Eighth Wonder
Eighth Wonder is the seventh track on Spirit Phone.
| Eighth Wonder | |
| |
| Song | |
| Artist | Lemon Demon |
|---|---|
| Written by | Neil Cicierega |
| Appears on | Spirit Phone |
| Sung by | Neil Cicierega |
| Duration | 4:42 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Language | English |
| Links: | Video |
Description
The track is about the legend of Gef, the talking mongoose. It features paranormal sightings from a young child about a talking mongoose that lives in their walls. Neil went in-depth about the story of the song on the album's commentary track:
"But most of the lyrics come from quotes from this old ghost story (or poltergeist maybe? or just a talking animal). It was reported by a young girl and her family on the Isle of Man in I think the 1930s, so look up Gef the Mongoose. G-E-F. This story stuck out to me because he is so childish, and quotable, and talkative for a ghost. He’s cracking jokes, and he’s insulting people, and making outlandish claims… but he’s totally hidden and nobody can really see him. They catch glimpses of a mongoose sometimes, but they don’t really see this talking character. And if you read some of the original reporting on him he has such a memorable presence without ever coming out into the open, he’s just a voice in the wall."
History
A slightly different version of this song was originally released on Almanac 2009, then as a single on Neil's YouTube channel alongside a music video on November 18th, 2009. Neil speaks about the song's creation on Spirit Phone's commentary track:
"I remember recording this in the basement of my family’s house, and it was probably one of the last songs I made there before I moved to the city. And I shot the music video in my family’s yard, in the woods that I grew up near, and this old shack that’s on our property line… so this song has a real “end of an era” feel to me. I think I made this song around the same time as Redesign Your Logo, and they’re both the start of a lot of samples and sounds that I continue to use up until today, really."
When the song was first released along with its music video, it ended with a fiddle solo. This solo was present until Neil reworked the instrumentals of all of the tracks on the album c. 2015. It is still present on the 2014 version of the track.[1]
Lyrics
Extra clever Earthbound spirit Ghost in the form of a mongoose And I have hands And I have feet I’ll never die I am a freak Hello I’m here I’m living in the wall I know I might be small but I I I am a freak Thou wilt never know what I am I am the fifth dimension And I’ll split the atom If you see me You’re paralyzed Pillar of salt You’re mummified Hello I’m here I’m living in the wall I know I might be small but I I I am the eighth wonder And I was born 1852 And I was born In India And I shall haunt Like the Buggane With such weird noise And clanking chains Hello I’m here I’m living in the wall I know I might be small but I I I am a freak I say “vanished” To underground Jim, let me go I watch like hell And I have hands And I have feet I’ll never die I am a freak Hello I’m here I’m living in the wall I know I might be small but I I I am the eighth wonder Eighth wonder of the world You'll never get to see What in the name of God can I be?
Music Video
| Lemon Demon - "Eighth Wonder" | |
| Music Video | |
| Creator | Neil Cicierega |
|---|---|
| Cast | N/A |
| Crew | Neil Cicierega, Ming Doyle |
| Released | November 18, 2009 |
| Duration | 03:53 |
The music video uses the Alternate Almanac 2009 Version.
Alternate Versions
Live Performances
Trivia
- This song's lyrics inspired the Fifth Dimension and Split Atom color variants of the Needlejuice Records vinyl release of Spirit Phone, first released in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
- This song, along with Redesign Your Logo, was one of the first two Spirit Phone tracks released to the public.