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The Greatest Man That Ever Lived (Variations on a Shaker Hymn) (view source)

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(Liner notes)
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*''[[Weezer (The Red Album)]]''
*''[[Weezer (The Red Album)]]''
*''[[Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints]]'' (Live)
*''[[Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints]]'' (Live)
*Several [[List of Official Bootlegs|Official Bootlegs]]
*Various [[List of official bootlegs|official "bootlegs"]]
*''[[Alone X: The Red-Raditude-Hurley Years]]'' (2020)


==Overview==
==Overview==
"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" was the first song from ''The Red Album'' to be officially released on iTunes. The song includes piano, police sirens, and [[Rivers Cuomo]] singing in falsetto. [[Scott Shriner]] was particularly proud of the song saying, "The song 'The Greatest Man That Ever Lived' is a masterpiece that includes ten different styles of music based around a common theme." Rivers wrote the song during a "happy time" over the course of three weeks. Rivers said at the time he felt like a "musical geek".  The song is Rivers' favorite off of The Red Album and also one of his favorite songs he's ever written.
===Writing process===
===Liner notes===
In [[2004]], [[Rivers Cuomo]] began taking private music composition lessons from Bruce Reich at UCLA.<ref name="avclub">Rizov, Vadim. "Rivers Cuomo" ''A.V. Club''. 27 January 2009. https://www.avclub.com/rivers-cuomo-1798215593</ref> Some of the vocal harmonies written for "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" were originally composed for a focal counterpoint excercise from these lessons. Cuomo excitedly contacted Reich after the release of ''The Red Album'', but was dismayed to learn that Reich had recently passed away.<ref name="avclub" /><ref>Cuomo, Rivers. ''Mister Rivers' Neighborhood''. 6 September 2020. Archived by ''Wayback Machine'' 15 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210715183154/https://books-r-fun.herokuapp.com/wiki/Bruce%20Reich</ref><ref name="ytgreatestman">Rivers Cuomo interview with [[KROQ]], "Rivers Cuomo - Greatest Man" ''YouTube'' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dx4mX-rDPIQ Archived from original: http://www.kroq-data.com/wah/wah/dcvideo/avc-view.aspx?v=3446</ref>
{{Red liner notes|'''''The subtitle of the song for "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" is "Variations on a Shaker Hymn."'''''<br>
{{#tag:span style="color:#990000"|''Rivers:}} Yes, actually, I didn't realize I was ripping off a shaker hymn. It wasn't until we were in the studio and Brian's mom came by one day and she heard us play "Greatest Man" and said afterward, "You know that melody sounds like this hymn we sing in church." So indeed we chedked it out and it's very similar. I knew people were going to come at us after and say, hey you guys ripped off that hymn. So I put the credit in there off the bat.''}}
===Writing the song===
Early song names included "Player", "Playa 4 Lyfe" and "Mack Daddy."  Another name was "The Ballad of Oswaldo Sánchez", who was the goalie of the Mexican soccer team.


Some of the parts were written at different times. The three-point vocal counterpoint was written in [[2004]] as a homework assignment from a composition teacher who taught Cuomo private lessons from UCLA.  Rivers has stated that the spoken word part was inspired by Elvis Presley (which was brought to his attention by [[Rick Rubin]].  Early song ideas were meant to contrast the feelings of settling down Rivers was feeling.  The "I can take on anybody" part originally said "No ring on my ring finger, this bird has flown.  No ring on my ring finger, I'm on my own." Another idea was "Some people wanna settle down, but that makes me sick."
Cuomo described his initial inspiration for the song "I just had this really strong and kind of sudden conviction that I am sick of writing verse-chorus-verse songs. I've been doing it for so many years, that's what everyone else does; I wanna do something completely different."<ref name="ytgreatestman" /> Cuomo decided to instead write a song using the musical structure of [https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/understanding-music/theme-and-variations/ theme and variations], as used in classical music, using different bands and musician styles (Slipknot, Jeff Buckley, Aerosmith, etc.) as the different variations. Cuomo intially also attempted to utilize different lyrical perspectives for each variation, but found the results too disjointed, and resolved to maintain the same persona throughout. Early alternate song titles in consideration included "Mack Daddy," "The Player," "Player 4 Life," and "The Ballad of [[Wikipedia:Oswaldo Sánchez|Oswaldo Sánchez]]" (named for the Mexican soccer goalie). Cuomo was inspired by Sánchez after seeing him play [[Wikipedia:2006 FIFA World Cup|the World Cup]] in 2006 despite having just lost his father to a heart attack.<ref name="ytgreatestman" />


Rivers has said, "The original inspiration for the song was...I just had this really strong and kind of sudden conviction that I am sick of writing verse-chorus-verse songs...I wanted to do something completely different." Rivers also said, "I thought of classical theme and variation music."
Cuomo had difficulty writing the spoken word section of "The Greatest Man", and so contacted [[Rick Rubin]] to get examples of spoken word sections in pop songs. Rubin suggested [[Wikipedia:Elvis Presley|Elvis Presley's]] rendition of "[[Wikipedia:Are You Lonesome Tonight? (song)|Are You Loneseome Tonight?]]," which Cuomo studied.<ref name="ytgreatestman" /> The lyrics for the spoken word section from "The Greatest Man" is derived from similar lyrics in Presley's song (which itself was partially derived from the play [[Wikipedia:As You Like It|''As You Like It'']] by [[Wikipedia:William Shakespeare|William Shakespeare]]).


In the liner notes of the deluxe edition of the ''[[Weezer (The Red Album)|The Red Album]]'', Cuomo stated that the song did not originally have the subtitle "Variations on a Shaker Hymn," however when [[Brian Bell]]'s mom came into the studio to see them she mentioned a melody from the song sounded similar to a hymn that the choir would sing in church. As a result the band looked up the hymn and indeed the melody was so similar to Joseph Brackett's "Simple Gifts" that they credited the hymn with the subtitle.
At the time of the release of ''The Red Album'', Cuomo called the song his favorite song on the album, and one of his favorite songs he's ever written.<ref name="ytgreatestman2">Rivers Cuomo interview with [[KROQ]], "Rivers Cuomo - Greatest Man 2" ''YouTube'' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIj6RRXtGX0 Archived from original: http://www.kroq-data.com/wah/wah/dcvideo/avc-view.aspx?v=3446</ref> Bassist [[Scott Shriner]], in [[WarwickBass.com interview with Scott Shriner - June 2008|an interview]], called the song "a masterpiece that includes ten different styles of music based around a common theme. It's awesome."<ref>Titus, Dale. ''Warwick Bass Survival 101''. 2008. Archived by ''Wayback Machine'' https://web.archive.org/web/20080507095906/http://www.warwickbass.com/basssurvival101/artist_ScottShriner.htm</ref>
 
The song was released for the game Rock Band along with the songs "[[Troublemaker]]" and "[[Dreamin']]."
 
The song was performed live as the finale of the Spike TV Video Game Awards which aired [[December 14]], [[2008]].  The performance featured a snare drum player dressed as a member of the Queen's guard, a 50-person women's choir, Dave Kushner (formerly of Velvet Revolver) on rhythm guitar and a guitar-less Rivers Cuomo wearing a pure white suit and no shoes.
 
Rivers originally wanted the persona to change both musically and lyrically from section to section. Examples Rivers has stated for lyrical personas include:
* Rap - bragging/boasting
* Slipknot - victimization, helplessness, doom, physical destruction, being raped, cynicism
* Nirvana – resignation, sarcasm, hating everything, indifference, clichés
 
Rivers mostly abandoned this approach because it caused the song to sound too disjointed. He retained the lyrical persona consistent as a backbone while retaining the musical variations.  He largely leaves it to the listener to decide if the "greatest man redeems himself throughout the soliloquy:<br>
 
''“I was born to give?  What does that mean??  Is he bragging about his potency?  Or is he beginning to show his other, deeper, more altruistic side?  I don’t know the answer, I was just asking you…”''
 
Cuomo unveiled all of this information in a video with Los Angeles radio station [[KROQ]]. The first section of that video can be viewed below.
 
<youtube>dx4mX-rDPIQ</youtube>
 
See the second video [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIj6RRXtGX0&feature=related here].


The song's title includes the parenthetical "Variations on a Shaker Hymn," referring to the 1848 [[Wikipedia:Shakers|Shaker]] song "[[Wikipedia:Simple Gifts]]," generally attributed to [[Wikipedia:Joseph Brackett|Joseph Brackett]]. As explained in the liner notes for the deluxe edition of ''The Red Album'':
{{Red liner notes|'''''The subtitle of the song for "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived" is "Variations on a Shaker Hymn."'''''<br>
{{#tag:span style="color:#990000"|''Rivers:}} Yes, actually, I didn't realize I was ripping off a shaker hymn. It wasn't until we were in the studio and Brian's mom came by one day and she heard us play "Greatest Man" and said afterward, "You know that melody sounds like this hymn we sing in church." So indeed we checked it out and it's very similar. I knew people were going to come at us after and say, hey you guys ripped off that hymn. So I put the credit in there off the bat.''}}
===Recording===
"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" was recorded in the "War Room", a space backstage at the Malibu Performing Arts Center in Malibu, California. The band taped butcher paper to the mirrors to write down ideas and plans for recording songs. According to [[Brian Bell]], the band used about 20 feet of butcher paper just for "The Greatest Man" and spent about as much time discussing how to record the song as they did actually recording it.<ref>''[[Weezer (The Red Album)]] Deluxe Edition'' liner notes.</ref> According to Cuomo, the band rehearsed the song for about a month before embarking on the [[Troublemaker Tour]], and that about half of the rehearsal process was dedicated to learning "The Greatest Man."<ref name="ytgreatestman2" />
===Sections===
===Sections===
Different sections were inspired specifically by different artists.  Rivers has stated some of the artists and others are self-explanatory.
Different sections of the song were inspired by specific artists, in the theme and variation style of classical music:
# Live 0:00
# Rap (0:35)
# Rap 0:35
# [[Wikipedia:Slipknot (band)|Slipknot]] (1:00)
# Slipknot 1:00
# [[Wikipedia:Jeff Buckley|Jeff Buckley]] (1:26)
# Jeff Buckley 1:26
# Chorale (1:51)
# Choral 1:51
# [[Wikipedia:Aerosmith|Aerosmith]] (2:17)
# Aerosmith 2:17
# [[Nirvana]] (2:43)
# [[Nirvana]] 2:43
# [[Wikipedia:The Andrews Sisters|The Andrews Sisters]] (3:08)
# Andrews Sisters 3:08
# [[Green Day]] (3:33)
# [[Green Day]]3:33
# Spoken word (4:06)
# Spoken word (heavily inspired by Elvis' "Are You Lonesome Tonight?") 4:06
# [[Wikipedia:Johann Sebastian Bach|Johann Sebastian Bach]] (4:37)
# Bach 4:37
# [[Wikipedia:Ludwig van Beethoven|Ludwig van Beethoven]] (4:54)
# Beethoven 4:54
# [[Weezer]] (5:11)
# Weezer 5:11
===Release===
"The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" was the first song from ''The Red Album'' to be released on iTunes, releasing as a digital single on [[May 13]], [[2008]].


==Video==
The song was released as a downloadable track for [[List_of_Weezer_song_appearances_in_rhythm_video_games#Rock_Band_downloadable_songs|the rhythm video game ''Rock Band'']] on [[June 24]], [[2008]], along with the songs "[[Troublemaker]]" and "[[Dreamin']]."
In late 2008, it was reported that the band was to film a video for the song, directed by [[Spike Jonze]] who had previously directed videos from the ''[[The Blue Album]]'' and the ''[[The Green Album]]''.  However, a video was not filmed after all, and the prevailing attitude was that the label felt that it was a waste of money to further promote ''The Red Album''.  Shortly thereafter, the band went into the studio to record [[Raditude]].


The band did release a lo-fi, semi-unofficial video of the song, which was filmed as part of the MTV sessions previously released for "[[Automatic]]" and "[[Thought I Knew]]."
The song was performed live as the finale of the [[Wikipedia:Spike Video Game Awards|Spike Video Game Awards]], which aired on [[December 14]], [[2008]]. The performance featured a marching band drummer, a women's choir, and musician [[Wikipedia:Dave Kushner|Dave Kushner]] (formerly of Velvet Revolver) on rhythm guitar. Rivers Cuomo wore a white suit with no shoes.
==Known recordings==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em; font-size:.9em;
!Performer(s)
!Title
!Filename
!Date of recording
!Recording location
!Length
!Appeared on
!Notes
|-
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|[[Rivers Cuomo]]
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|<samp>The Greatest Man that ever Lived.mp3</samp>
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|[[June 21]], [[2007]]
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|6:04
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|''[[Alone X: The Red-Raditude-Hurley Years]]''
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|
|-
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|[[Weezer]]
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|April-October [[2007]]
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|Malibu Performing Arts Center, Malibu, CA
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|5:52
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|''[[Weezer (The Red Album)]]''
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|
|-
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|[[Rivers Cuomo]]
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|The Greatest Man That Ever Lived
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|[[November 25]], [[2008]]
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|Fingerprints, Long Beach CA
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|8:02
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|''[[Not Alone: Rivers Cuomo & Friends Live at Fingerprints]]''
| bgcolor="aaffaa"|
|-
|}
==Music video==
In late [[2008]], it was reported that a music video for "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived" was planned with director [[Spike Jonze]]<ref>Freedman, Pete. "How To Piss Off A Member Of Weezer: Brian Bell isn't so hot on comparisons between past Weezer records and the latest" ''Dallas Observer''. 15 October 2008. Archived by ''Wayback Machine''. 12 November 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20081112083152/http://www.dallasobserver.com/2008-10-16/music/how-to-piss-off-a-member-of-weezer/</ref> (who previously directed music videos for "[[Undone - The Sweater Song]]," "[[Buddy Holly]]," and "[[Island in the Sun]]." Ultimately, an official video never materialized. Ski and snowboarding film director [[Wikipedia:Warren Miller (director)|Warren Miller]] directed a video utilizing the song, which released in late 2008.<ref>Weezer. "The Greatest Man That Ever Lived - Weezer & Warren Miller" ''YouTube''. 29 November 2008. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLvR5NiCPb0</ref> A low-budget video, featuring the band lip-syncing the song with a boom-box, was filmed when the band was selected as MTV's Artist of the Week:


<youtube>3bOjU4kyAc0</youtube>
<youtube>3bOjU4kyAc0</youtube>
==Reception==
"The Greatest Man that Ever Lived" has been received fairly positively by the online Weezer fanbase. Many praise its creativty, even to the point of dubbing it "The Bohemian Rhapsody of the 21st century." Fans who dislike the song assert that it comes up short of the "epic" style that it is attempting to achieve. Cuomo's rapping in the opening lyrics of the song is disliked by some fans as well.
==Live performance==
Rivers has said that half of the time spent preparing for the Troublemaker Tour was devoted to rehearsing "The Greatest Man that Ever Lived."{{Citation needed}}Playing along to a tape recording was never an option, according to Cuomo.  The band felt that if it could not be done well live then it should not be played at all.  The song was mostly used to either close the set or open the encore during the [[Troublemaker Tour]].
==Personnel==
==Personnel==
*[[Rivers Cuomo]] – lead guitar, lead vocals, keyboard
*[[Rivers Cuomo]] – lead guitar, lead vocals, keyboard
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*[[Scott Shriner]] - bass guitar, lead and backup vocals
*[[Scott Shriner]] - bass guitar, lead and backup vocals
*[[Rick Rubin]] - producer
*[[Rick Rubin]] - producer
*[[Rich Costey]] - mixing


==Lyrics==
==Lyrics==
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I got the money and I got the fame
I got the money and I got the fame
You got the hots to ride on my plane
You got the hots to ride on my plane
You givin' me all that I desire
You're givin' me all that I desire
Cuz down with me I'm takin' you higher
Cuz down with me I'm takin' you higher


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==See also==
==See also==
*[[List of Weezer songs]]
*[[List of Weezer songs]]
 
*[[List of Rivers Cuomo songs]]
==External Links==
==References==
*[http://www.kroq-data.com/wah/wah/dcvideo/avc-view.aspx?v=3446 Rivers discusses the writing process.]
<references />


[[Category:Songs that appeared on the 4 and 5 Star Demos of Rivers Cuomo list]]
[[Category:Songs that appeared on the 4 and 5 Star Demos of Rivers Cuomo list]]
[[Category: Weezer songs]]
[[Category: Weezer songs]][[Category:Rivers Cuomo songs]]
[[Category: Weezer singles]]
[[Category: Weezer singles]]
[[Category:Allmusic track picks]]
[[Category:Allmusic track picks]]
[[Category: Songs on Weezer (The Red Album)]]
[[Category: Songs on Weezer (The Red Album)]][[Category:Songs on Alone X: The Red-Raditude-Hurley Years]]
[[Category: Weezer songs produced by Rick Rubin]]
[[Category: Weezer songs produced by Rick Rubin]]
[[Category:Songs with spoken word sections]]
[[Category:Songs with spoken word sections]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Karl Koch]]
[[Category:Music videos directed by Karl Koch]]
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