After Hours

Serge. Le poinçonneur des Lilas

This is an excellent Serge tune from the late fifties - several years before he invented the French version of rock 'n' roll. It's a bouncy little number about a guy who is being slowly driven insane by his job of punching metro tickets. I love the chorus: "I make little holes, little holes, and more little holes. Little holes, little holes, always little holes." For a guy who talked through a lot of his later stuff, this is a real vocal display. I like how he sometimes crams three words into one syllable.

Here's another version that's pretty significant in that it appears to be the very first music video ever made - or so they say. Now, it sounds sped up and Serge's mouth doesn't quite synch with the words, but heck, it's all worth it to see the bleak look on his face and those little holes piling up at his feet. Enjoy!