The Walrus Hunt
"The Walrus Hunt" is the opening track on The Residents' "musical documentary" album Eskimo, released in 1979 on Ralph Records. The track introduces the Polar Eskimo, and depicts its tribesmen as they successfully hunt a walrus among the floating ice.
Like all tracks on Eskimo, "The Walrus Hunt" is effectively instrumental, with tribal chanting, "narwhal horn" and sound effects from the group.
History
When recording "The Walrus Hunt", The Residents created the sound of Eskimos paddling in the water by filling a large tub with water and splashing their hands around in it. To create the sound of a "mythological harpoon" which the Eskimo hunters would swing over their heads, The Residents swung an unidentified item over their heads in the studio to capture the sound.[1]
When it came time to create the sound of the walrus being killed, the group tried a few different means of creating the sound of the walrus being hit but could come up with nothing that seemed right, until one Resident punched a cardboard box and exclaimed "that's it!"; the cardboard box sound was included on the album.[1]
The "narwhal horn" melody in this track was later featured prominently in the group's 1980 "disco" remix, "Diskomo".
Liner notes
Walrus hunting in kayaks among the floating ice must sometime proceed in the winter darkness or in a condition known as "whiteout" when atmospheric conditions turn the sky into a virtual mirror of the snow and ice below and orientation becomes difficult. At these times, women on shore blow a large horn made from a giant narwhal's hollowed tusk and chant to give directional orientation to the hunters.
Winter had almost arrived, for the wind had a more pronounced bite in its insistence. The noonday sun sat momentarily on the horizon before hastening back into the icy waters. Floating on the rising winds, the sounds of the narwhal horn and chanting combined to give assurance to the Eskimo hunters. The paddling of the kayak was smooth and steady. Not much light was left and a sleeping walrus could easily hide in the deep shadowed recesses of the floating icebergs.
But wait! There, on the ice... yes, a walrus! A happy but silent discovery. The sling-like harpoon was removed from its leather container and spun rapidly around over the hunter's head until sufficient speed was reached to send it zooming toward its unsuspecting prey. The walrus was hit. Cheers rang out from the men as they all paddled toward the animal which had plunged into the icy sea; but the water offered no protection as the Eskimo men reached for their whale bone clubs and bludgeoned the creature. The walrus floated quietly in the water and the kayaks moved on in search of other sleeping prey.
Lyrics
The below derives from a "possible phonetic Anglicization" of the Polar Eskimo chants heard on this track, transcribed by noted Residents collector and fan Ima Buddy and featured in the 1992 document Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS.
Tribe: Aqua tick the saddle back And bladder knows it too; Must catchum! Catchum! Catchum up! Or else eat ice-um stew!
Breakfast! Breakfast! Break for us; We eat, we eat, we eat; Our frozen meat Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy It can't be beat.[2]
List of releases
- Eskimo (1979)
- Diskomo / Goosebump (1980)
- Diskomo (1990)
- Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide To The Residents (1993) (excerpt)
- Eskimo DVD (2002)
External links and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Probably my favorite story, you know, the Eskimo album offered a whole lot of room for, shall we say, creative or imaginative sound effects. And you know, the first song on Eskimo is called "The Walrus Hunt", and so, you know, they're out there, the Eskimos supposedly, you know, are out in the water, and they're paddling, and The Residents got a big tub of water and filled it up and they started splashing their hands to create the sound of the paddles, but they finally get to the walrus, and you know, I think they came up with some kind of mythological harpoon that they would spin over their head, so they got something that they spun, you know, to create that sound effect. But when it came time for - bam! - something to hit the walrus and kill it, and they kept trying different things and nothing sounded right, and ultimately what it ended up being was a cardboard box... You know, he hit a cardboard box with his first or something like that, and he was like 'That's it! That's it!'" - Homer Flynn, Industry Tactics with Friendly Rich, "Ep. 145 - Homer Flynn", February 13th 2022
- ↑ Ima Buddy, Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS, 1992
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