The Chauffeur | |
| |
| song by Duran Duran | |
|---|---|
| Released | 10 May 1982 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 5:22 minutes |
| Label | Capitol, EMI |
| Writer(s) | Duran Duran |
| Producer | Colin Thurston |
| Duran Duran Official Videos | |
"The Chauffeur" is a Duran Duran song from their second album Rio, released by Capitol-EMI on 10 May 1982.
About the song[]
The lyrics were written by Simon Le Bon as poetry, several years before Rio had even begun. Le Bon's lyric book dates from 1977. This song was written in 1978 during a three month summer stay at a Kibbutz in Israel; where he became a tree surgeon; and where he also wrote "Sound of Thunder", "Night Boat" and "Careless Memories" (Source).
Use of Sampling and Mysterious Voice[]
 Quote from Simon: Sounds Magazine, Sept 11 1982
|
Like several other songs on Rio, The Chauffeur contains sound samples thanks to Nicks Fairlight CMI - the world's first commercial sampler. According to a question on Ask Katy, the sample was taken “from a nature record [of insect noises] that the band found in the Library. The man is talking about ‘Crickets in the trees’". No track or album under this name has yet been discovered.
The words spoken in the sample are disputed, but could be: "Moves up front... There’s more to this kind of camouflage. More than just colour and shape. A huge crawling world, near to a (classiomatic?) vision." According to a press snippet, the line is: 'Who's that calling in the long grass near the tent?' (Source).
Music video[]
"The Chauffeur" was directed by Ian Emes and is one of two non-single tracks on Rio to have its own music video. None of the band appear in the video at all.
It is a moody black-and-white piece inspired in part by the film, The Night Porter, and the photography of Helmut Newton. Two women dress themselves carefully in lingerie and drive through the streets of London towards a rendezvous with each other in an abandoned multi-storey car park.
The instrumental end piece of the song was accompanied by a topless Perri Lister performing a sensuous dance - clearly an homage to Charlotte Rampling's topless "Dance of the Seven Veils" in The Night Porter.
The video featured on the Greatest DVD compilation, ahead of "My Own Way", which was a single.
Song versions[]
- "The Chauffeur" - 5:22
- "The Chauffeur" (Blue Silver) - 3:48
The "Blue Silver" version of the song is an acoustic demo that appeared several times as a B-side.
Personnel[]
Duran Duran are:
- Simon Le Bon - vocals, ocarina
- John Taylor - bass guitar, backing vocals
- Andy Taylor - guitar
- Nick Rhodes - keyboards
- Roger Taylor - drums
Lyrics[]
Out on the tar plains, the glides are moving All looking for a new place to drive You sit beside me, so newly charming Sweating dewdrops glisten freshing your side And the sun drips down bedding heavy behind The front of your dress all shadowy lined And the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart Way down the lane away, living for another day The aphids swarm up in the drifting haze Swim seagull in the sky towards that hollow western isle My envied lady holds you fast in her gaze And the sun drips down bedding heavy behind The front of your dress all shadowy lined And the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart And the sun drips down bedding heavy behind The front of your dress all shadowy lined And the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart Sing blue silver And watching lovers part I feel you smiling What glass splinters lie so deep in your mind? To tear out from your eyes with a word to stiffen brooding lies And I'll only watch you leave me further behind And the sun drips down bedding heavy behind The front of your dress all shadowy lined And the droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart And the sun drips down bedding heavy behind The front of your dress all shadowy lined The droning engine throbs in time with your beating heart Sing blue silver Sing, sing blue silver...