Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen

"Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" is a composition which has alternately been credited to English musician Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman and Bavarian avant-garde composer N. Senada."It was a... a thing [Snakefinger] wrote called 'Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen'... it's a foreign language, it's not... it's not English." Hardy Fox, VPRO radio interview, 1988Tzoq, "The Mysterious N. Senada", RzWeb (via archive.org) 
It is best known via its 1971 interpretation by Residents, Uninc., featured on their 1971 demo album B.S..
==History==
"Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" is said to have been composed by English guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman around 1971, and performed by Lithman with his collaborator, the Bavarian avant-garde musical theorist and composer N. Senada, at open mic nights around the San Francisco area during that time."Yeah, at the time when, uh, Snakefinger was first in San Mateo with The Residents and The Mysterious N. Senada, he was performing this piece, um... with The Mysterious N. Senada, and then he recorded it later, and then The Residents went back around the time of the wake and added some more instruments to it..." Homer Flynn, VPRO radio interview, 1988
The first known recorded version of this piece features on Residents, Uninc.'s 1971 demo tape B.S., which was released officially for the first time in a limited edition in April 2019.
== Orchestral version==
Following the untimely death of Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman on July 1st 1987, "Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" was given an "orchestral boost" by The Residents, with a horn section being overdubbed onto the original recording. This version was originally intended as intermission music for the group's private performance at the Snakey Wake.Uncle Willie, "Q+A", UWEB Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 2½, June 1990 
The "orchestral" version of "Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" is thought to have only been aired once, as part of a radio special on Dutch radio station VPRO in 1988; despite briefly being considered for release on one of the UWEB fan club compilations in the early 1990s, the master tape was later said by Hardy Fox to have possibly been lost. A recording of this version from the radio special has circulated among fans.
==Lyrics ==
 Der Prune, Der Prune 
 Der Prune is dead
 Lying in his bed
 Der Prune, Der Prune 
 Der Prune is dead
 Now Der Prune is...
==List of releases==
*B.S. (1971, released 2019) San Mateo home recording, August-November 1971 (5:47)
*Philip Charles Lithman AKA Snakefinger 1949 - 1987 (1992)San Mateo home recording, August-November 1971 (edit, 2:30)
* A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big (2019) 
==== List of versions ====
==See also==
*N. Senada
* Snakefinger
* Philip Lithman and N. Senada live appearances, 1971
*A Live Radio Broadcast
*Pollex Christi
*1-10 (With a Touch of 11)
==External links and references==
Category:B.S.
Category:The Delta Nudes
Category:Residents, Uninc.
Category:Songs
Category:Snakefinger
Category:N. Senada