’s seminal album “Exile in Guyville,” takes aim at the dude-centric music scene. But it also uses Bardot to describe a flight attendant who reminds her that while communities can be insular, they all look the same from 30,000 feet. “The stewardess came back and checked on my drink / In the last strings of sunlight, a Brigitte Bardot,” she sings. “’Cause I had on my headphones along with those eyes / That you get when your circumstance is movie-sized.”

Red Hot Chili Peppers (2006)

In the second verse of “Warlocks,” from the funky California rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers, singer Anthony Kiedis near-scats, “Ring side and blow-by-blow / Another main event at the old Rainbow / We’re comin’ right on top of the tupelo / When she looks just like Brigitte Bardot.” It’s a descriptive image of Los Angeles — even with the inclusion of Bardot.

Kali Uchis featuring Jorja Smith (2017)

Kali Uchis and Jorja Smith’s dreamy collaboration imagines “Bardot” as shorthand for a make-out session with a complicated partner. “The world’s been asking us to lose control,” Uchis swoons. “All we ever do is French like Brigitte Bardot (Brigitte Bardot).”

Olivia Rodrigo (2023)

Olivia Rodrigo is best known for her spirited punk-pop, but she’s also a power balladeer, lest anyone forget it was “drivers license” that made her a household name. “Lacy,” a cut from “Guts,” is soft and slow, with Rodrigo obsessing over a woman she is not. It’s a jealous song, and ripe for a Bardot mention. “Smart, sexy Lacy, I’m losin’ it lately / I feel your compliments likе bullets on skin,” she whisper-sings. “Dazzling starlet, Bardot reincarnatе / Well, aren’t you the greatest thing to ever exist?”

Chappell Roan (2023)

It arrives right at the top to describe an addictive crush. “She was a playboy, Brigitte Bardot,” the pop powerhouse Chappell Roan sings over springy synths and cheery guitar riffs. “She showed me things I didn’t know.”