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Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen

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"Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" is a composition which has alternately been credited to English musician Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman and Bavarian avant-garde composer N. Senada.[1][2]

It is best known via its 1971 interpretation by Residents, Uninc., featured on their 1971 demo album B.S..

History

"Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" is said to have been composed by English guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman around 1971, and performed by Lithman with his collaborator, the Bavarian avant-garde musical theorist and composer N. Senada, at open mic nights around the San Francisco area during that time.[3]

The first known recorded version of this piece features on Residents, Uninc.'s 1971 demo tape B.S., which was released officially for the first time in a limited edition in April 2019.

Orchestral version

Following the untimely death of Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman on July 1st 1987, "Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" was given an "orchestral boost" by The Residents, with a horn section being overdubbed onto the original recording. This version was originally intended as intermission music for the group's private performance at the Snakey Wake.[3][4]

The "orchestral" version of "Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen" is thought to have only been aired once, as part of a radio special on Dutch radio station VPRO in 1988; despite briefly being considered for release on one of the UWEB fan club compilations in the early 1990s,[4] the master tape was later said by Hardy Fox to have possibly been lost. A recording of this version from the radio special has circulated among fans.

Lyrics

Der Prune, Der Prune 
Der Prune is dead
Lying in his bed
Der Prune, Der Prune 
Der Prune is dead
Now Der Prune is...

List of releases

List of versions

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 San Mateo home recording, August-November 1971 (5:47)
  2. ↑ San Mateo home recording, August-November 1971 (edit, 2:30)

See also

  1. ↑ "It was a... a thing [Snakefinger] wrote called 'Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen'... it's a foreign language, it's not... it's not English." Hardy Fox, VPRO radio interview, 1988
  2. ↑ Tzoq, "The Mysterious N. Senada", RzWeb (via archive.org)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Yeah, at the time when, uh, Snakefinger was first in San Mateo with The Residents and The Mysterious N. Senada, he was performing this piece, um... with The Mysterious N. Senada, and then he recorded it later, and then The Residents went back around the time of the wake and added some more instruments to it..." Homer Flynn, VPRO radio interview, 1988
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Uncle Willie, "Q+A", UWEB Newsletter Vol. 2, No. 2½, June 1990
B.S.
(recorded 1971, released 2019)

Side A
"We Stole This Riff" · "Holelottadick" · "B.S." · "Deepsea Diver Song" · "King Kong" · "Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen"

Side B
"Somethin' Devilish" · "The Fourth Crucifixion" · "Hallowed Be Thy Wean" ("Pink Lemonade" · "Sandman" · "Eat Me Mother" · "Bumble Bee" · "Eloise" · "Somethin' Devilish" · "Kamakazi Lady" · "D For Doorknob" · "The Three Most Important Things In The Whole Wide World")

Personnel
Residents, Uninc. · Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman · N. Senada · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Smyk)

Related works
The Boarding House performance ("Intro Tape '71") · "A Live Radio Broadcast" · Philip's Wedding · Chris' Party · ERA B474 · The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss · A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big

Related articles
The W***** B*** Album · San Mateo apartment · Hal Halverstadt · Porno Graphics · Tim Buckley · Led Zeppelin · Frank Zappa · Randy Newman · Vileness Fats‏‏‎

The Delta Nudes / Residents, Uninc.
(1967 - 1974)

Major works
Rusty Coathangers for the Doctor (1970) · The Ballad of Stuffed Trigger (1970) · The W***** B*** Album (1971) · B.S. (1971) · Santa Dog (1972)

Other recordings
"I Hear Ya Got Religion" / "Moonman" (1969) · 1-10 (With A Touch of 11) (1972)

Compilation albums
ERA B474 (2012) · The Delta Nudes' Greatest Hiss (2013) · The Residents Present The Delta Nudes (2016) · A Nickle If Your Dick's This Big (2019) · Warning: Uninc. (2022)

Live shows
The Boarding House, October 18th 1971 · Philip's Wedding, October 31st 1971 · Chris' Party, February 12th 1972

Collaborators
Randy Rose · Charles Bobuck · Hardy Fox · Homer Flynn · Palmer Eiland · Roger "Bunny" Hartley · Jay Clem · John Kennedy · Roland Sheehan · Bob Tangney · Jim Whitaker · N. Senada · Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman · Peggy Honeydew (Margaret Swaton) · The Singing Lawn Chairs (Pamela Zeibak)

Related articles
San Mateo apartment · Hal Halverstadt · Porno Graphics · Sycamore St. studio · Ralph Records · The Residents · Vileness Fats · Meet The Residents · The Third Reich 'n Roll · "Satisfaction" · "Aphids In The Hall" · The Cryptic Corporation · WB:RMX‎‎‏‏‎

The Mysterious N. Senada
(1907 - 1993)

Compositions
Pollex Christi (1936-1937) · Cantaten und Symphonen mit Eine Poem (1969?) · Cantaten und Symphonen for der Saxophonen und Violinen with P.C. Lithman (1971?) · Cantaten to der Dyin Prunen with P.C. Lithman (1971?)

Music theory
Theory of Phonetic Organization {Meet The Residents) · Theory of Obscurity (Not Available)

Work with The Residents
The W***** B*** Album (1971) · A Live Radio Broadcast (1971) · B.S. (1971) · 1-10 (With A Touch of 11) (1972) · Vileness Fats (1972-1976) · Eskimo (1979) · Pollex Christi (1997)

Live appearances
Philip Lithman and N. Senada live appearances (ca. 1971) · The Boarding House performance with Residents, Uninc. (1971) · Philip's Wedding with Residents, Uninc. (1971) · Chris' Party with Residents, Uninc. (1972) · Oh Mummy! Oh Daddy! with The Residents (1976) · Snakey Wake performance (1987)

Related articles
Max Steinway · Hardy Fox · Philip "Snakefinger" Lithman · The Delta Nudes · Residents, Uninc. · "Eloise" · "Kamakazi Lady" · Andrew Hook · O for Obscurity, Or, The Story of N.

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