Picnic Boy

"Picnic Boy" is the third track on The Residents' Commercial Album, released by Ralph Records on October 29th 1980. Like all songs on the album, it is one minute long. The song features guest vocals from American new wave singer Lene Lovich, who remained uncredited for her role until 2004. 
The song was performed live for the first (and to date) only time, as an encore following The Residents' first Wormwood show, on Halloween 1998 at the Fillmore in San Francisco, featuring Molly Harvey on vocals. 
Fan-made cover versions of the song by Dr. Fritz Rotwang and The Beaches are featured on the bonus disc of the CD edition of the official 2018 cover album I Am A Resident!. 
== History ==
"Picnic Boy" was first released on The Residents' Commercial Album on October 29th 1980. It was also included on the A-side of the 7" Commercial Single, released in the same year.
It has long been recognized that American vocalist Lene Lovich performed lead vocals on the song, however she was uncredited on all releases of Commercial Album until the 2004 Mute Records CD reissue, in which she was credited as a guest musician on the album, but not as performing on "Picnic Boy" specifically.
== Later versions ==
An extended version of "Picnic Boy" was performed live on October 31st 1998, as the encore to the first Wormwood Live show. This version featured Molly Harvey on lead vocals and was released on the 2022 Wormwood Box. This arrangement is extended, and includes a repeated verse. 
Two fan-made covers of "Picnic Boy" were included on the bonus disc of the official 2018 cover album I Am A Resident!; one by Dr. Fritz Rotwang, and another by The Beaches. 
== Music videos ==
Two "one minute movies" for "Picnic Boy" were produced for the Commercial DVD in 2004. The first, directed by The Residents themselves, features an animatronic toy skeleton singing the lyrics over an image of a fat man in a diaper. During the guitar solo, the man is puppeteered to dance. 
The second video, directed by Eric Nordhauser, features more manipulated images of people, and depicts an anthropomorphic cat living with the titular "picnic boy" in an apartment surrounded by violent children. The cat sends the boy out and drives away, and the boy is stabbed to death by the children.
== Lyrics ==
 She called my friend a picnic boy
 I never could stand that
 Oh she called my friend a picnic boy
 And said he was too fat
 Fat.
 I left her in the early morning
 Looking at the rain
 I found I could not take the pressure
 So I took the trainIma Buddy, Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS, 1992
== List of releases ==
* Commercial Album (1980) 1980 Version (1:00)
* Commercial Single (1980) 1980 Version (1:00)
* In Memoriam Torso (1994) 1980 Version (1:00)
* I Am A Resident! (2018) 2017 'Dr. Fritz Rotwang' Version (1:03) 2017 'Beaches' Version (1:09)
* Wormwood Box: Curious Stories From The Bible pREServed (2022) Wormwood live recording, The Fillmore, San Francisco, California, October 31st 1998 (1:36)
=== List of versions ===
== See also ==
* Commercial Album
*Commercial Single
*Commercial DVD
* Lene Lovich
== External links and references ==
* Commercial Album at The Residents Historical
* Commercial Album at RZWeb (archived via archive.org)
* Commercial Album at Discogs
Category:Commercial Album
Category:I Am A Resident!
Category:One Minute Songs
Category:Songs
Category:Wormwood Live
Category:Faceless Forever