Lyrics
Now I've got a lot to say now, baby
But it doesn't concern me today now, baby 1
Hello
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Give it to me gently, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Hello
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Give it to me gently, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Shh
Ahhh
Unh Unh Anh Anh
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it gently, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it gently, baby
Just gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it slowly, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it gently, baby
Gimme gimme gimme it gently, baby
That was Craig's tribute to Frank Zappa 2
Now we can all laugh about this, but that was his attempt to be Frank; therefore I've entitled it, "I'm Frank"
Commentary
“I’m Frank” is credited to Mark E. Smith and Craig Scanlon. It appears on the album Extricate (1990), but was debuted live as early as 13 July 1989 (Free Trade Hall, Manchester).
“He’s Frank (Slight Return)” was the Monochrome Set’s debut single, produced as a demo cassette in 1978 and subsequently as a 7″ on Rough Trade in 1979 [Discogs]. I doubt there’s any connection, but you have to record these things just in case.
Live in Zagreb
“I’m Frank” appears on the 2001 live album, Live in Zagreb, which was supposedly recorded at Dom Sportova, Zagreb, 15 April 1990. Some doubt has been cast on that date, though there is a reason to think it is probably accurate.
Really this rendition is only even slightly notable for MES’ improvised line, “Hello, Man City FC”. If the gig was indeed recorded on 15 April 1990, then the line can be explained by the fact that the previous day Manchester City had beaten Manchester United 2 – 1 at Maine Road (City’s stadium from 1923 to 2003), which fact tends to support the 15 April dating.
Nevertheless, this is the only live version of “I’m Frank” to receive an official release.
The Late Show
The Fall, with Coldcut, performed “I’m Frank” on the BBC 2 arts programme, The Late Show, on 18 January 1990. MES introduces the song with similar words to the way he ended the version on the album.
“I’m Frank” Included on Promo album samplers
12″ promo samplers for Extricate were released in both the UK and the US, featuring different contents and different cover artwork. “I’m Frank” was included as the lead track on both.
Footnotes
- So in the first two lines the narrator claims to “have a lot to say”, but, apparently, not today. We get an inane love song lyric instead. ↩︎
- Craig Scanlon, obviously. The song doesn’t sound a whole lot like Frank Zappa to me, but I’ve never gone very deep with Zappa. On annotatedfall.doomby.com, bzfgt said he thought it reminiscent of “Hungry Freaks, Daddy”, off Freak Out! (1966), but I can’t hear it – but then, I’m also not sure what to listen for. ↩︎
Sources / Links
- The Annotated Fall: “I’m Frank” [Archived]
- Discogs: Extricate album sampler. UK promo vinyl 12″ sampler. Cog Sinister: FALL 1 (1990)
- Discogs: “I’m Frank”. US promo vinyl 12″ sampler. Cog Sinister/Fontana: PRO 854-1 (1990)
- Discogs: The Fall: Live in Zagreb. Cog Sinister: COGVP109CD
- The Fall Online – Discography: Live in Zagreb (2001)
- Rhode Island School of Design Museum: “Nadia”, by Peter Blake (1981)
- The Track Record: “I’m Frank”