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.
Would we be Alive?
The Residents Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What we were beside
If there was no desperation
Would we be alive?
If there were no windows
That we sit inside
If there were no ugly feelings
Help us... Help us... Help us... Ahhhh...
Would you make me helpless
Something I can be
Longing for the sight of something
That I cannot see?
I be helpless on the ocean
Looking from the sea
Looking in the drifting wind
I wish that I could be
Floating near a liquid
Nice and thick and warm
Floating where there is no pleasure
And there is no harm
Life would be so pleasant
If we all could be
Helpless hopeless creatures
Just marching to the sea.
Help us... Help us... Help us... Please...
The lyrics to The Residents' song "Would we be Alive?" evoke a sense of confusion and existential uncertainty. The opening lines, "If we could see clearly, what we were beside, if there was no desperation, would we be alive?" suggest that human beings exist in a kind of fog, unable to perceive the world around them with clarity. This idea is reinforced in the following stanza, where windows are mentioned as a metaphor for the barriers that prevent us from experiencing life fully: "If there were no windows that we sit inside, if there were no ugly feelings, would we be alive?"
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "help us" several times, creating a sense of urgency and desperation. It's not entirely clear who the song is addressed to, but the repetition suggests that whoever it is, they are not listening or responding. The second half of the song introduces the idea of helplessness as a kind of ideal state: "Would you make me helpless, something I can be, longing for the sight of something that I cannot see?" The idea of being helpless on the ocean, looking out at the world with a sense of wonder and longing, is presented as a desirable state of being.
Overall, the lyrics of "Would we be Alive?" suggest a deep sense of disconnection and alienation from the world. The song seems to be questioning whether human beings are really alive at all, or if we are just going through the motions of existence without truly experiencing the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
If we could see clearly
If we were able to perceive reality without any bias or distortion
What we were beside
The things and people that surround us in our lives
If there was no desperation
If we did not feel a sense of hopelessness or despair
Would we be alive?
Would we still feel truly alive and engaged in the world?
If there were no windows
If we did not have any barriers or filters through which we viewed the world
That we sit inside
The structures and limitations that we confine ourselves within
If there were no ugly feelings
If we did not experience negative emotions or thoughts
Would we be alive?
Would we still feel truly alive and engaged in the world?
Help us... Help us... Help us... Ahhhh...
A plea for assistance or guidance
Would you make me helpless
Can you give me a sense of complete surrender or submission
Something I can be
Provide me with a purpose or meaning for my existence
Longing for the sight of something
The desire to witness or experience something
That I cannot see?
Something that is beyond my current understanding or knowledge
I be helpless on the ocean
Feeling lost and vulnerable amidst a vast and overwhelming expanse
Looking from the sea
Viewing the world from a different perspective or vantage point
Looking in the drifting wind
Observing the changing and unpredictable nature of existence
I wish that I could be
Longing to escape or transcend one's limitations
Floating near a liquid
Being in a fluid or malleable state
Nice and thick and warm
A comforting and nurturing sensation
Floating where there is no pleasure
Existing in a state without immediate gratification or enjoyment
And there is no harm
Removed from any danger or threat
Life would be so pleasant
A utopian vision of existence without struggle or difficulty
If we all could be
If everyone could experience this ideal reality
Helpless hopeless creatures
Beings without any agency or control over their lives
Just marching to the sea.
Submitting to the inevitable and embracing the finality of death or oblivion
Help us... Help us... Help us... Please...
A final plea for assistance or intervention
Writer(s): HARDY WINFRED FOX, HOMER FLYNN
Contributed by Avery F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
terrypussypower
One of The Residents best ever tunes. True Genius.
Irosław Zazar
It makes an atmosphere so close
Marshal Chisholm
Wtf am I listening to stumbled on to this song
dendy
one of the best songs ever made ever
Shanen Frost
Would We Be Alive is something I would love to rap on, coz I love the beat as well as the whole composition.
Reg Tait
Incredible in every way.
super
This is my favourite Residents guitar sound, before they got their fancy shmancy guitarist. Think the way this sounds just fits their music better
Martín De Freitas
These guys takes me to other planets. If they are no shamans then they must be aliens.
Pazuzu
That's what I always thought . aliens
generaltytus
This shit gave me anxiety while picking out some nice cherry tomatoes when i was grocery shopping. But hey, it's still very nice! :)