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Number Three

From This Might Be A Wiki
song nameNumber Three
artistThey Might Be Giants
releasesThey Might Be Giants, The Frank O' Toole Show, Then: The Earlier Years, Dial-A-Song: 20 Years Of They Might Be Giants
year1986
first playedNov. 28, 1987 (53 known performances)
run time1:27
sung byJohn Flansburgh, John Linnell sings backing vocals for the majority of the song

Trivia/Info

  • The baritone saxophone sample comes from Skinny Lena by Lou Monte. Linnell found the record while helping his roommate (and the building's super) Chris Lawrence, of Annabouboula and formerly with The Turtlenecks, clean a deceased couple's apartment. Says Linnell: "Skinny Lena was an Italian song in 6/8 with a humorous verse in English and a staccato Bari Sax riff. At some point I figured out a way to make the record skip in 4/4 during the riff while the 45 was played at 33, which became the repeating figure on TMBG's recording of Flansburgh's 'Number Three.'" You can hear the sample slowed down to normal speed here.
  • The 1985 Demo Tape version contains a slightly different mix. It begins with a fade-in of the saxophone loop, and contains a quieter guitar and an accordion part.
  • This song's choruses contain every possible three line rhyme scheme (ABB, AAB, ABA).
  • This song is actually Track 3 on They Might Be Giants' debut album.

Song Themes

Animals, Creative Drought, I Am, Mathematics, Me, Money, Music, Numbers, Occupations, Precious Metal, Presidents, Questions, Self-Reference, Titles And Honorifics

Videos

 
Current Rating

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Number Three is currently ranked #442 out of 846. (137 wikians have given it an average rating of 8.31)
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