Unchanged
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"Unchanged" is the fourth track from Act 3 of The Residents' 2025 "modern opera" Doctor Dark. The track shows a disillusioned and embittered Mark, not finding any comfort in the religious beliefs encouraged by his stepmother, and instead feeding vengeful fantasies of mass murder.
A demo of this track, recorded in 2022, was previewed on an issue of the Cherry Red Residents newsletter, and later released in full-length form on the Doctor Dark's Demos album, exclusive to streaming services, later in 2025.
The full-length demo had the working title "Still Gun Crazy"; a quite different-sounding instrumental with that same title, also from 2022 and not featured on the final album, was also previewed on the same newsletter issue.
Libretto
Weeks later, Mark's bandages are removed, revealing his post-operative face, which shows little if any perceptible change. His [stepmother] enters, pleading for him to join her at church, but his feeble attempt at singing a hymn only angers her and she stomps out the door.
(Jesus never ever walks away) (Jesus never ever walks away) Jesus loves us with his mercy; He's the Son on rainy days. Jesus loves the lies we tell him when we worship his remains; Jesus loves the hopeless empty repetition when we pray; Jesus loves the sweet deceit that fills our lives with endless pain; Jesus loves the infinitely empty cesspools that we make; Jesus loves the sanctimony that conceals our secret shame; Jesus loves the inspiration that we find in our decay; Jesus loves the lips that lick his broken body when we pray; Jesus loves us when we bray. (NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!)
Enraged, Mark retreats to his room where he retrieves a small arsenal of guns. Retreating into the reverie he once shared with Maggot, the disfigured teenager imagines his dead friend's voice telling him to take his weapons to his stepmother's church and to execute all inside.
Load your sacred shotgun and go into the church, and greet the congregation with a gun but first, wait until they kneel to feel the holy hate inflaming every fiber of this shit charade. Kill them, kill them, you'll kill them all Kill them, kill them, you'll kill them all Your weapon is your Savior; it's begging you to shoot the holy rolling rot right in their Sunday suits. Then you'll take a torch and burn the bastard down, and laugh at all the sheep as...
See also
- Doctor Dark CD edition at Cherry Red Records (UK/EU)
- Doctor Dark vinyl edition at Cherry Red Records (UK/EU)
- Doctor Dark CD edition at MVD Shop (US)
- Doctor Dark vinyl edition at MVD Shop (US)