Talk:A Self Called Nowhere

I'm confused. In the lyric booklet it says "it" not "id". Which is it?

We think that John means the Freudian id. It could have been misprinted in the booklet. - Whirrrlwind (Woosh!) 11:47, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

Was it misprinted? On all the booklets made for the cd? - Cubeclub

Well in the earlier days, Flans (I think) would type up the lyrics sheet while he was at his boring officy day job. But I'm guessing that in the days of John Henry, neither Flans nor Linnell would be the person who would actually write up the lyrics for the liner notes, so the decision to put "it" was probably made by some record producer's assistant or something who was transcribing the lyrics... But basically we're taking it upon ourselves to assume that they're wrong and "id" is right, since "id" makes more sense to us.  ~ magbatz

In A Self Called Nowhere (Demo), it sounds an awful lot like he's saying "it" in the first chorus and "id" in the second. pat 02:03, 17 June 2007 (UTC)

Bands submit their lyrics to whoever is putting the booklet together. I'm pretty sure this wasn't any different 10 years ago. And, while whoever was putting the booklet together could STILL have mis-typed, these things are checked several times before they're sent to the printer. Especially since John and John are the type who like to be in the know and make sure they've seen and approved of these things before sending it off, it would be a very unlikely mistake to be reprinted in every pressing. I think you guys are really reaching with your reasons for keeping the lyric as 'id.' It may make more sense to you, but 'it' makes a lot more narrative sense to me. Also, since nobody's been able to ask Linnell about it, the only authoritative source we have is the lyrics booklet. If only for our "encyclopedic integrity" which we seem to try and keep everywhere else on the site, I think we should go with 'it.' Once someone asks Linnell and he says 'id,' then we should make the change. --MichelleMaBelle 17:10, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

What are our reasons for concluding that "id" is right? To me the lyrics seem obscure enough to admit "id" or "it" equally well, so if the booklet says "it," I'd favor that. Rucksack Jack 17:12, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

Agreed. --WhatIsThatThing 19:20, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

I also agree. "It" also rhymes with "pit" --Oddjob 13:18, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

Well, it's pretty hard to distinguish "it" and "id" by hearing, isn't id? I also prefer "it", because that's what it says in the booklet. BTW, who came up with the idea that it's "id" and not "it"? - Anonymous guest

This is a pretty old debate, anon, but id would fit perfectly with Linnell's writing style and honestly make far more sense with the rest of the song. I say drop it. --Luke 18:35, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't get it, why would you guys decide that you're better than the liner notes and know more about the song than the official packaging and take it upon yourselves to make up a completely different lyric with no evidence that it might be that lyric? A thing named "it" would easily mean that it is nameless, therefore you can only call it "it". What does Freud have to do with anything? I just don't understand why this is even a problem or why it's not even disputed on the lyrics page. - (a different) Anonymous Contributor

Yes, this hits the nail on the head. It doesn't seem like the "id" supporters have presented any particular argument beyond an unexplained "fits better." How does that supersede the liner notes? I'm going to flagrantly ignore CapitalQ's comment in the page source and change it back to "it." I earnestly request that CapitalQ or any other pro-"id" user should provide more persuasive liner-note-refuting evidence than "well Freud was totally cool" before changing it back again. - YASA (Yet Another Stupid Anon)

I think we need a bipartisan solution: "It's a thing named "

To me, it actually sounds like "It's a think they'd hid..." But I guess that couldn't be true.--71.127.147.87 14:13, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

I'd say people question it because of the many problems with liner notes in the past. I'd question it as well, but in the demo, it's quite clearly "it".--Swagar 22:36, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

Maybe a reference to the Stephen King novel, It. Actually named Pennywise (the dancing clown), the main protagonists call the creature in question "It" for lack of better name. It comes from a place outside of the universe, and when present on earth, dwells in the sewer. If an actual reference, "A thing called It in a bottomless pit" makes perfect sense. -- DidgeGuy (आ ज) 01:26, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

We're looking a little too far into this. John Linnell probably just wrote the lyrics: "a thing named id. (or whatever) That's kinda cool." -- Buzzmusic100 ("Keep your voice down...")

Stalking away from the "Id vs. It" battle...

Probably my favorite song off of John Henry. Tis a shame they don't play it live often, but hey, they never play songs from Lincoln or John Henry anymore. --ZippZapp 23:21, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

I too wish they would play more John Henry songs in concert, Lincoln gets fairly well-represented though... at the Beacon show in February they played four songs off it, and one was Mr. Me!!!! --Oddjob 13:18, 27 March 2008 (UTC)

It vs. Id: The closest we'll get to a confirmation

From Flansy himself on Tumblr: "I remember it as “it” —id seems way too academic to me."

He wasn't 100%, nor was he the one who sang or wrote the song, but I feel this will be the closest we'll get to knowing which word is right. -- Jason DeLima - ♥! - 13:00, 11 October 2011 (EDT)

Further confirmation on Tumblr today from Flansburgh: "pretty positive it's 'it'"^[1]. Can we leave it settled now?! :-) --MisterMe (talk) 11:59, 18 July 2017 (EDT)

Well, folks, if there was any shred of uncertainty left about this topic, it can finally be laid to rest. In a bottomless pit, of course. —Friendbone (talk) 06:08, 21 January 2018 (EST)

Trumpet Sheet Music

Although my userpage says I play tuba, I know the trumpet a little more.. I would like to see a Trumpet Tab for this song, with the fingerings. Nothing fancy... I would but I haven't played in like 3 years. --⇂⇂↋ suᴉɥsuǝZ ʎɯɯᴉᒋ (talk) 12:23, 25 October 2021 (EDT)