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.
Final Confrontation
The Residents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We don't want your arm, we don't want your hand,
All we really want is for you to leave our land;
We don't want your foot, we don't want your toe,
All we really want is for you to pack and go;
We don't want your necks, we don't want your backs,
All we really want is for you to hit the tracks;
We don't want your nose, we don't want your lip,
We don't want your skin, we don't want your hair,
All we really want is for you to become rare;
We don't want your tongue, we don't want your ear,
All we really want is for you to disappear;
We don't want your ankle, we don't want your knee,
All we really want is for you to quickly leave;
We don't want your palm, we don't want your wrist,
All we really want is for you to soon be missed;
We don't want your brow, we don't want your eye,
All we really want is for you to puke and die!
Don't Tread On Me
Hatred has hunger and hatred has eyes,
Hatred has purpose and hatred has size,
Hatred has honor but hatred hates lies!
Assailants of mercy with hate in your eyes,
Do not disturb us, you might be surprised,
We are not weaklings to tremble and die.
Hatred has dignity, hatred is clear,
Hatred has courage and hatred is dear,
Hatred has virtue and hatred is here!
Odious enemy do not come near
There is no pity nor tenderness here,
There is no mercy just villainous fear!
The Short War
Instrumental
Resolution
Instrumental
The Residents' song Final Confrontation is a satirical and provocative commentary on intolerance, hatred, and violence. The lyrics are divided into three distinct parts, each with a different theme and tone. The first part, Driving the Moles Away, uses imagery and metaphors to express a desire for someone to leave, and the lyrics are written in a repetitive style to emphasize the point that the singer wants them out. The song speaks of removing all parts of the person, from their arm to their eye, and describes a wish for them to disappear from the singer's world.
The second part of the song, Don't Tread On Me, is a militant statement against those who would try to harm the singer. The lyrics speak of hatred as an honorable and virtuous quality, and it warns any "assailants of mercy" to stay away and not disturb the singer. The language used in this section evokes the idea of a battle cry, with references to strength, courage, and dignity.
The final section of the song, The Short War and Resolution, is instrumental and presents a musical resolution to the previous sections' themes. The music is upbeat and bright, suggesting hope and moving beyond the conflict. The ending, with repeated piano chords and a fade-out, reinforces the idea of ending the confrontation and moving on.
Line by Line Meaning
We don't want your arm, we don't want your hand,
The singer is communicating to whoever they are addressing that they do not want any part of them involved in their lives.
All we really want is for you to leave our land;
The person speaking is trying to tell the recipient(s) that they are not welcome on this land and need to leave it immediately.
We don't want your foot, we don't want your toe,
The individual/persons in question does not want any part of the recipient(s) present in their lives.
All we really want is for you to pack and go;
The person speaking wants the recipient(s) to leave as soon as possible and never return.
We don't want your necks, we don't want your backs,
The recipient(s) should not mistake wanting any parts of them as a double-edged sword because the person speaking does not want them at all.
All we really want is for you to hit the tracks;
The singer wants the recipient(s) to run away as fast as they can and never return.
We don't want your nose, we don't want your lip,
The person speaking does not want any parts of the recipient(s) present in their lives whatsoever.
All we really want is for you to take a trip;
The artist wants the recipient(s) to leave their lives and take a trip somewhere to start anew, far away from the artist.
We don't want your skin, we don't want your hair,
The recipient(s) should leave otherwise it could lead to indescribable hardships they are not prepared to handle.
All we really want is for you to become rare;
The artist wants the recipient(s) to disappear entirely and not be heard from, thought of, or seen again.
We don't want your tongue, we don't want your ear,
The singer does not want any parts of the recipient(s) present in their lives altogether.
All we really want is for you to disappear;
The artist wants the recipient(s) to disappear from their lives and never come back as they are not welcome.
We don't want your ankle, we don't want your knee,
The singer wants the recipient(s) gone entirely and would prefer it occur without any conflict.
All we really want is for you to quickly leave;
The singer wants the recipient(s) to leave quickly without any issues, violence, or confrontation.
We don't want your palm, we don't want your wrist,
The singer is trying to get the wrongdoer out of their life for good and does not want anything to do with them again.
All we really want is for you to soon be missed;
The artist wants the recipient(s) to know that the community will be better off without them present and they will not be missed.
We don't want your brow, we don't want your eye,
The person speaking wants the recipient(s) gone as soon as they can, and never to be seen again or contacted in any form.
All we really want is for you to puke and die!
The singer wants the recipient(s) to die or get sick so they can never hurt anyone again.
Hatred has hunger and hatred has eyes,
The singer is trying to communicate how hatred can consume a person entirely.
Hatred has purpose and hatred has size,
Hatred can be so powerful that it controls the individual's every move.
Hatred has honor but hatred hates lies!
Hatred will always be truthful and it hates deception or lies.
Assailants of mercy with hate in your eyes,
Those who cause pain to others with ill-intent hiding behind the guise of mercy will not be tolerated.
Do not disturb us, you might be surprised,
The person(s) addressed needs to leave the singer alone or they will face repercussions.
We are not weaklings to tremble and die.
The artist is trying to convey to the recipient(s) that they should not mistake their kindness for weakness.
Hatred has dignity, hatred is clear,
Hatred will always have a clear motive and not beat around the bush.
Hatred has courage and hatred is dear,
Hatred gives the individual the courage to stand up to their enemies.
Hatred has virtue and hatred is here!
In the moment the singer is in, hatred is the only means of recourse they have and will use every last fiber of their being to ensure victory over enemies.
Odious enemy do not come near
The person(s) spoken to should not come close to the artist under any circumstances.
There is no pity nor tenderness here,
In the artist's mind, there is no room for pity or compassion for those they are against.
There is no mercy just villainous fear!
All the singer wants to do is instill fear in their enemies and make them pay for their actions with no room for mercy or compassion.
Instrumental
This section has no lyrics, just music
Instrumental
This section has no lyrics, just music
Contributed by Cole M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@erndogee
Mark of mole , it almost brings me to tears
@BaddaBigBoom
Same here, my favourite Residents album. I had the massive honour of not only meeting Homer Flynn last night but shaking his hand and thanking him for the music. It was a moment I'll never forget.
@jcBurton2094
Visionary album
@armandochavez1117
awsome
@Bunglezip2
Very Asmus Tietchens, Biotop Album
@claudevandog
0:29 sounds like Chris Chan ranting
@secular555
so sick of tolkien
more fantasy like this, please!
@BaddaBigBoom
Tolkien is hobbit forming.