"Happy Home" (subtitled "(Excerpt From Act II of ”Innisfree”)" or simply "From Innisfree") is a song by The Residents, released as the closing track of the album The Tunes of Two Cities by Ralph Records on March 6th 1982.
The melody and lyrics of the song (inspired by Stan Kenton's "Machito")[1] are featured as a recurring motif throughout the group's Mole Trilogy; it is first heard in "Voices of the Air", the opening track on the first album in the series, Mark of the Mole.
The song was the set-closer of the group's debut live tour The Mole Show from 1982 to 1983. The studio recording and Mole Show performances all feature the group's friend and collaborator Nessie Lessons on lead vocals.
History[]
"Happy Home" was composed by The Residents in 1981, with its lyrics and melody first appearing as part of "Voices of the Air", the opening track to Mark of the Mole, the first album in the group's unfinished Mole Trilogy. In 1982, the stand-alone song was recorded and released by the group, as the closing track to The Tunes of Two Cities, the second album (of a planned six) in the trilogy.
In the fictional context of the Mole Trilogy, "Happy Home" is an excerpt from a popular Chub musical, Innisfree, about the life of a Chub explorer of the same name, who discovered the Mohelmot (or "Moles") before mysteriously disappearing.[2] The fictional musical (focused on Moles but composed by Chubs for a Chub audience) was later described as being analogous to the musical Porgy & Bess, by noted Residents influence George Gershwin.[3]
Like all Chub songs on The Tunes of Two Cities, "Happy Home" features a melody derived from a 1940s big band jazz number - in this instance, Stan Kenton's 1947 composition "Machito".[1]
Later versions[]
The Residents performing "Happy Home" live in The Mole Show
The Residents made several rehearsal recordings of "Happy Home" in 1982 in preparation for their 1982-1983 Mole Show tour, which ultimately featured the song as the closing number of the show (featuring guest vocalist Nessie Lessons, long-time friend of The Residents and then wife of their producer Hardy Fox).
The Residents recorded an instrumental variation of "Happy Home" around 1990 when briefly revisiting themes from the trilogy. No completed work would result from these sessions, however segments would eventually see release on the Robot Selling Device EP Mole Suite in 2011.
The Residents revisited "Happy Home" again in 1992, using the lyrics in "Mr. Lonely" on their 20th anniversary mash-up album Our Finest Flowers.
Lyrics[]
People must be left alone Unless they have a happy home People must be left alone Unless they have a happy home
Personnel[]
- The Residents: synthesizers
- Nessie Lessons: vocals
List of releases[]
- The Tunes Of Two Cities (1982) [Version 1]
- Mole Show (1983) [Version 2]
- Assorted Secrets (1984) [Version 3]
- Ralph Before '84 (1984) [Version 1]
- PAL TV LP (1985) [Version 4]
- Heaven? (1986) [Version 1]
- Mole Show: Live In Holland (1989) [Version 5]
- Liver Music (1990) [Version 6]
- Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide To The Residents (1993) [Version 7]
- Assorted Secrets CD reissue (2000) [Version 8]
- Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town (2003) [Version 2]
- The Tunes of Two Cities / The Big Bubble CD reissue (2005) [Version 1]
- Mole Suite (2011) [Version 9]
- Heaven? / Hell! CD reissue (2012) [Version 1]
- Mole Box (2019) [Version 1] [Version 8] [Version 2] [Version 10] [Version 11]
- Mole Dance 82 (2021) [Version 10]
List of versions[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Grove Street studio recording, October 1980 - January 1982 (4:41)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mole Show live recording, Roxy Theater, Los Angeles, California, October 20th 1982 (3:12)
- ↑ Grove Street studio rehearsal, January - March 1982 (take #1, 4:32)
- ↑ Mole Show live recording, October 1982 - July 1983 (2:36)
- ↑ Mole Show live recording, Muziekcentrum, Utrecht, Holland, June 4th 1983 (4:18)
- ↑ Uncle Sam Mole Show live recording, New Music America Festival, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., October 7th 1983 ("Happy Home/Star Spangled Banner" edit, 2:10)
- ↑ Mole Show live recording, Muziekcentrum, Utrecht, Holland, June 4th 1983 (edit, 0:24)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Grove Street studio rehearsal, January - March 1982 (take #2, 2:14)
- ↑ Mole Suite studio demo recording, ca. 1988 - 1992 (0:51)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Grove Street "Mole Dance 82" studio rehearsal, March - April 1982 (3:36)
- ↑ Uncle Sam Mole Show live recording, New Music America Festival, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., October 7th 1983 (4:12)
See also[]
- Mark of the Mole
- The Tunes of Two Cities
- "Voices of the Air"
- Innisfree
- The Mole Show
- The Mole Trilogy
- Nessie Lessons
External links and references[]
- The Tunes of Two Cities at The Residents Historical
- The Tunes of Two Cities at Discogs
- Mole Box at Discogs
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 tzoq, "The Tunes of Two Cities", RZWeb, ca. 1995-1997 (archived via archive.org)
- ↑ Ima Buddy, Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS, 1992
- ↑ Jim Knipfel, "Kula Bocca Says: A Reasonably Brief History Of The Mole Trilogy", Mole Box - The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed liner notes, 2019
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The Mole Show (1982-1983) Set list |
