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.
From the Plains to Mexico
The Residents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With our heads upon our saddles and a campfire burnin' bright
Soon we fell to talkin' of distant friends so dear
Oh, when a boy raised up in his saddle and he wiped away our tear
Oh, I fell in love with a neighbor girl, her cheeks were soft and white
Another feller loved her too and it ended in a fight
Oh, it makes me shake and shudder to think of that awful night
I fell down on my knees and tried to stop the blood
That came out from his side all spurtin'
Like some bright red crimson flood
And now when I am sleepin' I hear him softly say
Oh Bob, I know you're sorry but I've gone to a better place
Yes I guess, I believe it but I just can't let it go
His dyin' eyes are with me, oh from the plains to Mexico
The Residents's song "From the Plains to Mexico" narrates a conversation between cowboys on a Prairie in Slaughter's Ranch one night. As they gather around a campfire, they reminisce about their distant and beloved friends. As they continue talking, a young boy raises himself up in his saddle, indicating he has a story to tell. He shares that he fell in love with a neighbor girl, but unfortunately, another man loved her too. The love triangle ended in a vicious fight, during which the young boy, named Tom, was fatally stabbed by the singer, named Bob. Bob fell to his knees, trying frantically to stop the blood, but Tom eventually passed away.
Bob is now tormented by his guilt and regrets, as he hears Tom's plea for forgiveness in his dreams. He acknowledges that Tom has probably gone to a better place, but his dying eyes still haunt him as he reflects on the tragedy that took place on that fateful night. The song is filled with powerful imagery, metaphors, and emotions that elicit a deep and introspective response in the listener. It explores themes of love, betrayal, guilt, and redemption, and provides a sobering reflection on the consequences of violence and jealousy.
Line by Line Meaning
We were lyin' on the prairie, on slaughter's ranch one night
We were lying on the prairie at night on slaughter's ranch.
With our heads upon our saddles and a campfire burnin' bright
We rested our heads on our saddles and watched the bright campfire.
Soon we fell to talkin' of distant friends so dear
We soon started talking about our beloved distant friends.
Oh, when a boy raised up in his saddle and he wiped away our tear
A boy raised in his saddle and wiped away the tears from our face.
Oh, I fell in love with a neighbor girl, her cheeks were soft and white
I fell in love with my neighbor girl, who had soft and white cheeks.
Another feller loved her too and it ended in a fight
Another guy also loved her, which resulted in a fight between us.
Oh, it makes me shake and shudder to think of that awful night
I feel haunted and terrified about that awful night.
When Tom and I began to fight and I stabbed him with my knife
During our fight, I stabbed Tom with a knife.
I fell down on my knees and tried to stop the blood
I dropped down on my knees to help stop the bleeding.
That came out from his side all spurtin'
His wound was bleeding, spurting out of his side.
Like some bright red crimson flood
The flow of blood was bright red and looks like a flood of crimson.
And now when I am sleepin' I hear him softly say
When I am sleeping at night, I hear Tom's voice talking to me softly.
Oh Bob, I know you're sorry but I've gone to a better place
Tom says that he knows I regret what I did, but he has gone to a better place.
Yes I guess, I believe it but I just can't let it go
I believe that Tom is in a better place. However, I can't forgive myself for what I've done.
His dyin' eyes are with me, oh from the plains to Mexico
Tom's dying eyes always stick with me. It's like he's always with me wherever I go, from the plains to Mexico.
Contributed by Joseph F. 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