GAINSBOURG, Serge (1928-1991)

First draft autograph manuscrit
N.p.n.d. [Paris, early 1990], 3 p. in-4°

« J’ai de la peine / Je sens o je sens et le sang / qui se glace dans mes veines »

EUR 6.500,-
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Fact sheet

GAINSBOURG, Serge (1928-1991)

First draft autograph manuscrit
N.p.n.d. [Paris, early 1990], 3 p. in-4° on watermarked paper
Each page numbered by Gainsbourg
Staple marks on top left and right corners, slight cigarette burn on the back of the third leaf

First draft manuscript of a song intended for the album Variations sur le même t’aime, which remained unpublished

At the heart of Gainsbourg’s creative process


« Hey Hey Mister Rain

J’ai de la peine
Je sens o je sens et le sang
qui se glace dans mes veines

a1
Dansant sous la pluie
Je me dis
demain sera un jour nouveau
puisqu’il est parti
a2
entre moi et lui

C’est fini
Mais après l’orage peut-être qu’il fait beau

b1
Quelques éclairs
Et tout devient c s’éclaire
J on réalise que j’ai qu’on a tout faux

c1
C’est à la vie
À la mort
C’est pas vrai mais j’y crois encore

[etc…] »


Composed for the album Variations sur le même t’aime, Hey Mister Rain is one of the songs revised by Vanessa Paradis and Franck Langolff, along with Lolita Blues and Zoulou. The first verse, much darker than the rest of the text, was entirely crossed out by Gainsbourg and does not appear on the fair copy (by another hand) included with the manuscript. The last verse does not appear.

The result of a daring collaboration between Vanessa Paradis (vocals), Serge Gainsbourg (lyrics) and Franck Langolff (music), the album Variations sur le même t’aime was recorded between February and April 1990 in the Guillaume Tell Studios in Paris. In an interview on the TF1 news on May 27, Gainsbourg explained that he “spit out the lyrics in eight days, that’s why I say Paradis is Hell, but it was hellish, I almost died.” Released on May 28, 1990, the album was a huge success. Certified gold and platinum, it sold 400,000 copies. Gainsbourg died nine months later.

Provenance :
Private collection