Ups and Downs
"Ups and Downs" is a song by The Residents, the twenty-first track (and first Side B track) on the Commercial Album, released on October 29th 1980 by Ralph Records. It features vocals by The Residents' frequent collaborator Snakefinger. Like the other songs on the Commercial Album, "Ups and Downs" is exactly one minute long; an earlier three-minute version of the song (with two additional verses and vocals by The Singing Resident) was later released on the outtakes compilation Residue of The Residents in 1983. A seeming attempt at abbreviating this original extended version down to one minute is titled "Elevator Lady" and featured on the pREServed edition of the Commercial Album.
Despite longstanding rumors of a number of other "full-length" versions of Commercial Album songs, "Ups and Downs" remains the only song from that album to have an earlier extended version surface in the decades since its release.
Music video
A music video for the song was created by French animator Cédric Mercier for the Commercial DVD in 2004.
Lyrics
Commercial Album version
She was opening up an elevator on a rainy day; Sitting on a little stool and looking far away.
I asked if she would like to take me to another floor; She laughed and said she probably would and then she closed the door.[1]
Residue version
She was opening up an elevator on a rainy day; Sitting on a little stool and looking far away. She said she often went to sleep and dreamed about a prince; The prince was sad and lonely and he seldom made much sense.
Once he turned and stared at her and then removed his coat; She said that he was much too thin and then I cleared my throat; I asked if she would like to take me to another floor; She laughed and said she probably would and then she closed the door.[1]
List of releases
- Commercial Album (1980) [Version 1]
- Residue of The Residents (1983) [Version 2]
- Heaven? (1986) [Version 2]
- Commercial DVD (2004) [Version 3]
- Commercial Album pREServed (2019) [Version 1] [Version 4] [Version 2] [Version 5] (2023 LP only)
- Commercial Book bonus disc (2024) [Version 6]
List of versions
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Grove Street studio recording, late 1979 - album version (1:00)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Grove Street studio recording, c.1979 - original version (3:06)
- ↑ Animated short by Cédric Mercier, 2004
- ↑ Abbreviated original version, titled "Elevator Lady"
- ↑ 2021 RDX mix, part of "COMS 1-3 RDX Suite (pt.2)" (at 16:40)
- ↑ Radio ad (1:00)
See also
Buy or Die!
Listen online
- "Ups and Downs" (Commercial Album version) on Spotify
- "Ups and Downs" (Commercial Album version) on Apple Music
- "Ups and Downs" (Residue version) on Spotify
- "Ups and Downs" (Residue version) on Apple Music
External links and references
- Commercial Album at The Residents Historical
- Residue of The Residents at The Residents Historical
- Commercial DVD at The Residents Historical
- Commercial Album at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
- Residue of The Residents at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
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Residue of The Residents (1983) Side A |