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Hide Away Folk Family

From This Might Be A Wiki
song nameHide Away Folk Family
artistThey Might Be Giants
releasesThey Might Be Giants, Then: The Earlier Years, Best Of The Early Years
year1986
first playedJun. 23, 1987 (34 known performances)
run time3:21
sung byJohn Flansburgh; John Linnell sings harmony

Trivia/Info

  • "To achieve the odd vocal rhythm of the astrology report... Flansburgh's voice was blasting in his headphones on a 2 second delay, a technique inspired by a visit to Boston's Museum of Science, while the 'Backwards' singing at the end was carefully worked out and rehearsed." - John & John
  • Linnell on the 'backwards' singing: "It's just me and John [Flansburgh] singing forward. We're just going "nyahp, nyah, nyip, nyahp," that's all it is. One of the instruments or something is actually backwards on that song, though." (Pitchfork Magazine, 1996)
  • "The 'Sadly, The Cross-Eyed Bear' of "Hide Away, Folk Family" fame is, in fact, a Catholic-school pun. In an old hymn, the line 'Gladly the Cross I'd bear' is sung--mutated by Sunday school smartasses into 'Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear'. In keeping with the song's disconsolate tone, the bear's name was changed to 'Sadly'." -The Early Years FAQ
  • Traditionally, when performed live, the audience is requested to "scream as if they're in hell" during the bridge.

Song Themes

Animals, Backwards, Clothes, Death, Doors, Guy Songs, Long, Long, Oblique Cliches Or Idiom, Paranoia, Plans, Reading, Relatives, Sleep, Talking, Not Singing, Tongue-Twisters, Transportation

Videos

  • 1987 performance on Joy Farm on the Gigantic (A Tale Of Two Johns) DVD.
  • Watch it on  - Recorded live 17 June 1990 at the Town and Country Club, London UK.
 
Current Rating

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Hide Away Folk Family is currently ranked #219 out of 846. (120 wikians have given it an average rating of 8.74)
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