Constantinople

Duck Stab! Side A label art, 1978

"**Constantinople**" is a track by The Residents, first released on 1978's *Duck Stab!* EP. It is now one of The Residents' most well-known tracks and is the opening track on the album *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen*.

## History

The song was recorded in October of 1977 for inclusion on the *Duck Stab!* EP. It was later re-released as the opening track to the *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* album.

It was rehearsed during the *Assorted Secrets* sessions, for inclusion in a planned 10th Anniversary concert which was later abandoned in favor of The Mole Show tour (which did not feature "Constantinople" in the set list).

As a result, the song was first performed live between 1985 and 1987 as part of The 13th Anniversary Show, where it was re-arranged to be much slower, before suddenly shifting to the song's original speed for the final verse.

After this, the song was not performed live by the group until the Adobe Disfigured Night show in 1997 (where it featured once again in a much slower arrangement).

In 1990, funk metal band Primus covered "Constantinople" and "Hello Skinny". The growing popularity of Primus led these songs to achieve further recognition.

"Constantinople" saw its first official studio re-recording as part of The Residents' *Icky Flix* project in 2000, alongside a newly-produced music video. This version is largely faithful to the original in structure, whilst changing the vocals to a more worried tone, and giving a tribal feeling to the instrumentals.

The music video featured a computer-generated fat naked man falling from the sky, as well as the head of The Butcher from the *Gingerbread Man* CD-ROM singing the lyrics, as image cutouts of The Residents interacted around him. This video was uploaded to YouTube in September of 2009 by Radial by The Orchard, and soon attracted over a million viewers.

The Residents performed "Constantinople" live as part of the corresponding Icky Flix Live tour in 2001, in a version featuring a saxophone solo from Mr. Skull.

In 2010 the song was performed by Randy Rose and Už Jsme Doma at the Moravian Meeting live show, in the song's most faithful live re-construction to date.

As part of the *D\*ck S\*ab* project in 2012, "Constantinople" was remixed to be much more melodic and beautiful sounding.

From 2014 to 2015 The Residents performed a much slower version of the song on the Shadowland tour, until collaborator Eric Drew Feldman asked if they could play something closer to the original, to which the group agreed. For the final leg of the tour in 2016, the group played a faster version similar to the original, featuring Randy Rose on bass-drum.

In 2018, the song was re-recorded by Phillip Stranger for inclusion on the I Am A Resident! official-fan-cover-remix album.

A new arrangement of the song was debuted in early 2021 as part of the I Am A Resident! 2021 campaign and a short time later this arrangement was performed live in the studio by the group for the TV special *Duck Stab! Alive!,* followed by a live on stage version included as the final track in the Dog Stab tour.

## Lyrics

```
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come

```

```
All the leaves are off of the oak and
All the sheep have followed the spoken
Word, I'm coming, Constantinople
Here I come
So I stand out in the open
All my friends are with you, I hope and
Pray I'm coming, Constantinople
Here I come

```

```
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come

```

```
I'm coming, I'm coming, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, I'm coming
Here I come, it's been a good life, Constantinople, but I'm ready
I'm ready for you, so here I come
I can't wait to get there
I got to get there soon, Constantinople
I'm coming with my head high
I'm not coming on my knees
I want to see you
I got to be there now so here I come
I'm wondering one more time
Constantinople, here I come

```

```
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Here I come
Here I come, Constantinople
Here I come, Constantinople
I am coming, Constantinople
Yeah

```

## List of releases

* *Duck Stab! (1978)*
* *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen (1978)*
* *Please Do Not Steal It! (1979)*
* *Assorted Secrets (1984)*
* *Live In The USA! 13th Anniversary Tour - Featuring Snakefinger (1986)*
* *13th Anniversary Show - Live In Holland - Featuring Snakefinger (1987)*
* *Our Tired, Our Poor, Our Huddled Masses (1997)*
* *25 Years of Eyeball Excellence (1998)*
* *13th Anniversary Show - Live In Tokyo - Featuring Snakefinger* (1999)
* *Icky Flix (2001)*
* *Petting Zoo* (2002)
* *Live! ...On The Outskirts* *(2002)*
* *Kettles Of Fish On The Outskirts Of Town (2003)*
* *Adobe Disfigured Night* (2009)
* *Icky Flix Live (2009)*
* *13th Anniversary Show - Ritz NY - Jan 16, 1986* (2010)
* *Brava* (2010)
* *D\*ck S\*ab (2012)*
* *The Grove Street Studio (1978-80 Embracing Visibility)* (2014)
* The 13th Anniversary Show - Cleveland (2014)
* Disfigured Night (2016)
* *80 Aching Orphans* (2017)
* *I Am A Resident!* (2018)
* *Moravian Meeting*(2020)
* *Icky Flix*(2020)
* *Duck Stab! Alive!* (2021)
* LS1 - Sketches For A Live Show (2022)

### List of versions

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1977 Version (2:33)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 1977 Version Edit (2:22)
3. ↑ 1982 Rehearsal Version (2:10)
4. ↑ 1986 Live 'USA' Version (4:47)
5. ↑ 1986 Live Holland Version (4:40)
6. ↑ 1985 Live Version (2:41)
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 2000 Studio Version (2:25)
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 2001 Live Version (2:43) Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name ":2" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name ":2" defined multiple times with different content
9. ↑ 1997 Live Version Edit (1:41)
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 1997 Live Version (1:55)
11. ↑ 1986 'Ritz' Live Version (4:38)
12. ↑ 2001 'Brava' Live Version (2:36)
13. ↑ 2012 Version (2:36)
14. ↑ 1977 Version Edit (0:28)
15. ↑ 1986 'Cleveland' Version (4:50)
16. ↑ 2017 'Phillip Stranger' Version (3:13)
17. ↑ 2010 Live Version (4:21)
18. ↑ 2021 live-in-the-studio version (3:49)
19. ↑ 1982 instrumental studio sketch (2:30)

**Side A:**
"Laughing Song" · "Blue Rosebuds" · "**Constantinople**"
**Side B:**
"The Booker Tease" · "Sinister Exaggerator · "Bach Is Dead" · "Elvis And His Boss"
**Personnel**
The Residents · Snakefinger
**Related works**
*Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen* · *Duck Stab!* film · *D\*ck S\*ab - 35th Anniversary* · Dog Stab! · *Duck Stab Alive!* · *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen Notebook*
**Related articles**
Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Pore No Graphics · Graeme Whifler

**Side A:** **Duck Stab!**
"**Constantinople**" · "Sinister Exaggerator" · "The Booker Tease" · "Blue Rosebuds" · "Laughing Song" · "Bach Is Dead" · "Elvis And His Boss"
**Side B:** **Buster & Glen**
"Lizard Lady" · "Semolina" · "Birthday Boy" · "Weight-Lifting Lulu" · "Krafty Cheese" · "Hello Skinny" · "The Electrocutioner"
**Personnel**
The Residents · Snakefinger · Ruby
**Related works**
*Duck Stab!* EP · "Soulful Sax" · "Ow Boutthat" · "When Johnny Comes Marching" · "Unlisted" · "Santa Dog '78" · "Guylum Bardot '78" · *Duck Stab!* film · "Hello Skinny" video · *D\*ck S\*ab - 35th Anniversary* · Dog Stab! · *Duck Stab! Alive!* · *Duck Stab!/Buster & Glen Notebook* · "Duck Kosmische"
**Related articles**
Ralph Records · The Cryptic Corporation · Grove St. studio · Pore No Graphics · Graeme Whifler · Bridgit Terris · The Rick & Ruby Show · "Satisfaction" · *Not Available* · *Eskimo*‏‏‎