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.
Jelly Jack the Boneless Boy
The Residents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ho ho ho I'm Jello Jack the jolly boneless boy.
I live inside a jar beside the rooster boy named Roy.
They pour me out upon a platform and the people stare
At eyeballs in a pool of flesh surrounded by some hair.
I wish I was a cowboy or maybe just a bird
Singing simple melodies that no one ever heard
Soaring with the winter winds and bringing in the spring
And making babies proud of all the bugs that I would bring.
I'd sit up high above the ground and laugh as I looked down
at all the silly humans as they slowly trudged around.
But as I see the end of evening turn into the night
The bird inside my brain becomes a light that is too bright.
In his dreams at night he hears a white hot light
And he knows that God is singing in his dreams at night.
Hot heat smolders smoking embers
Vibrate deep, vibrate deep
Cause teeth clinch, cause vibrate deep
Inside the sucking sound of suction,
Suction, sucking sections of my soul,
Sucking sections of the only thoughts
My mind will salivate and drool
And press against itself and press
Against itself and feel the cursing
Flow of fever, driven, biting, grinding, clinging,
Ream the center of the Sun
With shafts of Solid Steel
Know that there is nothing like the feeling
Of those steel fingers up inside
Of something sticky, sweet and wet
Feel the lips of licking licky wet liquid;
feel the tongue that touches the tips of sharp pointed things.
The song "Jelly Jack the Boneless Boy" by The Residents is a bizarre and surreal tale of a character named Jello Jack, who is described as a jolly boneless boy. He lives in a jar beside a rooster named Roy, and is exhibited to the public on a platform where he is poured out for people to see. The song suggests that Jello Jack longs for a different life, wishing he were a cowboy or a bird instead, singing melodies that no one ever heard. The lyrics touch on themes of isolation, loneliness, and longing for freedom.
The song takes an even stranger turn in the latter half, with references to a bird inside Jello Jack's brain and a white hot light. The song describes a feeling of being consumed by a fiery energy, one that is both terrifying and exhilarating. The lyrics suggest that this energy could be interpreted as a divine presence or a higher power, represented by the image of God singing in Jello Jack's dreams at night. The song ends with a reference to "steel fingers" that are "up inside / Of something sticky, sweet and wet," juxtaposed with the image of "sharp pointed things." This final verse continues the theme of juxtaposition, blending elements of pleasure and pain, sweetness and sharpness, in a way that is unsettling and evocative.
Line by Line Meaning
Jello Jello Jello Jello Jello Jello...
The repetition of the word 'Jello' is an introduction to the character Jello Jack, also known as the 'boneless boy'.
Ho ho ho I'm Jello Jack the jolly boneless boy.
Jello Jack describes himself as 'jolly' and 'boneless', as he has no skeleton. He also greets the audience with 'Ho ho ho'.
I live inside a jar beside the rooster boy named Roy.
Jello Jack lives in a jar next to a boy named Roy who has rooster-like qualities.
They pour me out upon a platform and the people stare
Jello Jack is displayed on a platform to be viewed by an audience, causing people to stare at him.
At eyeballs in a pool of flesh surrounded by some hair.
Jello Jack's appearance is described as having eyeballs in a pool of flesh with hair surrounding it, indicating his grotesque physical appearance.
I wish I was a cowboy or maybe just a bird
Jello Jack expresses his desire to be a cowboy or a bird, wanting to escape his current situation.
Singing simple melodies that no one ever heard
As a bird, Jello Jack wants to sing simple melodies that no one has ever heard before.
Soaring with the winter winds and bringing in the spring
As a bird, Jello Jack wants to fly freely with the wind, experiencing the changing seasons.
Sharing air with orioles and bumblebees that sting
Jello Jack wants to share the air with birds and insects, specifically orioles and bumblebees.
And making babies proud of all the bugs that I would bring.
Jello Jack wants to make children happy by bringing them bugs as gifts.
I'd sit up high above the ground and laugh as I looked down
As a bird, Jello Jack wants to perch high above the ground and laugh as he observes the world below.
at all the silly humans as they slowly trudged around.
Jello Jack finds humans to be foolish, as they move slowly and without purpose in his eyes.
But as I see the end of evening turn into the night
Jello Jack's tone changes as he describes the end of day transitioning to night, which may symbolize a shift in his thoughts or feelings.
The bird inside my brain becomes a light that is too bright.
Jello Jack describes a bird that lives inside his head, which suddenly becomes too bright.
In his dreams at night he hears a white hot light
Jello Jack hears a bright, white light in his dreams at night, which may be causing him distress.
And he knows that God is singing in his dreams at night.
Jello Jack believes that he hears God singing in his dreams at night.
Hot heat smolders smoking embers
The lyrics describe hot heat, smoldering embers, and smoking, which may indicate a sense of chaos or discomfort.
Vibrate deep, vibrate deep
The repetition of 'vibrate deep' may suggest a sense of intensity, urgency, or disturbance.
Cause teeth clinch, cause vibrate deep
The lyrics suggest that the vibrations are causing one's teeth to clench in response.
Inside the sucking sound of suction,
The lyrics describe a 'sucking sound of suction', which may be perceived as unpleasant or overwhelming.
Suction, sucking sections of my soul,
The lyrics make references to the concept of suction, which is used as a metaphor for something that's draining or consuming one's energy.
Sucking sections of the only thoughts
The lyrics describe how the suction is affecting one's 'thoughts', which may suggest a sense of loss or confusion.
My mind will salivate and drool
The lyrics describe how one's mind is affected by the suction, as it may cause one's mouth to salivate or drool involuntarily.
And press against itself and press
The lyrics describe a sense of pressure or tension in one's mind, as it presses against itself.
Against itself and feel the cursing
The lyrics suggest that one's mind may be experiencing negative or hostile thoughts, which cause distress.
Flow of fever, driven, biting, grinding, clinging,
The lyrics describe how one may be experiencing a sense of feverish energy, which leads to biting, grinding, or clinging behavior.
Ream the center of the Sun
The lyrics use 'center of the Sun' as a metaphor for something that's intense or powerful, and it suggests that one may be trying to overcome or conquer an obstacle in their life.
With shafts of Solid Steel
The lyrics use 'shafts of Solid Steel' as a metaphor for an instrument or tool that's used to accomplish something difficult or challenging.
Know that there is nothing like the feeling
The lyrics express a sense of certainty or confidence, that there's nothing else that compares to the feeling being described.
Of those steel fingers up inside
The lyrics continue to use metaphors of steel fingers and other tools to represent a sense of power or strength.
Of something sticky, sweet and wet
The lyrics use sensory details of something sticky, sweet, and wet to describe a physical sensation.
Feel the lips of licking licky wet liquid;
The lyrics continue to use sensory details of something wet and liquid-like, suggesting a sense of pleasure or satisfaction.
feel the tongue that touches the tips of sharp pointed things.
The lyrics describe a sense of sensation in the mouth, suggesting temptation, danger, or excitement.
Contributed by Gabriella D. 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