The Sleeper

"The Sleeper" is a track recorded by The Residents in 1979, which was first released on their 1983 outtakes compilation Residue of The Residents.
Originating from the group's legendary MOP tapes, "The Sleeper" was inspired by "Magic and Ecstacy" by Ennio Morricone, which was also recorded by the group with Snakefinger in the same year, for his debut solo album Chewing Hides The Sound.
== History ==
"The Sleeper" was recorded by The Residents around the same time as "The Replacement" suite for the compilation album Subterranean Modern in 1979. Titled "Morricone" on the original master tapes,"...the main instrumental track is called 'Morricone' in the archive." - Richard Anderson, comment in The Residents' unofficial Facebook group, January 23rd 2022 the melody was inspired by the Ennio Morricone composition "Magic and Ecstacy", from the score to the 1977 horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic, which Snakefinger covered on his Chewing Hides The Sound album, co-produced by The Residents. 
"The Sleeper" is the second Residents track which is known to have been derived from the score of an Exorcist film - the first being "Edweena" from their 1978 album Not Available, the main theme of which is loosely derived from Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells". 
It is possible that the track originated as a demo for Snakefinger's first album, Chewing Hides The Sound, which was produced by The Residents in the same year and which features a cover of "Magic and Ecstacy". 
"The Sleeper" was placed on one of the group's MOP tapes (archival reels compiling tracks which did not fit onto any current conceptual albums), until its debut release in 1984 on the compilation album Residue of The Residents.
===Alternate versions===
The song originally featured a brief instrumental introduction, which was cut for the song's original release on the 1982 compilation Residue of The Residents. The full original version of the track (with the introduction included) was released for the first time in 2018 on the pREServed edition of Eskimo. 
For the 2005 retrospective performance The Way We Were, The Residents performed a mash-up of "The Sleeper" with the Snakefinger song "Golden Goat", possibly hinting at the song's connections to the Chewing Hides The Sound sessions. A remix of the track was released on The Residents' official MySpace page in 2007. 
The group's long-time composer Charles Bobuck recorded a new version of "The Sleeper" in 2016, for the cover album Bobuck Plays The Residents.
==Lyrics==
 She said she was
 Keeping a friend
 Who was sleeping
 Why, I said why
 Is he asleep
 Is it sickness, or just something to do?
 He is asleep
 Why, I said why?
 He is asleep
 Why, I said, why?
 Meow
 She said
 Meow
 She said
 Meow
 She said
 Meow
 She said
 Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow
 Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow
 Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow
 Oh, I said, oh
 Oh, I said, oh
 Oh, I said, oh
 I said, oh
 I said, oh
 I said, oh
 I...
== List of releases ==
* Residue Of The Residents (1983) 1979 Edited Version (2:57)
* Hell! (1986) 1979 Version Edit (2:45)
* Commercial Album + (1988) 
* In Memoriam Torso (1994) 
* The Way We Were (2005) 2005 Live Version (2:45)
* Summer Tunes (2008) 2006 RMX Version (2:28)
* RMX (2009) 
* Later Tonight EP by Charles Bobuck (2016) 2016 Charles Bobuck Version (3;24)
* Bobuck Plays The Residents by Charles Bobuck (2016) 
* Eskimo pREServed edition (2019) 1979 Full Version (3:27)
=== List of versions ===
== See also ==
* Subterranean Modern
* The Replacement
* Ennio Morricone
* "Magic and Ecstacy"
* Chewing Hides The Sound
* Snakefinger
* The Exorcist
* MOP tapes
== External links and references ==
* "The Sleeper" at Genius
Category:Eskimo
Category:Snakefinger‏‎
Category:The Way We Were‏‎
Category:Residue of The Residents
Category:MOP tapes
Category:Songs
Category:Ennio Morricone
Category:The Exorcist
Category:Hell!
Category:Heaven? and Hell!
Category:Bobuck Plays The Residents
Category:Non-album tracks