"Scarecrow People" is a song by Andy Partridge. It appeared on the 1989 album Oranges & Lemons.
A live in-studio version, for BBC, appeared on Drums and Wireless, later on the 1998 Transistor Blast box set.
The demo appeared on Andy's Fuzzy Warbles Volume 7 in 2006.
A live, acoustic version was performed for MTV and aired on Post Modern, one of the earliest examples of what would become MTV Unplugged.
Quotes[]
Andy: “This is my favorite song on the album. Humans are the most deadly, uncaring, devious and destructive creatures on the planet. So I invented a Scarecrow Land and the aliens from there fly in and want to know how we make war and mess things up because humans are so brilliant at it. They admire all the bad things we do and are as dead as we are from the neck up. It's a world-turned-upside-down song. There's an American folk flavor to it also. We had a big sheet of paper tacked to the wall of the studio that said 'needs sense of Idaho'.”
Andy (on the BBC session): “Dave Gregory was in a car crash on the way to London for this session. His amp was all smashed in. The only thing that was undamaged, thankfully, was some funky little Sly & Robbie drum programming he'd done for the sessions. It's always been a favorite song of mine, and this is a pretty immediate version. The funkiness of the programmed drum make it great for inclusion.”
Andy (on the demo): “Christ it's nearly that ‘Don't Stop the Music’ rhythm again. One of my favourite songs put up for Oranges and Lemons. I have no idea where this funky plough, rake and hoe down came from, other than in my little head. The main verse chord made me think of the land. Big, open, while the trotting feel of the guitar put up a farm or two. Don't let them tell you there's no such thing as Monsanto Claws.”
Lyrics[]
Hope you enjoyed your flight,
In one of our new straw aeroplanes,
You'll find things here are just like what you're used to
There's lots of waste and razor wire,
And no one gives a damn about the land,
We just stand around and stare like you folks do
For we ain't got no brains,
And we ain't got no hearts,
It's just that wild old wind that tears us all apart
We're the scarecrow people,
Have we got lots in common with you
And if you don't start living well,
You're all gonna wind up scarecrow people too
Hope you enjoyed your meal,
It's only gas and chemicals,
We thought that you'd prefer something not nature made
Now while you're here can you advise us,
On a war we'd like to start,
Against some scarecrows over there, a different shade?
For we ain't got no brains,
And we ain't got no hearts,
It's just that wild old wind that tears us all apart
We're the scarecrow people,
Have we got lots in common with you
And if you don't start living well,
You're all gonna wind up scarecrow people too
We don't have no tears here,
No one hopes or cares or fears here,
For the old, the sick, the poor and them what taint you
We thought we'd base our civilization upon yours,
'Cause you're the smartest animals on earth, now ain't you?
We don't have no love here,
There's no need to rise above here,
No one wants to write a book or try to paint thee
We thought we'd base our civilization upon yours,
'Cause we're all dead from our necks up, now ain't we?
And we ain't got no brains,
And we ain't got no hearts,
It's just that wild old wind that tears us all apart
We're the scarecrow people,
Have we got lots in common with you
And if you don't start living well,
You're all gonna wind up scarecrow people too
And I ain't got no brains,
And I ain't got no heart,
It's just them other humans tear my soul apart.
I'm a scarecrow person,
Have I got quite some message for you
For if we don't start learning well,
We're all gonna wind up scarecrow people too!
Videos[]
MTV Post Modern[]
Live acoustic performance of "Scarecrow People." Uploaded by YouTube user "RT83."