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This article is about the song. You may be looking for the 2002 album, tour, or 2003 live DVD of the same name. |
“Demons Dance Alone” is a song by The Residents, first released as the final song of the 2002 album of the same name.
The song's lyrics tackle the subject of addiction. It is said to borrow a riff from the 1963 pop single “Needles and Pins” by the American singer Jackie DeShannon.
History[]
”Demons Dance Alone”, the closing track of The Residents' concept album of the same name, deals with the theme of sadness, this time by using demons as a metaphor for addiction. The song features a hypnotic guitar riff performed by Nolan Cook; the song has been said to "playfully" borrow the main riff from the 1963 pop single “Needles and Pins” by American singer-songwriter Jackie DeShannon.
"Demons Dance Alone" was performed live on the album's live tour between October 2002 and September 2003, where it was featured as the closing number (as on the original album), and in a short instrumental arrangement at the beginning of the show. Versions of the song from this tour were released on the Demons Dance Alone live DVD in 2003, and the CD and DVD set Demonic! The Residents Live In Oslo! in 2012.
In 2010, the song was performed as the opening number of the Talking Light tour, where it was paired with "Sleepwalker" (the first track on the Demons Dance Alone special edition bonus disc); "Demons Dance Alone" was replaced with "Smelly Tongues" for the tour's second leg.
A version of the song by A Vast Fusion of Nice People was featured as one of the three songs on the "I Am A Resident! Theme" "vinyl art" single, released in a limited edition of 25 copies to PledgeMusic campaign contributors in 2018. This cover, submitted for use in The Residents' official cover album I Am A Resident!, is not featured on either the vinyl or CD editions of the album.
Lyrics[]
You can know a needle's eye Or a hungry baby's cry But no one knows that demons dance alone
Silver linings came and went When I was an innocent Never knowing demons dance alone
But somehow I was seduced And my innocence reduced By a demon that became my own
Knowingly I followed it Took the hook and swallowed it But then I found it dancing in my home
Terrified I tried to quit But now I need the taste of shit Like a dancing demon needs a home
I had hoped to fill my years with More than melancholy tears But the demon makes me dance alone
List of releases[]
- Demons Dance Alone (2002)
- Demons Dance Alone special edition (2002)
- Demons Dance Alone DVD (2003)
- Talking Light Live In Rehearsal, Santa Cruz, California (2010)
- Demonic! The Residents Live In Oslo! (2012)
- "I Am A Resident! Theme" (2018)
See also[]
- Demons Dance Alone (album)
- Demons Dance Alone (tour)
- Talking Light