Loss of Innocence
"Loss of Innocence" is the nineteenth track on The Residents' Commercial Album, released by Ralph Records on October 29th 1980. Like all other songs on the album, it is exactly one minute long. It was the last song recorded for the album, on November 8th, 1979.[1]
History
Out of all of the songs on the Commercial Album, "Loss of Innocence" is the most narrative-based, describing a person's experience visiting a freak show at a carnival. Being derived from The Residents' own childhood experiences, this would become a common theme in their work, most prevalently in the 1990s with works such as Freak Show and Bad Day on the Midway. Another common Residents theme heard in this song is that of Siamese Twins, having first been manifested as Arf & Omega on the unfinished Vileness Fats film, and later to much greater extent on the God in Three Persons project.
Later versions
This song was the lyrical basis for the track "Gone Again" which opened the Our Finest Flowers album in 1992. When the song was performed live for the first time in October 1997, as part of The Residents' 25th Anniversary show at the Fillmore in San Francisco, the new arrangement loosely resembled the Finest Flowers rendition, and served to introduce the "Freaks" section of the show.
The song would be performed again in the Shadowland tour, from 2014 to 2016.
Music video
A short video for the song was produced for the Commercial DVD in 2004, using shots from the "Bad Day on the Midway" video produced by Jim Ludtke for the Icky Flix DVD. Ludtke was working with The Residents on a Freak Show DVD before his untimely death in 2004, so the group produced this short video in tribute to him.
Lyrics
Amusement parks are caked with sounds; A solid hunk of meat. A barker's sweat flings from his tongue; His tattoo shines with heat. A wary stranger stands and sways, enraptured by his stance; Two-headed goats come stumbling by and give a troubled glance. The barker looks into the eyes the stranger tries to bend; The barker swears to more delights for all who seek within. The stranger enters canvas doors and smells the fresh cut hay. The barker points to Siamese twins; The stranger looks away. The eyes of horse-faced women watch the few who wander through; They sense the tension in the air and smell the sweet taboo. A heart beats fast against a chest; The stranger leaves the tent. The waves of people drown the sounds of loss of innocence.[2]
Trivia
- This was one of the songs performed in the ballet piece Light by Maurice Béjart. A newer performance of the show can be viewed on YouTube.
List of releases
- Commercial Album (1980) [Version 1]
- Masterpieces - Sounds magazine sampler (1980) [Version 1]
- Hell! (1986) [Version 1]
- Live at the Fillmore (1998) [Version 2]
- Kettles of Fish on the Outskirts of Town (2003) [Version 2]
- Commercial DVD (2004) [Version 3]
- Adobe Disfigured Night (2009) [Version 4]
- Commercial Album pREServed edition (2019) [Version 1] [Version 5]
- Commercial Book bonus disc (2024) [Version 6]
List of versions
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Commercial Album studio version, recorded November 1979 (1:00)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Live at the Fillmore, San Francisco, October 1997 (4:02)
- ↑ Short video made by The Residents with assets by Jim Ludtke, 2000–2004
- ↑ Improvised live version; Adobe HQ, May 1997 (3:13)
- ↑ Shadowland version; Live in Paris, 2015 (2:18)
- ↑ 1980 radio ad (1:00)
External links and references
- Commercial Album at The Residents Historical
- Commercial Album at RZWeb (archived via archive.org
- Commercial Album on Discogs
- ↑ Jim Knipfel and Brian Poole, et al., Faceless Forever - A Residents Encyclopaedia, 2022. P. 53
- ↑ Ima Buddy, Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS, 1992
