Jean the Birdman

"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";
Released	August 23, 1993
Recorded	December 1992–March 1993
Genre	Art rock
Length	4:12
Label	Virgin
Songwriter(s)	Trey Gunn, Robert Fripp, David Sylvian
Producer(s)	David Bottrill, David Sylvian
David Sylvian singles chronology
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

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

Part 2

"Jean the Birdman" (Fripp, Gunn, Sylvian) - 4:12
"Gone to Earth" (Fripp, Sylvian) - 3:04
"Tallow Moon" (Sylvian) - 5:44
"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

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

External links

Jean the Birdman at Discogs (list of releases)

[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.

[sc_UKsinglesbyname_David_Sylvian_and_Robert_Fripp-6] "David Sylvian and Robert Fripp: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 5, 2016.

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