Thursday Night Fever

Three main versions:

* "Clicky Version" (1981) - Kleine Krieg (6:08), Stained Glass Soma Fountains (6:00)

Called "Thursday Night Fever #1" on "Stained Glass Soma Fountains."

On Kleine Krieg it fades in from the squeaky noises at the end of "Down from the Country." The mix on Stained Glass Soma Fountains fades in from the end of "Jack" (2:00) but also includes the "Down from the Country" squeaky noises.

On both mixes the music fades out, replaced by vocoder speech, synth sirens, and unrelated melody lines, and soon the music fades back in. Over all this the vocal tracks continue ("I own you...you're my girl.") Suddenly a series of monumental chords are played on a keyboard; when they end the next track ("Die With Yer Eyes On") fades in.

Instruments: Unsteady single drum machine pattern; regular sequenced synth pattern that sometimes becomes white noise; quiet synth melody that isn't much related to the actual song; two vocal tracks which are slightly different.

* "Throbbing Keyboard Version" (1981) - Only Dreaming (5:22), Ancient Daze (4:47), Ancient Daze CD-R (5:21)

A sweet, backwards guitar solo -- unrelated to the "Thursday Night Fever" song at all -- begins the song on both mixes, though on Only Dreaming and Ancient Daze CD-R the solo plays for 53 seconds, ends abruptly, and "Thursday Night Fever" begins, whereas on Ancient Daze CD only twenty seconds of the solo is played, and it is mixed into the beginning of the song.

All mixes end the same way: as more of the backwards "Soma Bath" is played, the music repeats and fades out.

This version does not even attempt a melody.

Instruments: Repeating keyboard sequence; another repeating sequence that swoops down occasionally; snippets of backwards tracks including Soma Bath; two vocal tracks with flange and plate reverb;

* "Pink Box Version" (1988) - Legendary Pink Box (6:15)

The only version with a real melody, this is the only one to really reflect the evil of the lyrics. Starts suddenly. Gradually degenerates until, by 4:30, it has become a gentle backwards track (keyboards, vocals) which fades into a brief snippet of a backwards drum machine.

Two groups of lyrics have been removed in this version: the "And you'll comfort me...make me king again" section and "You're coming home with me...just a game." In addition, all references to "boogieing" have been wisely removed.

Instruments: Bass guitar; single vocal track; repeated keyboard line with hint of percussion; occasional drum machine accents; electric guitar that begins an extended solo in the middle; distorted sample of descending notes; climactic, choppy keyboard chords played before the song begins to degenerate; synthesized vocal chorus during guitar solo; cascading keyboard sound.

What It's About:

An obsessive, jealous boy warns a woman -- perhaps his girlfriend -- that she must be permanently, totally, 100% loyal to him. She must have no friends or outside interests and must always be there to make him feel like "a king again," especially when his workmates make him feel insecure. His demands are laughably childish but his violent threats -- against her and her "new friend" -- are serious.

Lyrics (adapted from the Cloud-Zero archive):

(All versions differ very slightly in their exact lyrics)

If looks could kill, if a touch caused a seizure,
you'd be dead as a rock, no room in the freezer.
Tease you with my fingers, squeeze you,
'til you rattle like an engine that's collapsing,
gasping out for oil.

You nervous? Well you should be.
'Cos you know how jealous I get.

As for your new friend, he'll end his days down an alley.
Shall he call the law? I doubt it.
Curtains closing faster, faster. Turns young lovers to statistics.
Nervous? Well, he should be.
He can see how jealous I am.
Just a jealous boy.

Want you safe at home, alone,
ignore the phone, except when you're convinced it's me
inquiring about your welfare.
I care about your paintings and your poems,
love's like that: caring, sharing, on our own forever.

And you'll be there when I'm back from work,
the jerks who bark their orders, smolder, leer, and patronize.
It's insincere. But you'll be there, to comfort me.
Comfort me, and make my tea, and make me king again.

The pain will go away and we'll make plans about our cottage, miles away,
no interruptions, us together, never seeing anyone.
And if you want to dance, we'll fit the lounge up with a disco,
play the stereo, boogie on our own.
Alone. The way it's meant to be.
So boogie down. Boogie down. Boogie down.

You're coming home with me tonight. Leave him.
You're coming home with me tonight, leave him.
'Cos I need you more than he does,
to him you're just a game. Just a game.

You're my girl, I own you. I own you...