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"Godsong" (or "God Song") is a song by The Residents from their fourth studio album Fingerprince, released February 15th 1977 by Ralph Records.
The song, which features vocals from The Residents' founding producer and composer Hardy Fox, is a surreal exploration of God and his relationship with man, a theme which would recur in later works by The Residents (most notably the 1998 concept album Wormwood).
Although it was rehearsed for the abandoned 10th Anniversary Show in 1982, "Godsong" had never been performed live by The Residents until their 50th Anniversary secret show at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music on January 14th 2023, where it was performed with the conservatory's ensemble and guest vocalist Dren MacDonald.
Lyrics[]
God never really did like man anyway At least not after they started walking around On their hind leg(s) And talking on the telephone Of course poor God's point of view wasn't easy now (to) understand He had invented man from dead things And at that time there were no graveyards to rob So He had been forced to use dead worms, some seaweed That had laid out on the beach for quite a while For quite a while.
At that time man had four legs and no telephone A major mistake came when God decided that man should think (A trait that He'd long desired for Himself) What God no doubt intended was For man to think about Him And that was important because God just wanted to be Just another normal deity Deity, deity, ty ty ty ty ty
All that God wanted to be Was just a normal deity All that God wanted to be Was just another normal deity
All that God wanted to be Was just a deity Just a normal deity All that God wanted to be Just a normal deity All that God wanted to be Just a normal deity
All went well for quite a while Man was a wonderful creature With long rich engraved face Four fine legs ending in five mini-legs And a coat of satiny hair And large genitals His thoughts were pure and Full of wonder The wonder part was God's favorite, (at least at first) Because that's the part that gave Him His Identity identity identity identity
Oh, it was so wonderful for God Man's... Man's questions turned to visions And visions gave God All kinds of exciting things to do Someday He would be a God of wrath Reeking havoc upon undisciplined mankind And at other times He'd be a God of love and compassion Of course these were all things that man had invented So God had a hard time getting the full grasp
But... One of His favorite things Was man's believing in Him, and then not believing in Him One of His favorite things Was man's believing in Him, and then not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Believing in Him, not believing in Him Like some hide and seek game Over And Over And Over again Believing in Him Believing in Him Believing in Him Not believing in Him... Not believing in Him?!?
I think He liked believing in Him much better... But I'm not sure...[1]
List of releases[]
- Fingerprince (1977) [Version 1]
- Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide To The Residents (1993) [Version 2]
- In Memoriam Torso (1994) [Version 1]
- Assorted Secrets CD reissue (2000) [Version 3]
- Petting Zoo (2002) [Version 1]
- Fingerprince pREServed CD edition (2018) [Version 1] [Version 3] [Version 4]
- Fingerprince pREServed vinyl edition (2023) [Version 1] [Version 5]
- Secret Show Live in San Francisco (2024) [Version 6]
List of versions[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Grove Street studio recording, ca. 1976 (3:41)
- ↑ Grove Street studio recording, ca. 1976 (extract)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Grove Street live studio rehearsal, fall 1981 (1:33)
- ↑ Grove Street live studio rehearsal, ca. March - April 1982 (1:33)
- ↑ Grove Street studio recording, ca. 1976 ("RDX" mix)
- ↑ 50th Anniversary secret show live recording, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, San Francisco, California, January 14th 2023 (3:47)
See also[]
External links and references[]
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Tourniquet of Roses Fingerprince / Babyfingers (1976-1979) Side A |