Migration

Mark of the Mole Side A label art, 1981

**"Migration"** is a suite from The Residents' 1981 album *Mark of the Mole* - the first entry in their unfinished Mole Trilogy.

The suite contains three parts, "March To The Sea", "The Observer" and "Hole-Workers' New Hymn" and closes the first side of the album (itself subtitled "Hole-Workers at the Mercy of Nature"). The full suite was performed live on their 1982-1983 debut tour The Mole Show.

## History

"Migration" is a suite in three parts. It is told mostly from the perspective of the Moles, as they escape their ravaged homes in the tunnels following a great storm, heading towards the sea in search of another land.

As the Moles march to the sea, the perspective changes to that of an "Observer"; a tired old man who warns that the Moles' entry into a new land won't lead to any good.

The suite ends with a hymn sung by the Moles as they lament their lost home; this piece was later expanded to become the pre-recorded closing music for The Mole Show live tour, "The New Hymn (Recessional)", released in 1982 on the EP *Intermission.* The melody is again reprised in "Marching To The We", a song recorded in the late 1980s which may or may not have been intended for the unreleased *Part Three of The Mole Trilogy*.

## The suite

* March To The Sea
* The Observer
* Hole-Workers' New Hymn

## Synopsis

Too late, all was destroyed. The storm passed, but as the hole-workers remembered Innisfree and the other chubs who had visited them, there was little choice but to pack their few belongings and march toward the sea in hopes that life could begin anew.

The long line of workers began the excruciating trip across the pit, trudging on the surface of a planet which few had ever before seen. In the distance an old man watched and knew that the foretold time had come at last.

## Lyrics

### March To The Sea

```
**The Moles****:**
We are rising as the sun retreats into the trees;
We're thinking of our destination as we start to leave;
We're marching to the sea, marching to the sea.

```

```
Smiling from the gentle touches of the evening breeze;
No one is unhappy now and no one is fatigued;
We're marching to the sea, marching to the sea.

```

### The Observer

```
**The Observer****:**
I'm a tired old man in a tired old land
Watching shadows moving across the sand;
Now they move at night and I understand
That they cannot see more than they can stand.

```

```
I have been deceived, I have murdered and
I have seen the soul of an unborn lamb;
It can burn a hole in a guilty man,
But it cannot stand in a distant land.

```

### Hole-Workers' New Hymn

```
**The Moles****:**
We have left our lives, we have left our land,
We have left behind all we understand,
Now we must cry out, yes we must demand --

```

```
Let my children live in a land that's low,
Where the holes are deeper than light can go;
Let them have not pride but instead a soul
That can see the shame of the hands that glow.

```

## List of releases

* *Mark of the Mole* (1981)
* *Mole Show* (1983)
	+ 1982 Live Version
* *Mole Show: Live In Holland* (1989)
	+ 1983 Live Version
* *In Memoriam Torso* (1994)
* *80 Aching Orphans* (2017)
* *Mole Box* (2019)

## See also

* "The New Hymn (Recessional)"
* The Observer (character)
* "Tired Old Man"

## External links and references

* *Mark of the Mole* at The Residents Historical

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ima Buddy, *Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS*, 1992

**Side A:** **Hole-Workers at the Mercy of Nature**
"Voices of the Air" · "The Ultimate Disaster" · "**Migration**"
**Side B:** **Hole-Workers vs. Man and Machine**
"Another Land" · "The New Machine" · "Final Confrontation"
**Personnel**
The Residents · Nessie Lessons · Penn Jillette
**Related works**
The Mole Trilogy (*The Tunes of Two Cities* · Part Three · *The Big Bubble*) · The Mole Show (*Live At The Roxy* · *Mole Show* VHS · *Live In Holland* · *Mole Bag*) · *Intermission* · *Mark of the Mole* video game (Greg Easter) · *Assorted Secrets* (Res Dance '82) · *Mark of the Mole* novel (T.D. Wade) · "Mole Suite" · *Mole Box*
**Related articles**
Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Porno Graphics · Moles · Chubs

**Set list**
"Voices of the Air" · "The Secret Seed" · "The Ultimate Disaster" · "God of Darkness" · "**Migration**""Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)" · "Another Land" · "The New Machine" · "Song of the Wild" · "Final Confrontation" · "Satisfaction" · "Happy Home"
**Dates**
***America (October - April 1982)***
Santa Monica, April 10th 1982 · San Francisco, October 26th 1982 · San Francisco, October 27th 1982 · Los Angeles, October 29th 1982 · Los Angeles, October 30th 1982 · Pasadena, October 31st 1982
***Europe (May - July 1983)***
Hannover, May 23rd 1983 · Vienna, May 25th 1983 · Vienna, May 26th 1983 · Munich, May 27th 1983 · Frankfurt, May 28th 1983 · Dusseldorf, May 29th 1983 · Berlin, May 30th 1983 · Copenhagen, June 1st 1983 · Hamburg, June 2nd 1983 · Bochum, June 3rd 1983 · Utrecht, June 4th 1983 · Brussels, June 5th 1983 · Utrecht, June 6th 1983 · Paris, June 7th 1983 · Lyon, June 8th 1983 · Bologna, June 12th 1983 · Milan, June 13th 1983 · Firenze, June 14th 1983 · Barcelona, June 17th 1983 · Valencia, June 18th 1983 · Madrid, June 19th 1983 · Madrid, June 20th 1983 · Madrid, June 21st 1983 · Bordeaux, June 23rd 1983 · Poitiers, June 24th 1983 · Birmingham, June 27th 1983 · London, June 28th 1983 · Liverpool, June 29th 1983 · Edinburgh, June 30th 1983 · Leicester, May 28th 1983
***The Uncle Sam Mole Show***
Washington, D.C., October 7th 1983
**Personnel**
The Residents · Penn Jillette · Kathleen French · Carol LeMaitre · Sarah McLennan · Chris Van Ralte · Nessie Lessons · Scott Fraser · Philip Perkins · Dan Gillham · Laurence Campling · Raoul N.D Seimbote · Eric Knorr · Leigh Barbier · Sheenah Spece · Paul Young · Mara Mikialian · Bill Gerber · Evan Medow · Tom Timony · Diane Flynn · Sally Lewis
**Related releases**
*Mark of the Mole* · *The Tunes of Two Cities* · *Intermission* EP · *Mole Show (Live at the Roxy)* · *Mole Show* VHS · *Assorted Secrets* · *PAL TV LP* · *Set Designs from The Mole Show* portfolio · *Mole Show: Live In Holland* · *Mole Show* DVD bag set · *Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed* · *Mole Dance 82*

**Cast of Characters**
Mohelmot · Chubs (Innisfree · The Scientist) · The ObserverDarkness · The Evil DisposerCross (Zinkenites · Kula Bocca · The Big Bubble · Frankie DuVall)
**Part One: *Mark of the Mole* (1981)**
(video game · novel)
**Side A: Hole-Workers at the Mercy of Nature**
"Voices of the Air" · "The Ultimate Disaster" · "**Migration**"
**Side B: Hole-Workers vs. Man and Machine**
"Another Land" · "The New Machine" · "Final Confrontation"
**Part Two: *The Tunes of Two Cities* (1982)**
(*The Comix of Two Cities*)
**Side A:** "Serenade For Missy" · "A Maze Of Jigsaws" · "Mousetrap" · "God Of Darkness" · "Smack Your Lips (Clap Your Teeth)" · "Praise For The Curse"
**Side B:** "The Secret Seed" · "Smokebeams" · "Mourning The Undead" · "Song Of The Wild" · "The Evil Disposer" · "Happy Home (Excerpt From Act II of "Innisfree")"
***Intermission: Extraneous Music From The Residents' Mole Show* (1982)**
**Side A:** "Lights Out (Prelude)" · "Shorty's Lament (Intermission)"
**Side B:** "The Moles Are Coming (Intermission)" · "Would We Be Alive? (Intermission)" · "The New Hymn (Recessional)"
**The Mole Show (1982-1983)**(*Mole Dance 82* · *Live At The Roxy* · *La Edad de Oro* · Uncle Sam Mole Show · VHS · *Live In Holland* · DVD bag set)
**Part Three: ???**
"Now It Is Too Late" · "Going Nowhere" · "Tired Old Man" · "Marching To The We" · *Mole Suite*
**Part Four: *The Big Bubble* (1985)**(fictional band · Black Shroud Records)
**Side A:** "Sorry" · "Hop A Little" · "Go Where Ya Wanna Go" · "Gotta Gotta Get" · "Cry For The Fire"
**Side B:** "Die-Stay-Go" · "Vinegar" · "Firefly" · "The Big Bubble" · "Fear for the Future" · "Kula Bocca Says So"
**Part Five: ???**
**Part Six: ???**
**Related works**
"Open Up" · "Anvil Forest" · The 10th Anniversary Show (*Assorted Secrets*) · *PAL TV LP* · The 13th Anniversary Show · *Mole Box: The Complete Mole Trilogy pREServed* ("From MOM1" · "Untitled" · "Jingle Bell" · "Another Another Land")
**Related articles**
Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Minna St. studio · Porno Graphics · Penn Jillette · Nessie Lessons · Snakefinger · Matt Howarth · Greg Easter · T.D. Wade