In May 1962, Serge Gainsbourg released his fourth album N°4, including the song Intoxicated Man. As far as I can tell, 60 years on, the album has never been available outside of France, apart from a reissue in Japan in 2001.
My Serge Gainsbourg primer was the 2002 compilation Initials SG, which places Intoxicated Man alongside other classics such as Bonnie And Clyde, 69 Année Érotique, Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus and Ballade De Melody Nelson.
I've belatedly discovered a promo video for Intoxicated Man, filmed in February 1964 at the Palais des Congrés in Liège, Belgium. It's essentially Gainsbourg pacing up and down a room then going up some stairs, with a world-weary aside to camera at the end of each verse. It's an utterly compelling two and a half minutes, soundtracked by Hammond organ, double bass, drums and Gainsbourg's voice that sounds marinated in life experience at 34 years old.
Apart from a vague memory of hearing Je T'Aime... Moi Non Plus on the radio growing up, my proper introduction to Serge Gainsbourg's vaster body of work was almost certainly via Mick Harvey's English translations over several albums and singles in the 1990s, Anita Lane fulfilling the role of Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin perfectly.
Another recent discovery is this short film by Don Letts from 2014, showcasing the reissue of two of Mick Harvey's Gainsbourg albums, Intoxicated Man and Pink Elephants. The rather harsh lighting and monotone don't do Harvey any favours, but stick with it - composer and collaborator Bertrand Burgalat is a delight - and the music speaks for itself.
The YouTube post of the promo for Intoxicated Man includes the lyrics in French along with a rather wobbly stab at an English translation. I think Mick Harvey's version is a vast improvment, evoking the spirit of Gainsbourg's lyrical skill.
I try to fit too strong a drink in
I spy elephants of pink in
The pattern on the left lapel of my dressing-gown
Creatures on the carousel of my living-room
You sigh and tell me what you're thinking
You're like a violet that is shrinking
Into the patterned left lapel of my dressing-gown.
Spinning on the carousel of my living-room.
Love tells me of bigger thinking
As well as elephants of pink in
These patterns on the left lapel of my dressing-gown
These creatures on the carousel of my living-room
I spy elephants of pink in
The pattern on the left lapel of my dressing-gown
Creatures on the carousel of my living-room
You sigh and tell me what you're thinking
You're like a violet that is shrinking
Into the patterned left lapel of my dressing-gown.
Spinning on the carousel of my living-room.
Love tells me of bigger thinking
As well as elephants of pink in
These patterns on the left lapel of my dressing-gown
These creatures on the carousel of my living-room
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