Allmusic had this to say about the Residents: "Over the course of a recording career spanning several decades, the Residents remained a riddle of Sphinx-like proportions; cloaking their lives and music in a haze of willful obscurity, the band's members never identified themselves by name, always appearing in public in disguise -- usually tuxedos, top hats and giant eyeball masks -- and refusing to grant media interviews. Drawing inspiration from the likes of fellow innovators including Harry Partch, Sun Ra, and Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, the Residents channelled the breadth of American music into their idiosyncratic, satiric vision, their mercurial blend of electronics, distortion, avant-jazz, classical symphonies and gratingly nasal vocals reinterpreting everyone from John Philip Sousa to James Brown while simultaneously expanding the boundaries of theatrical performance and multimedia interaction.
It was commonly accepted that the four-member group emigrated to San Francisco, California from Shreveport, Louisiana at some point in the early '70s. According to longtime group spokesman Jay Clem -- one member of the so-called Cryptic Corporation, the band's representative body -- they received their name when Warner Bros. mailed back their anonymous demo tape, addressed simply "for the attention of residents". Finding no takers for their oddball sounds, the Residents founded their own label, Ralph Records, for the purposes of issuing their 1972 debut "Santa Dog", released in a pressing of 300 copies which were mailed out to luminaries from Frank Zappa to President Richard Nixon. Their debut full-length, 1974's "Meet the Residents", reportedly sold fewer than 50 copies before the group was threatened with a lawsuit from Capitol Records over its cover, a twisted, dada-esque parody of the art to "Meet the Beatles".
The follow-up, 1974's neoclassical excursion "Not Available", was recorded with the intention of its music remaining unissued; locked in cold storage upon its completion, only a 1978 contractual obligation resulted in its eventual release. 1976's "The Third Reich 'N Roll" was the next official offering, a collection of pop oldies covers presented in a controversial jacket portraying Adolf Hitler clutching an enormous carrot. After a 1976 concert in Berkeley, California which cloaked the Residents behind an opaque screen, wrapped up like mummies -- the most famous of only three live performances mounted during their first decade of existence -- they issued an abrasive 1977 cover of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction", which became an underground hit on both sides of the Atlantic at the peak of the punk movement. As the decade drew to a close, the group released a flurry of recordings, further building upon their growing cult following; among them were 1978's "Duck Stab", 1979's "Eskimo" (purportedly a collection of native Arctic chants) and 1980's "Commercial Album", a compilation of 40 one-minute "pop songs" that aired on San Francisco radio only because the Residents played them during the advertising time they bought.
In 1981 the Residents embarked upon their "Mole Trilogy", a prog rock collection of albums -- 1981's "Mark of the Mole", 1982's "The Tunes of Two Cities" and 1985's "The Big Bubble" -- recounting an epic battle between a pair of tribes named the Moles and the Chubs; a lavish, multimedia tour, "The Mole Show", followed. In the interim, the group also mounted another ambitious project, the "American Composer" series, although only two of the projected titles -- 1984's "George & James" (a reinterpretation of songs by George Gershwin and James Brown) and 1986's "Stars & Hank Forever" (celebrating John Philip Sousa and Hank Williams) -- ever appeared. Instead, in the wake of financial and corporate difficulties which resulted in the creation of a New Ralph label, the Residents issued the one-off "God in Three Persons" (a talking blues outing), and 1989's "The King and Eye" (a reinterpretation of Elvis Presley standards).
After losing control of the Ralph label as well as their back catalog, the Residents regained the rights to their music in 1990 and began reissuing long-out-of-print material as well as the new "Freak Show", a meditation on circus sideshows and carnival dementia. Four years later, Freak Show was reissued as a CD-ROM, marking the group's first leap into the new digital interactive technology; "Have a Bad Day" followed in 1996, and included the soundtrack to the CD-ROM game "Bad Day on the Midway." In 1997, the band celebrated their silver anniversary with the release of the career-spanning overview "Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses". "Wormwood: Curious Stories From the Bible" followed the next year, with "Roadworms" (songs from Wormwood as performed in the stage show) being issued in mid-2000. They followed that up with the awesome "Icky Flix" DVD, an incredibly detailed collection of their videos that featured both old and new soundtracks, 5.1 Digital Stereo Surround sound, countless hidden videos and in-depth histories of each individual track. That was followed by another one of their rare tours, which saw them incorporate the DVD into their live act and bring out guest singer Molly Harvey for some truly creative duets. The "Petting Zoo" retrospective followed in the spring of 2002, acting as a budget sampler for new fans and giving old fans something to tide them over while several high concept projects neared completion. The first was "Demons Dance Alone", a complicated pop album that hearkened back to the catchier material from "Duck Stab" and the "Commercial Album". That was followed in 2002 by a live retrospective called "Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town" that contained 3 cd's and a DVD, and a further look at their past via remasters and remixes put out by EuroRalph (including a remix of their previously unreleased and notorious "Warner Brothers Demo"). A DVD of the Demons Dance Alone tour came out in 2004 and another new project, "Animal Lover" was released in 2005."
Summer of 2006 brought the internet download project, The River of Crime: Episodes 1-5. River of Crime was their first project with Warner Music Group's Cordless label. Following the success of "River of Crime", The Residents launched their weekly Timmy video project on YouTube. In 2007 they did the music for the documentary "Strange Culture" and also released a double instrumental album, "Night of the Hunters". On the Fourth of July, 2007, the planned October release of their latest project with Mute Records, The Voice of Midnight (a music theater adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann's short story Der Sandmann), was announced on their website.
On the 21st of May 2008 they announced on their website that their first North America tour since "Demons Dance Alone" for a project entitled "The Bunny Boy" is set to begin on October 9th in New York — later an earlier date was added for Santa Cruz. Soon, it was announced that the tour will also include Europe, starting November 13th. On June 3rd, the Residents.com website boasted the planned release of "The Bunny Boy" which was released on September 1st. The website had posted information in which Foxboro claimed this would be a Farewell Tour; it was later revealed that this was nothing more than a mistake by Foxboro.
In October 2017, Hardy Fox identified himself as both the anonymous primary composer and producer for The Residents as well as the pseudonymous Charles Bobuck.
Hardy Fox died on October 30, 2018.
Bathsheba Bathes
The Residents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She bathes before my sucking sight
Fingers of fire so soft and slow
Make her amber body glow
He takes what he wants
With smiling lies
He takes what he wants
Like caution to the newly blind
Her image never leaves my mind
I have to hear her as she cries
Underneath my buning eyes
Her husband is fighting far away
In my army so they'll say
I took his honor with his wife
So he must lose it with his life
A king is noble, strong and right
With appetites to match his might
With gore and glory in his bed
His penis rules a rancid head
The lyrics of The Residents' song, "Bathsheba Bathes," explores themes of lust, power, betrayal, and violence. The song tells the story of King David's affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, one of his loyal soldiers. In the first verse, Bathsheba is depicted as a seductive and alluring figure, bathing in the night while being watched by the king. The imagery of her "amber body" glowing under the "fingers of fire" suggests a sexually charged atmosphere.
The second verse introduces the theme of betrayal, as the king takes what he wants through "smiling lies," causing someone to die. This alludes to the king's scheme to have Uriah killed in battle to cover up his affair with Bathsheba. The mention of the "newly blind" suggests that this may be a cautionary tale for those who may be blinded by their own desires and ambition.
The third verse reveals Bathsheba's anguish as she cries underneath the king's "burning eyes." The fourth verse further emphasizes the power dynamic between the king and Bathsheba, as her husband is fighting in the king's army. The king's lust for his soldier's wife not only causes her husband to lose his honor but also his life.
The final verse ends with a commentary on the nature of power and masculinity, as the king's "penis rules a rancid head." The lyrics suggest that the king's pursuit of power and pleasure has corrupted his sense of morality and honor.
Overall, The Residents' "Bathsheba Bathes" is a dark and unsettling exploration of the consequences of abusing power and succumbing to one's desires.
Line by Line Meaning
Out in the openness of night
The song begins by describing the setting, which is a dark and open space.
She bathes before my sucking sight
The main character is watching a woman bathe, possibly against her will.
Fingers of fire so soft and slow
The main character is aroused by watching the woman bathe.
Make her amber body glow
The woman's body appears to be glowing in the light, possibly again due to the main character's arousal.
He takes what he wants
The next verse suggests that the main character is taking what he wants through lies and manipulation.
With smiling lies
The lies the main character tells are done with a smile on his face.
And someone dies
The main character's actions are causing harm and possibly leading to death.
Like caution to the newly blind
The woman's image remains in the main character's mind like a warning that cannot be ignored.
Her image never leaves my mind
The main character is haunted by the image of the woman he watched bathe.
I have to hear her as she cries
The woman is possibly crying due to the main character's actions or her own suffering.
Underneath my buning eyes
The main character is watching the woman suffer under his gaze.
Her husband is fighting far away
The woman has a husband who is not present and may be fighting in a war.
In my army so they'll say
The main character may be in the same army as the woman's husband.
I took his honor with his wife
The main character has had an affair with the woman, possibly causing harm to her husband's reputation.
So he must lose it with his life
The main character believes that the woman's husband should pay for the harm caused to him by the affair.
A king is noble, strong and right
The image of a king is introduced, which represents power, strength, and righteousness.
With appetites to match his might
However, the king is also shown to have strong desires that match his power.
With gore and glory in his bed
The king's sexual escapades are often violent and bloody, which is seen as a symbol of his power and glory.
His penis rules a rancid head
The king's desire for sex and power has corrupted his mind and morals.
Contributed by Ryan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jimbo
on BUCKAROO BLUES: The Stampede
A true mirror of American culture. The Residents are a national treasure