Amber

"Amber" is the fifth track from The Residents' Commercial Album, released by Ralph Records on October 29th, 1980. It features vocals from Helen Hall (aka "Mud's Sis"), then-wife of The Residents' producer and co-composer Hardy Fox. 
== History ==
As with the other 39 tracks on The Residents' Commercial Album, "Amber" was written to be one minute long, resembling a bizarre radio ad or one-third of a 3-minute pop song. "Amber" was prominently featured in the album's promotion; it was included on both the Buy Or Die 1980½ sampler EP and the Commercial Single. 
The song features a guest appearance from Nessie Lessons, aka Helen Hall (then-wife of The Residents' producer, co-composer and arranger Hardy Fox), who has historically been credited as "Mud's Sis" for her appearances on the Commercial Album. 
The song's first verse is sung by Hall from the perspective of an unnamed woman who views life as "a whirlpool, and it's calling out my name". The following two verses, sung by The Singing Resident, describe the amber color of the autumn leaves and the woman's skin as "the whirlpool pulled her in".
== Later versions ==
Between 1985 and 1987, The Residents performed "Amber" on their 13th Anniversary tour with Snakefinger. This version almost doubles the length of the original by adding an extended outro that features a reprise of the opening lyrics to "Easter Woman" - performed earlier in the medley. In 1992, The Residents recorded "Six Amber Things" - a sort of follow-up to the song combining the lyrics with "Six Things to a Cycle." 
In 2005, The Residents performed the track for the first time in 18 years, with Molly Harvey taking the second and third verses - a gender reversal of the original. Unlike many other live arrangements of Commercial Album songs, this version lasts only a minute, staying true to the original structure.
Cover versions of the song have been featured on the official Klanggalerie released tribute albums The 180 Gs' Commercial Album and Alieno de Bootes' Unconventional Residents II. Popular 1990s indie rock act Dump released a cover of the song in 2019.
== Music video ==
In 2004, animator Doug Carney created a video for "Amber", featured on The Residents' Commercial DVD. Carney's video depicts a shirtless man dancing in a wasteland; he narrowly avoids death by hazardous rocks, but remains optimistic and continues to dance. 
==Lyrics==
=== Commercial Album (1980) ===
 Life is just a situation
 Life is just a game
 Life is just a whirlpool
 And it's calling out my name''
 Amber were the autumn leaves
 And amber was her skin
 Amber was the evening
 When the whirlpool pulled her in
 It was irresistible
 Was what she used to say
 Like the sound of running horses
 Early in the day.Ima Buddy, Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS, 1992
=== The 13th Anniversary Show (1985-1987) ===
 Life is just a situation
 Life is just a game
 Life is just a whirlpool
 And it's calling out her name
 Amber were the autumn leaves
 And amber was her skin
 Amber was the evening
 When the whirlpool pulled her in
 It was irresistible
 Was what she used to say
 Like the sound of running horses
 Early in the day.
 Down
 Feeling down
 I'm down
 Way down
== Credits ==
*Mud's Sis (aka Helen Hall)
* The Residents
==List of releases==
*Commercial Album (1980) 1980 Studio Version (1:00)
*Commercial Single (1980) 
*Heaven? (1986) 
*13th Anniversary Show - Live In Japan (1986) 1985 'Live in Japan' Version (1:41) 
*Live In The USA! 13th Anniversary Tour (1986) 1986 'Live in the USA' version (1:45)
*In Memoriam Torso (1994) 
*UWEB Box Set (1995) 
*Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses (1997) 
*Commercial DVD (2004) 
*The Way We Were (2005) 2005 'The Way We Were' version (1:17)
*13th Anniversary Show - Ritz NY - Jan 16, 1986 (2010) 1986 'Ritz NY' version (1:17)
*13th Anniversary Show - Cleveland (2014) 1986 'Cleveland' version (1:20)
*80 Aching Orphans (2017) 
*Loss Of The Lizard Lady (2018) 
*Commercial Album pREServed (2019) 
=== List of versions ===
==See also==
*Nessie Lessons
*"Six Amber Things"
*The 13th Anniversary Show
*The Way We Were
==External links and references==
*Commercial Album at The Residents Historical
*Commercial DVD at The Residents Historical
Category:Collaborations
Category:Songs‏‎
Category:The Commercial Album
Category:Nessie Lessons
Category:Heaven?
Category:Heaven? and Hell!