Laughing Song
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"Laughing Song" is a song by The Residents, recorded in October 1977,[1] and first released as the opening track of their 7" EP Duck Stab! on February 1st 1978 by Ralph Records. Later in the year, it was reissued as the fifth track on the album Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen.
The Cryptic Corporation have noted that although the song's lyrics are "silly, a nursery rhyme", there is also a "sardonic edge" to the laughter heard throughout the song.[2] The song features a guest appearance from the group's friend and frequent collaborator, guitarist Snakefinger.
In 2009, The Residents recorded a new arrangement of the song for the compilation album Ten Little Piggies, and again in 2012 for the 35th Annniversary project D*ck S*ab. In 2021, the group performed the song live in the studio for the streaming TV special Duck Stab! Alive!, as well as on the Dog Stab! mini-tour of California in September of that year. Between January and April 2023, it was performed on the group's 50th Anniversary tour Faceless Forever.
Original sheet music for "Laughing Song" was auctioned in January 2026 as part of the estate of Hardy Fox.
Lyrics
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha He He He He Ho Ho Ho Ho He He He He He He He He Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
An oily ole egg with a red peg leg Thought a porquepine was his daughter. But he soon found out That she had the gout, And she often would wink underwater.
A red red rose saw a big pig pose On the edge of a silver dollar. The end of his tail Was a long necked nail. In place of his face was a scholar.[3]
List of releases
- Duck Stab! EP (1978) [Version 1]
- Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (1978) [Version 1]
- Please Do Not Steal It!/Nibbles (1979) [Version 1]
- In Memoriam Torso (1994) [Version 1]
- Ten Little Piggies (2009) [Version 2]
- D*ck S*ab - 35th Anniversary (2012) [Version 2] [Version 3]
- 80 Aching Orphans (2017)[1]
- Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen pREServed CD edition (2018) [Version 1] [Version 3]
- Duck Stab! Alive! (2021) [Version 4]
List of versions
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Grove Street studio recording, October 1977 (2:14)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Studio demo recording, 2009 (2:23)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Studio demo recording, 2012 (1:19)
- ↑ 25th Street Recording live studio recording, May 2021 (medley with "Bach Is Dead")
External links and references
- Duck Stab! at The Residents Historical
- Sale 854: The Bob Jump Collection of Bill Graham Rock Posters and The Residents Collection of Hardy Fox at PBA Galleries
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nibbles liner notes, 1979
- ↑ Stephen Ronan and St. Jude, "Meet The Residents? Those Cryptic Guys at the Corporation", Mondo 2000 no. 5, 1992
- ↑ Ima Buddy, Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS, 1992
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Duck Stab! EP (1978) Side A: |
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Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (1978) Side A: Duck Stab! |