The Scarecrow

The Scarecrow is a bonus track included on digital and CD versions of The Residents' 42nd studio album, Intruders. The song is placed at track 3, between Voodoo Doll and Frank's Lament. The lyrics are vague and the instrumentation is menacing; with its meaning fleshed out in a 192-word short story by The Residents included in the CD liner notes and website.
==Background==
Although not apparent from listening to the song by itself, the song's 'story' tells us of a man who has the disturbing experience of seeing a scarecrow dressed as his recently deceased idol, James Brown. But the figure is not dressed in any of Brown's iconic outfits. It's instead dressed how Brown appeared in his dishevelled 2004 mug-shot; when he was arrested for domestic violence. His car radio plays the hits of James Brown in memorial, but the scarecrow is covered in crows, disrespecting its duty. The song makes use of heavy horn samples; brass instruments being a mainstay off Brown's work.
The Residents are fans of James Brown and have paid tribute to him, most notably on George & James and 'This Is A Man's, Man's, Man's World.'
Although the song has never been performed live, The Residents performed Man's World when touring to promote the album in early 2019, although the song had been a fixture of their setlist since 2017. In October 2019, The Residents used the song as part of the soundtrack for their The Residents Present Dyin' Dog documentary short.
==Lyrics==
 The Scarecrow is
 The Scarecrow is
 The Scarecrow is
 Covered with crows
 And suspicion
==Story==
As with many of their later albums, Intruders features short stories designed to be read with the track. Since The Scarecrow is mainly instrumental, this story is exceptionally detailed.It's shortly after Christmas, 2006, and a middle-aged black man is driving his car along a road edging the remnants of a long harvested corn field. The radio, tuned to an oldies station, is playing James Brown's "Say It Loud, I'm Black and Proud," a song that defined the man's youth. Brown had died a few days earlier, and the station has been playing his music nonstop ever since.
Singing along, the man glances, to his right as a static, human-like figure catches his eye. Normally he would drive past, but two things immediately strike him as strange, so he pauses for a better look. Curiously, the scarecrow is wearing a robe - a conspicuous green and blue plaid bathrobe. And as he stops to stare, an image, burned into the man's brain, suddenly reappears. The picture, a mugshot of The Godfather of Soul, reveals a sadly disheveled James Brown, reeking of pathos, and wearing what appears to be the exact same robe. Stunned, the man can't tear his eyes away from this seeming effigy, abandoned, alone and eerily reminiscent of the man he once worshipped.
The scarecrow is also covered with crows.
===Interpretations===
Due to the song's ambiguous use of broad themes, many fans have interpreted the story in different ways. Some say the story represents the duality between an artist's public output and their problematic private selves. James Brown is a hero to many, and his music is important, especially after his death; still, his intruder, represented here as an old and tattered scarecrow, is a complicated figure who was arrested multiple times on accounts of domestic abuse. The Scarecrow is described as being 'Abandoned, alone and eerily reminiscent of the man he once worshipped.'
A common theme of The Residents' work is scrutinisation of the public persona, and the story presented here is a part of that, contrasting the public persona of James Brown with the actual man. The photo of Brown mentioned in the story highlights this, with the cluttered look of a man displaced replacing the usual glory of his usual glamour shots.
The story could also be interpreted as being about growing past old pop culture idols. Within the story, our protagonist is specifically listening to an 'Oldies station' to hear Brown's music. The titular scarecrow itself is old, in disrepair, and no longer functional to scare away crows. The story is also very specifically set in the days immediately following Brown's death; the fact of his death still present in the protagonists' mind. 
It also reiterates that our protagonist's interest in Brown itself is a thing of the past, describing Say It Loud, I'm Black & I'm Proud, as 'a song that defined the man's youth,' and Brown as 'the man he once worshipped.' 
The choice to use the song Say It Loud, I'm Black & I'm Proud exists to point out that Brown isn't just another problematic and old celebrity, but was one who, at least at one point, had importance in black culture. Race is a significant element in the story, with the protagonist specifically being a black man. The concept of a scarecrow built in effigy to an important black man is one that is deeply troubling; the imagery almost evocative of a public lynching. 
The 'intruder', in this interpretation, is the way Brown will be remembered by those in the age range for him to be important, vs the way that the new generation will see him. Old, problematic, and not nearly as important as he once was; a disused scarecrow.
==Appearances==
*Intruders (Extended CD edition) (2018)
==Credits==
*Written, arranged and performed by The Residents
*With special guests Eric Drew Feldman, Nolan Cook, Carla Fabrizio, Sivan Lioncub, Peter Whitehead and Laurie Hall
*Produced by Eric Drew Feldman and The Residents
*Mixed by Gabriel Shepard and Eric Drew Feldman
*Mastered by Mark Chalecki at Little Red Book Mastering
==See Also==
*James Brown
*Intruders
*The Residents Present Dyin' Dog
Category:Songs
Category:Intruders
Category:James Brown
Category:Bonus Tracks
Category:Eric Drew Feldman
Category:Nolan Cook