Elmer's Song
"Elmer's Song" (previously titled "Drilling") is a song from The Residents' 2005 album, Animal Lover. It is meant to be a religious number; the narrator is the leader of a white-guilt cult which finds spiritual peace in prolonged sleeping. The accompanying narrative is told from the point of view of the cultist's pet chimpanzee.
History
The song dates back to 2001, when Charles Bobuck recorded sketches for a proposed album about the American Civil War, which was soon shelved in favor of the Demons Dance Alone album. A sketch rendering of the work song "Drill, Ye Tarriers" was eventually revisited and fleshed out into "Elmer's Song".
The song is prominently featured in the track "Hanging by His Habit" off the tribute album I AM A RESIDENT! (2018).
Lyrics
Leave your burdens behind Leave your burdens behind Let your spirit be free from gravity; Leave your burdens behind God is waiting for you God is waiting for you There's no need to be in uncertainty; God is waiting for you
Once I was exactly like you, An empty vessel on full view; I thought that there was no other way; I thought the thoughts you think today. My wife was sinister and unclean; My children were morose and mean; My discontentment was so complete my mind retreated into sleep.
Love will live in repose Love will live in repose Let your leisure zone be your cornerstone; Love will live in repose
But soon a voice inside of a dream said, "Son you can become My Cream"; With words that echoed in me, God said, "White people should remain in bed."
Take a load off your feet Take a load off your feet Turn your misery into ecstasy; Take a load off your feet
We will give it to you We will give it to you Sleep is purified, sweet and sanctified, so we'll give it to you.
The Chimpanzee
The chimp missed her mother. She was just a baby when the big white man took her away, and the memory of her mom and her mother's sweet embrace still touched the chimp every day. Over time the soul of the small, timid animal had tried to repair itself, but the hole was still there - black and deep. A hole that the big white man tried to fill, but no human was that big. She was special. She knew that. No other chimpanzees rode in the back seat of large, expensive automobiles. No other chimps slept under silk sheets, or had bananas and hot chocolate served to them in bed every morning. She was indeed special. But not special enough to fill the hole. The chimp went everywhere with the the big, white human in his big white car. Except for the chimp, it seemed like everything in the human's world was very large and very white. Especially the big white building. They went there almost every day, and once a week, the building was filled with white humans, all lying on beds and all listening to the big white man. He obviously had important things to say. But the odd thing about the human was that, except for the little chimp and his servants, the man lived alone. Just like her. Late at night, when they were by themselves, he often seemed a little sad and said, "Betty, love is a musical box of rocks, and I'm tone deaf." The chimp had no idea what the big white man meant, but she understood the meaning of his sighs.
Appearances
- Animal Lover (2005) [Version 1]
- Animal Lover Instrumental (2008) [Version 2]
- Animal Lover (Evolution Edition) (2026) [Version 1] [Version 3]