Constantinople

"Constantinople" is a track by The Residents, first released on 1978's Duck Stab! EP. It is now one of The Residents' most well-known tracks and is the opening track on the album Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen. 
== History ==
The song was recorded in October of 1977 for inclusion on the Duck Stab! EP. It was later re-released as the opening track to the Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen album.
It was rehearsed during the Assorted Secrets sessions, for inclusion in a planned 10th Anniversary concert which was later abandoned in favor of The Mole Show tour (which did not feature "Constantinople" in the set list). 
As a result, the song was first performed live between 1985 and 1987 as part of The 13th Anniversary Show, where it was re-arranged to be much slower, before suddenly shifting to the song's original speed for the final verse. 
After this, the song was not performed live by the group until the Adobe Disfigured Night show in 1997 (where it featured once again in a much slower arrangement).
In 1990, funk metal band Primus covered "Constantinople" and "Hello Skinny". The growing popularity of Primus led these songs to achieve further recognition. 
"Constantinople" saw its first official studio re-recording as part of The Residents' Icky Flix project in 2000, alongside a newly-produced music video. This version is largely faithful to the original in structure, whilst changing the vocals to a more worried tone, and giving a tribal feeling to the instrumentals. 
The music video featured a computer-generated fat naked man falling from the sky, as well as the head of The Butcher from the Gingerbread Man CD-ROM singing the lyrics, as image cutouts of The Residents interacted around him. This video was uploaded to YouTube in September of 2009 by Radial by The Orchard, and soon attracted over a million viewers. 
The Residents performed "Constantinople" live as part of the corresponding Icky Flix Live tour in 2001, in a version featuring a saxophone solo from Mr. Skull.
In 2010 the song was performed by Randy Rose and Už Jsme Doma at the Moravian Meeting live show, in the song's most faithful live re-construction to date.
As part of the D*ck S*ab project in 2012, "Constantinople" was remixed to be much more melodic and beautiful sounding. 
From 2014 to 2015 The Residents performed a much slower version of the song on the Shadowland tour, until collaborator Eric Drew Feldman asked if they could play something closer to the original, to which the group agreed. For the final leg of the tour in 2016, the group played a faster version similar to the original, featuring Randy Rose on bass-drum. 
In 2018, the song was re-recorded by Phillip Stranger for inclusion on the I Am A Resident! official-fan-cover-remix album. 
A new arrangement of the song was debuted in early 2021 as part of the I Am A Resident! 2021 campaign and a short time later this arrangement was performed live in the studio by the group for the TV special Duck Stab! Alive!, followed by a live on stage version included as the final track in the Dog Stab tour. 
== Lyrics ==
 Here I come, Constantinople
 Here I come, Constantinople
 I am coming, Constantinople
 Here I come
 Here I come, Constantinople
 Here I come, Constantinople
 I am coming, Constantinople
 Here I come
 All the leaves are off of the oak and
 All the sheep have followed the spoken 
 Word, I'm coming, Constantinople
 Here I come
 So I stand out in the open
 All my friends are with you, I hope and
 Pray I'm coming, Constantinople
 Here I come
 Here I come, Constantinople
 Here I come, Constantinople
 I am coming, Constantinople
 Here I come
 Here I come, Constantinople
 Here I come, Constantinople
 I am coming, Constantinople
 Here I come
 I'm coming, I'm coming, Constantinople
 Here I come, Constantinople
 Here I come
 Here I come, I'm coming
 Here I come, it's been a good life, Constantinople, but I'm ready
 I'm ready for you, so here I come
 I can't wait to get there
 I got to get there soon, Constantinople
 I'm coming with my head high
 I'm not coming on my knees
 I want to see you
 I got to be there now so here I come
 I'm wondering one more time
 Constantinople, here I come
 Here I come, Constantinople
 Here I come, Constantinople
 I am coming, Constantinople
 Here I come
 Here I come, Constantinople
 Here I come, Constantinople
 I am coming, Constantinople
 Yeah
== List of releases ==
* Duck Stab! (1978) 1977 Version (2:33)
* Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (1978) 1977 Version (2:33)
* Please Do Not Steal It! (1979) 1977 Version Edit (2:22)
* Assorted Secrets (1984) 1982 Rehearsal Version (2:10)
* Live In The USA! 13th Anniversary Tour - Featuring Snakefinger (1986) 1986 Live 'USA' Version (4:47)
* 13th Anniversary Show - Live In Holland - Featuring Snakefinger (1987) 1986 Live Holland Version (4:40)
* Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses (1997) 1977 Version Edit (2:22)
* 25 Years of Eyeball Excellence (1998) 1977 Version Edit (2:22)
* 13th Anniversary Show - Live In Tokyo - Featuring Snakefinger (1999) 1985 Live Version (2:41)
* Icky Flix (2001) 1977 Version Edit (2:22) 2000 Studio Version (2:25)
* Petting Zoo (2002) 1977 Version Edit (2:22)
* Live! ...On The Outskirts (2002) 2001 Live Version (2:43)
* Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town (2003) 2001 Live Version 1997 Live Version Edit (1:41)
* Adobe Disfigured Night (2009) 1997 Live Version (1:55)
* Icky Flix Live (2009) 2001 Live Version (2:43)
* 13th Anniversary Show - Ritz NY - Jan 16, 1986 (2010) 1986 'Ritz' Live Version (4:38)
* Brava (2010) 2001 'Brava' Live Version (2:36)
* D*ck S*ab (2012) 1997 Live Version (1:55) 2012 Version (2:36)
* The Grove Street Studio (1978-80 Embracing Visibility) (2014) 1977 Version Edit (0:28)
* The 13th Anniversary Show - Cleveland (2014) 1986 'Cleveland' Version (4:50)
* Disfigured Night (2016) 1997 Live Version (1:55)
* 80 Aching Orphans (2017) 1977 Version Edit (2:22)
* I Am A Resident! (2018) 2017 'Phillip Stranger' Version (3:13)
* Moravian Meeting (2020) 2010 Live Version (4:21)
* Icky Flix (2020) 2000 Studio Version (2:25)
*Duck Stab! Alive! (2021) 2021 live-in-the-studio version (3:49)
*LS1 - Sketches For A Live Show (2022) 1982 instrumental studio sketch (2:30)
=== List of versions ===
Category:Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen
Category:Songs
Category:Please Do Not Steal It!
Category:Icky Flix
Category:Duck Stab!
Category:Assorted Secrets
Category:LS1 - Sketches For A Live Show
Category:Duck Stab! Alive!
Category:Moravian Meeting
Category:The 13th Anniversary Show
Category:Disfigured Night
Category:80 Aching Orphans
Category:Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses
Category:Twenty-Five Years of Eyeball Excellence
Category:Petting Zoo
Category:Live! ...On The Outskirts
Category:50th Anniversary secret show
Category:Dog Stab!
Category:Faceless Forever
Category:Primus