John Henry Demos

	John Henry Demos Collection by They Might Be Giants
	First released	December 10, 2018 Release details / collectors: Show | Hide	Tracks	19
	Label	Idlewild Recordings	Length	50:54

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See Discography Abbreviations for definition of various terms.

John Henry Demos is a limited release collection of demos from They Might Be Giants' fifth album, John Henry. It was originally released as an Instant Fan Club exclusive download in 2012, before being publicly rereleased on CD and vinyl (as an LP with a 7") in 2018.

The collection consists of full-band studio demos of every song from John Henry presented in album order, with the exception of Stomp Box (which did not have a demo recorded).

Track listing

#	Title	Length	Lyrics	Guitar Tab
1	Subliminal (Demo)	2:38		N/A
2	Snail Shell (Demo)	3:20		N/A
3	Sleeping In The Flowers (Demo)	4:26		N/A
4	Unrelated Thing (Demo)	2:28		N/A
5	AKA Driver (Demo)	3:09		N/A
6	I Should Be Allowed To Think (Demo)	2:27		N/A
7	Extra Savoir-Faire (Demo)	2:51		N/A
8	Why Must I Be Sad? (Demo)	3:57		N/A
9	Spy (Demo)	2:30		N/A
10	O, Do Not Forsake Me (Demo)	2:37
11	No One Knows My Plan (Demo)	2:19		N/A
12	Dirt Bike (Demo)	1:55		N/A
13	Destination Moon (Demo)	2:24		N/A
14	A Self Called Nowhere (Demo)	3:13		N/A
15	Meet James Ensor (Demo)	1:39		N/A
16	Thermostat (Demo)	2:05		N/A
17	Window (Demo)	0:59		N/A
18	Out Of Jail (Demo)	2:18		N/A
19	The End Of The Tour (Demo)	3:05		N/A

Leaked demo tape

In the 1990s, a leaked cassette tape circulated with demo versions of eight John Henry-era songs, recorded in 1993. With the exception of "Ondine" (a b-side from the era), these recordings were all eventually included in the official John Henry Demos release in 2012 (and many were officially available earlier in Podcast 27A in 2007).

Track listing

#	Title	Length	Lyrics	Guitar Tab
1	No One Knows My Plan (Demo)	2:19		N/A
2	Sleeping In The Flowers (Demo)	4:26		N/A
3	A Self Called Nowhere (Demo)	3:13		N/A
4	Meet James Ensor (Demo)	1:39		N/A
5	Thermostat (Demo)	2:05		N/A
6	Ondine (Demo)	2:24		N/A
7	Why Must I Be Sad? (Demo)	3:57		N/A
8	Dirt Bike (Demo)	1:55		N/A

Other known recordings from the John Henry sessions

• About Me^[1] - this recording later made it to Severe Tire Damage
• Drinkin' - this recording later made it to Long Tall Weekend
• Lullabye To Nightmares - a contender for John Henry, this recording later made it to Long Tall Weekend without its coda (included on Podcast 27A)
• Why Does The Sun Shine? (EP) - recorded simultaneously during the same sessions

Trivia

• Regarding the vast demo collection for John Henry, Flansburgh has stated, "[W]e never embarked on demoing any other album as completely as John Henry, and it is really a singular event. Because we were pulling together a new band and wanted to track the album as a rehearsed unit that['s why] the demos were made. Previously the many Dial-A-Song posts from the 80s and 90s, or even sketchier home recordings, were the working demos for our studio recordings. From around Factory Showroom on, our ability to make more finished tracks at our project studios improved and demos often flow into final versions more directly."^[2]