Greek Number Three
From This Might Be A Wiki
| song name | Greek #3 |
| artist | They Might Be Giants |
| releases | Then: The Earlier Years, Selections From Then |
| year | 1997 |
| run time | 1:29 |
| sung by | John Linnell |
Trivia/Info
- This version of "Number Three" is sung entirely in Greek. The band wrote in the Then: The Earlier Years liner notes: "The Greek pronunciation in Greek #3 by Mr. Linnell (who claims to be one-eighth Hellenic) was characterized by one Greek native as 'crappy.'" John Linnell stated in a 2008 interview: "I tried to learn Greek, but my Greek just stinks. So, I learned enough to be able to very roughly pronounce some of the words, but I never really learned how to speak Greek."
- The Greek translation was written by Chris Lawrence in the 1980s. Linnell explained in a 1995 essay: "Chris also made up a Greek translation of "Number Three," which became probably the longest running unfinished TMBG project of all time. In 1991 [sic] we recorded the basic tracks for the Greek version, but the vocal has still [April '95] not been recorded."
- In the late 1980s, the band recorded a traditionally Greek-styled instrumental for "Number Three," which was intended to be used with the Greek lyrics. They used it as a backing track for live performances (in English) in 1989, and at Then-themed duo shows in 1997. The band did not end up using the Greek instrumental in the song, and instead used an old live backing track. The backing track that they did use is similar to the 1984 demo of the song.
- In this version, the narrator buys himself a bağlama instead of a silver guitar.
Song Themes
Animals, Creative Drought, Food, Language, Mathematics, Money, Music, Occupations, Precious Metal, Presidents, Questions, Self-Reference, Problems With Liner Notes, Titles And Honorifics, Title Not In Lyrics
Videos
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