Happy Home

## Happy Home (Excerpt From Act II Of ”Innisfree”)

The Tunes of Two Cities Side B label art (showing the shortened subtitle "From Innisfree")

### Studio

Grove Street studio, San Francisco, California

### Producer

The Residents

**"Happy Home"** (subtitled**"(Excerpt From Act II of ”Innisfree”)"** or simply **"From Innisfree"**) is a song by The Residents, released as the closing track of the album *The Tunes of Two Cities* by Ralph Records on March 6th 1982.

The melody and lyrics of the song (inspired by Stan Kenton's "Machito") are featured as a recurring motif throughout the group's Mole Trilogy; it is first heard in "Voices of the Air", the opening track on the first album in the series, *Mark of the Mole*.

The song was the set-closer of the group's debut live tour The Mole Show from 1982 to 1983. The studio recording and Mole Show performances all feature the group's friend and collaborator Nessie Lessons on lead vocals.

## History

"Happy Home" was composed by The Residents in 1981, with its lyrics and melody first appearing as part of "Voices of the Air", the opening track to *Mark of the Mole*, the first album in the group's unfinished Mole Trilogy. In 1982, the stand-alone song was recorded and released by the group, as the closing track to *The Tunes of Two Cities*, the second album (of a planned six) in the trilogy.

In the fictional context of the Mole Trilogy, "Happy Home" is an excerpt from a popular Chub musical, *Innisfree*, about the life of a Chub explorer of the same name, who discovered the Mohelmot (or "Moles") before mysteriously disappearing. The fictional musical (focused on Moles but composed by Chubs for a Chub audience) was later described as being analogous to the musical *Porgy & Bess*, by noted Residents influence George Gershwin.

Like all Chub songs on *The Tunes of Two Cities*, "Happy Home" features a melody derived from a 1940s big band jazz number - in this instance, Stan Kenton's 1947 composition "Machito".

### Later versions

The Residents made several rehearsal recordings of "Happy Home" in 1982 in preparation for their 1982-1983 Mole Show tour, which ultimately featured the song as the closing number of the show (featuring guest vocalist Nessie Lessons, long-time friend of The Residents and then wife of their producer Hardy Fox).

The Residents recorded an instrumental variation of "Happy Home" around 1990 when briefly revisiting themes from the trilogy. No completed work would result from these sessions, however segments would eventually see release on the Robot Selling Device EP *Mole Suite* in 2011.

The Residents revisited "Happy Home" again in 1992, using the lyrics in "Mr. Lonely" on their 20th anniversary mash-up album *Our Finest Flowers*.

## Lyrics

```
People must be left alone
Unless they have a happy home
People must be left alone
Unless they have a happy home

```

## Personnel

* The Residents: synthesizers
* Nessie Lessons: vocals

## List of releases

* *The Tunes Of Two Cities* (1982)
* *Mole Show* (1983)
* *Assorted Secrets* (1984)
* *Ralph Before '84* (1984)
* *PAL TV LP* (1985)
* *Heaven?* (1986)
* *Mole Show: Live In Holland* (1989)
* *Liver Music* (1990)
* *Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated Guide To The Residents* (1993)
* *Assorted Secrets* CD reissue (2000)
* *Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town* (2003)
* *The Tunes of Two Cities / The Big Bubble* CD reissue (2005)
* *Mole Suite* (2011)
* *Heaven?* / *Hell!* CD reissue (2012)
* *Mole Box* (2019)
* *Mole Dance 82* (2021)

## List of versions

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Grove Street studio recording, October 1980 - January 1982 (4:41)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mole Show live recording, Roxy Theater, Los Angeles, California, October 20th 1982 (3:12)
3. ↑ Grove Street studio rehearsal, January - March 1982 (take #1, 4:32)
4. ↑ Mole Show live recording, October 1982 - July 1983 (2:36)
5. ↑ Mole Show live recording, Muziekcentrum, Utrecht, Holland, June 4th 1983 (4:18)
6. ↑ Uncle Sam Mole Show live recording, New Music America Festival, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., October 7th 1983 ("Happy Home/Star Spangled Banner" edit, 2:10)
7. ↑ Mole Show live recording, Muziekcentrum, Utrecht, Holland, June 4th 1983 (edit, 0:24)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Grove Street studio rehearsal, January - March 1982 (take #2, 2:14)
9. ↑ *Mole Suite* studio demo recording, ca. 1988 - 1992 (0:51)
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Grove Street "Mole Dance 82" studio rehearsal, March - April 1982 (3:36)
11. ↑ Uncle Sam Mole Show live recording, New Music America Festival, National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., October 7th 1983 (4:12)

## See also

* *Mark of the Mole*
* *The Tunes of Two Cities*
* "Voices of the Air"
* Innisfree
* The Mole Show
* The Mole Trilogy
* Nessie Lessons

## External links and references

* *The Tunes of Two Cities* at The Residents Historical
* *The Tunes of Two Cities* at Discogs
* *Mole Box* at Discogs

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 tzoq, "The Tunes of Two Cities", RZWeb, ca. 1995-1997 (archived via archive.org)
2. ↑ Ima Buddy, *Ima Buddy's Totally Impartial Companion to Uncle Willie's Highly Opinionated BIG MAMAS*, 1992
3. ↑ Jim Knipfel, "Kula Bocca Says: A Reasonably Brief History Of The Mole Trilogy", *Mole Box - The Complete Mole Trilogy* *pREServed* liner notes, 2019

**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