Die! Die! Die! (song)

## Die! Die! Die!

7" single included with the 2019 box set The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog

### Artist

* Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels
* The Residents

### Album

* *In Between Dreams Live*
* *The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog*
* *Metal, Meat & Bone - The Songs of Dyin' Dog*

### Live show

* In Between Dreams
* Dog Stab!
* Faceless Forever

### Recorded

* 1975 (Dyin' Dog)
* 2018-2020 (The Residents)

### Released

* June 21st 2019 (*In Between Dreams Live*)
* September 28th 2019 (Dyin' Dog)
* May 15th 2020 (The Residents)

### Studio

* Little Studios, Shreveport, Louisiana (Dyin' Dog)
* Cole Street studio, San Francisco, California (The Residents)

### Length

* 4:03 (Dyin' Dog)
* 4:05 (The Residents)

### Label

Psychofon Records, Cherry Red Records, MVD Audio, New Ralph Too

### Producer

The Residents and Eric Drew Feldman

**"Die! Die! Die!"** (sometimes stylized in all caps as **"DIE! DIE! DIE!"**) is a song composed by Louisiana blues musician Alvin "Dyin' Dog" Snow, best known for its cover version by The Residents, which they premiered on their In Between Dreams tour in 2017; a recording of the song was released on their live album *In Between Dreams Live* in June 2019.

A long-lost demo of the song recorded by Snow and his band in 1975 was first released as part of the limited edition 7" vinyl box set, *The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog*, in September 2019.

In May 2020, The Residents' version of the song, featuring guest vocals from Black Francis of the Pixies, was released as a single in support of their album *Metal, Meat & Bone - The Songs of Dyin' Dog*, which was released in July. The single was promoted with a music video which parodied then-President Donald Trump. The album and single include both the original Dyin' Dog demo and The Residents' cover.

## History

"Die! Die! Die!" was composed by the mysterious albino African-American blues singer Alvin "Dyin' Dog" Snow, and was first recorded in a demo session by his band Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels in Shreveport in 1975. The sessions would remain unreleased for decades following Snow's disappearance in January 1976.

The Residents, who discovered the Dyin' Dog demos through a mutual acquaintance, the Mongrels' guitarist Roland Sheehan, premiered their version of the song on their In Between Dreams live tour in 2017. A recording of the song from an April 2018 performance was released on the live album *In Between Dreams Live* in June 2019; this was the first release of the song.

The original Dyin' Dog demo (including "Die! Die! Die!") was first released by Psychofon Records in September 2019 as part of the limited edition 7" vinyl box set *The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog*. The Residents' studio version, featuring guest vocals from Pixies frontman Black Francis, was released as a single by Psychofon Records in May 2020, before being included (alongside the 1975 demo) on the album *Metal, Meat & Bone* in July 2020.

In 2021, it was one of three songs included in The Residents' virtual reality experience *Inside a Circle of Dreams*, filmed with a 360º stereoscopic camera at the group's appearance at the Litquake festival in San Francisco in October 2018.

In September 2021, The Residents performed the song live as part of the *Metal, Meat & Bone* set in their Dog Stab! shows in California; it was later featured in the set list of their 50th Anniversary tour Faceless Forever, which toured America and Europe from January to April 2020.

## Music videos

On May 16th 2020, The Residents released an animated music video for their version of "Die! Die! Die!" on YouTube, in support of the release of their single and upcoming album.

The video directly references the COVID-19 pandemic which had been causing worldwide disruption for several weeks at the time of the video's release, and prominently features the face of Donald Trump, then the President of the United States, noted at the time for his inaction in the face of the quickly spreading global pandemic.

In June 2020, The Residents announced a collaborative project, encouraging fans to submit videos of themselves dancing to the song. The fan videos were edited by video artist John Sanborn, and the resulting clip, "Dance! Dance! Dance!", was released on YouTube on July 18th.

## Lyrics

### Original version (1975)

```
Die, die, die
Rotting in the rain
Crawlin' in the mud
And lookin' up at me in vain

```

```
Die, die, die
I want to hear you moan
Shakin' in the shadows
Lyin' all alone

```

```
I want you to die, die like a stranger
I want you to die, die like a rat
I wanna spit on your tombstone
And then I'm gonna laugh

```

```
I want you underneath me
I want you in the ground
I want you to die, die, die
Fucking die!

```

```
Die, die, die
Drownin' in regret
Beggin' on me, forgiveness
That you will never get
I want you to die

```

```
I want you to die, die like a stranger
I want you to die, die like a rat
I want to see you suffer and die in agony
But before you slip away
Please remember me
I want you to die

```

### The Residents' version (2020)

```
Die, die, die
Rotting in the rain
Crawlin' in the mud
And lookin' up at me in vain

```

```
Die, die, die
I want to hear you moan
Shakin' in the shadows
Lyin' all alone

```

```
I want you to die, die like a stranger
I want you to die, die like a rat
I wanna spit on your tombstone
And then, I'll laugh

```

```
I want you underneath me
I want you in the ground
I want you to die, die, die
Fuckin' die!

```

```
Die, die, die
Drowning in regret
Begging on me for forgiveness
That you will never get
I want you to die

```

```
I want you to die, die like a stranger
I want you to die, die like a rat
I want to see you suffer and die in agony
But before you slip away
May you remember me
I want you to die

```

## Personnel

### Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels version (1975)

* Alvin "Dyin' Dog" Snow - vocals, arrangement
* Roland Sheehan - guitar, arrangement

### The Residents version (2020)

* The Residents - performance, arrangement, production
* Black Francis - vocals
* Nolan Cook - guitar
* Eric Drew Feldman - production

## List of releases

* *In Between Dreams Live* (2019)
* *The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog* (2019)
* "Die! Die! Die!" (2020)
* *Metal, Meat & Bone - The Songs of Dyin' Dog* (2020)
* *In Between Dreams Live in San Francisco* (2020)
* *Inside a Circle of Dreams* (2021)

### List of versions

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 In Between Dreams live recording, The Chapel, San Francisco, California, April 2018 (4:08)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dyin' Dog and the Mongrels studio recording, Little Studios, Shreveport, Louisiana, 1975 (4:03)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cole Street studio recording, 2018-2020 (4:05)
4. ↑ The Brick-Eaters live recording, Swedish American Hall, San Francisco, California, October 16th 2018

## See also

* Alvin "Dyin' Dog" Snow
* Roland Sheehan
* In Between Dreams
* The Brick-Eaters performances
* Dog Stab!
* Faceless Forever

## External links and references

* *Metal, Meat & Bone* at The Residents Historical
* *The Residents Present Alvin Snow, aka Dyin' Dog* at Discogs
* *Metal, Meat & Bone* at Discogs
* "Die! Die! Die!" at Genius

1. ↑ "DANCE! DANCE! DANCE! (or DIE! DIE! DIE!)", The Residents' News Machine, June 22nd 2020
2. ↑ "DIE! DIE! DIE! fan video premiere", The Residents' News Machine, July 17th 2020