Jean the Birdman

"Jean the Birdman"
Single by David Sylvian & Robert Fripp
from the album The First Day
B-side
  • Pt1: "Earthbound (Starblind)"/"Endgame"
  • Pt2: "Gone to Earth"/"Tallow Moon"/"Dark Water"
ReleasedAugust 23, 1993 (1993-08-23)
RecordedDecember 1992–March 1993
GenreArt rock
Length4:12
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Trey Gunn, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian
Producer(s)David Bottrill, David Sylvian
David Sylvian singles chronology
"Heartbeat (Tainai Kaiki II)"
(1992) 		"Jean the Birdman"
(1993) 		"I Surrender"
(1999)
Music video
"Jean the Birdman" on YouTube

"Jean the Birdman" is a song recorded in 1993 by Robert Fripp and David Sylvian, and co-written by Trey Gunn.
The single, the only one from The First Day, was released as two separate CDs, each including exclusive b-sides.[1][2][3]

Video

The dreamlike music video was directed by Howard Greenhalgh a year before he became famous for his work on Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun".

Exclusive B-sides

"Earthbound (Starblind)" was co-written by Fripp and Sylvian, and was effectively in two parts, Sylvian singing a melodic verse and chorus over a simple acoustic guitar, which then gave way to a 6-minute Fripp soundscape of guitar and Frippertronics.

"Endgame" was a simple piece, again dominated by Sylvian's verse chorus vocal over a simple acoustic guitar accompaniment. Sylvian explained: "These pieces were written after the completion of the Rain Tree Crow project. Lyrically, there is still this connection with that early material. I guess I hadn't worked the themes out of system entirely with Rain Tree Crow."[4]

On "Tallow Moon" Sylvian spoke the lyrics of a poem. The lyrics are taken from Rimbaud's "Lettre au directeur des Messageries maritimes", released on Hector Zazou's album Sahara Blue. "Dark Water" is an ambient soundscape by Fripp.[5]

Track listing

Part 1

  1. "Jean the Birdman" (Fripp, Trey Gunn, Sylvian) - 4:12
  2. "Earthbound (Starblind)" (Fripp, Sylvian) - 10:14
  3. "Endgame" (Sylvian) - 2:22

Part 2

  1. "Jean the Birdman" (Fripp, Gunn, Sylvian) - 4:12
  2. "Gone to Earth" (Fripp, Sylvian) - 3:04
  3. "Tallow Moon" (Sylvian) - 5:44
  4. "Dark Water" (Fripp) - 6:45

Charts

Chart (1993) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[6] 68

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalog
United Kingdom 1993 Virgin CD VSC 1462

References

  1. ^ "discogs". Discogs. 2021-08-01.
  2. ^ "discogs". Discogs. 2021-08-01.
  3. ^ "davidsylvian.net". 2021-08-01.
  4. ^ E Young, Christopher (2013). On the Periphery. Burning Shed. p. 168.
  5. ^ Young, Christopher E (2013). On the Periphery. Malin Publishing Ltd.
  6. ^ "David Sylvian and Robert Fripp: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 5, 2016.