According to Michael Stipe, he got the idea for the Heron House from London and during live shows says he got it from a building. However, Heron House refers more to a small borough of London than a building. In any case, he also said that this song was one of his more straightforward and clear songs. Maybe you could tell me what he means.
I've differed in some lyric translations here. First of all, the ending I've listed as 'aloud' instead of 'allowed' I like the idea of everyone being heard over admitted and they're homophones anyway so get over it. Also on the recording he is definitely saying 'They're reading ... ' Live versions have him saying 'They're meeting,' but there is no 'm' sound on the album, perhaps his intent was to say meeting but I don't count intent. Also, I employed the same background vocal technique here that I've used on Mills. The last background in the verse I put as 'Why does your addition hold?' This can't be what he says, but without master recordings this is as close a guess as any.
DISTURBANCE AT THE HERON HOUSE
They’re going wild, the call came in
At early morning pre dawn then
The followers of chaos out of control
They’re numbering the monkeys
The monkeys and the monkeys
The followers of chaos out of control
Call came in to Party Central
Meeting of the green and simple
Try to tell us something we don’t know
They’re reading at the monument
The call came in the monument
To liberty in honor under the honor roll
They gathered up the cages
The cages and courageous
The followers of chaos out of control
Call came in to Party Central
Meeting of the green and simple
Try to tell us something we don’t know
Disturbance at the Heron House
The stampede at the monument
To liberty in honor under the honor roll
(Just a gathering)
A gathering of grunts and greens
(Just a gathering)
Of cogs and grunts and hirelings
The meeting of a mean idea to hold
(Why does your addition hold?)
Feeding time has come and gone
(Step up, step up)
They’ll lose the heart and head for home
(Take up heart and head for home)
Try to tell us something we don’t know
(Step up, every, everyone aloud)
We don’t know
Everyone aloud
Everyone aloud
Everyone aloud
This is a fun riff and a great song to play electric or acoustic. For years this is the riff I use when I'm tuning my guitar to make sure the G and D are correct.
DISTURBANCE AT THE HERON HOUSE
Riff (Guitar 2 plays D and lets ring)
e|----------------------|
B|----------------------|
G|-2-2-0-4-2-2-2-4h-0---|
D|-0--0-0-0-0------2----|
A|----------------------|
E|----------------------|
Verse
e|------0---0--0----|
B|------3--3-3--3---|
G|------2-2---2-----|
D|----0-0-----------|
A|-2-3--------------|
E|------------------|
Chorus
e|-0---0---0-0---0-0---0---0---|
B|-0---0---0-0---0-0---0---0---|
G|-4---6---4-6---4-6---4---6---|
D|-5---7---5-7---5-7---5---7---|
A|-5---7---5-7---5-7---5---7---|
E|-3---5---3-5---3-5---3---5---|
Lead
e|------------------------|
B|--------8-10b-888-10b---|
G|-0-999-0------000-------|
D|-0-000------------------|
A|--------------------x4--|
E|------------------------|
e|---------------0---|
B|-8-10>15-14-12<2---|
G|-0-------------3---|
D|---------------0---|
A|-------------------|
E|-------------------|
I just stumbled upon your project here - and I really love it. You're a real fellow fan, and I enjoy reading your intros - and your guitar transcriptions are as solid as are available anywhere. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI think its
ReplyDelete"They’re going wild, the call came in
An early morning pre dawn mist"
I listened to it with a program that takes out the musical instruments (kindof) and that's what it sounds like to me now. Makes more sense too!
I think it's actually "early morning pre dawn din" like a noisy gathering. Which makes sense in the context of the songs interpretation as I remember reading about in some interview Michael had given. According to him it was a song about how Athens was being promoted as the new "it" scene for music due to the popularity of themselves and other bands such as the B-52's coming in to fashion. This of course led to a lot of musicians and bands, or "grunts and hirelings" as the song labels them, coming to Athens to try and make it big and claiming it as their own. Much like Seattle in the early 90's. These "followers of chaos out of control" were obviously distasteful to the real and authentic Athenian musicians who had worked hard to build their careers only to have these "monkeys" imitating (aping) their style and pretending to be from Athens. Apparently a music magazine was doing a cover story on the Athens scene and as a cover shot for the issue there was a picture of all these so-called Athens bands gathered at a local monument "they're meeting at the monument" which seemingly did not include any of the authentic Athens bands at the time. This, of course, sickened and infuriated Michael and company and so they wrote this bitterly scathing song to describe the event. When given this context it is indeed one of the most straight forward songs he has written and the line "when feeding time has come and gone, they'll lose their hearts and head for home" is one of the most delicious F.U.'s that has ever been delivered in a song.
ReplyDeleteHe absolutely does sing "They're MEETING at the monument". You can hear it on the 5.1 clearly in the center channel. You're also missing the line "We require you're attention here" as a lyric in the final verse/pre-chorus.
ReplyDelete"Heron House" is a reference to "Herrenhaus" the House of Lords of the Austrian Empire. In the course of the Revolutions of 1848, representatives from those crown lands of the Austrian Empire incorporated in the German Confederation met in an "Imperial Diet" at Vienna. The convention was inaugurated by Archduke John on 22 July 1848 and after the Vienna Uprising of October moved to Kroměříž in Moravia. The particulars of Herrenhaus were the focus of this song but the motivating spirit were the Revolutions of 1848, in general, spread widely throughout Europe, with mixed success.
ReplyDelete