Lyrics:Scavenger [Version (a)]:
(earliest known version from June 29, 1994)
Why do you weep? Why do you moan?
Why do you trash this pitiful home?
Sever the lifeblood, let the birds scream
Feel their movement in everything
It's not that easy, unreliable, fabulous
Takes one to know one, so climb aboard
One sure shot, one fell swoop
Out from under, it's a little bit clear
Slick as a gutter and I like it like that
Jumpin' around looking for a membrane
It's not that easy...
Takes one to know one, so climb aboard
What does it take to be your slave?
What does it show when you can't behave?
There's lots of people who could take your spot
Lots of applications starting to rot
It's not that easy to be a scavenger
Takes one to know one, so climb aboard
The Song:"Scavenger" is a fairly rare song. Beck did play it live a few times early on, but any recordings are unofficial.
The song is a full-band groove. It sounds a bit like the live versions of "
Blackhole," or the electric "
Got No Mind." Since both of those songs began as acoustic folk songs before being electrified and grunged up, maybe that's what happened here too? The end of the song is a quick punky jam.
Live:Played live 5 times:
Earliest known live version:
June 28, 1994Latest known live version:
October 25, 1994On June 29 1994, Beck and band played "Scavenger." The band is tight, but loose. The instrumental bridge between the second and third verses is very good. The bootleg for this show,
Total Paranoia, refers to the song as "It's Not Easy," which is incorrect.
For the JJJ radio session, Beck introduces himself and the radio station before announcing "This song is called 'Scavenger'," and then kicking everything off. On this version, he edits some of the lyrics. He sings "wonderful home" instead of "pitiful home" in the second line, and never finishes the line "It's not that easy...," even when the song's title is the ending. But otherwise, the performance is very similar to the one on June 29 1994.
"Scavenger" was played one more time on October 21 1994. The song did last in his repertoire for a few months, at least. This version is good, and some of the lyrics seem to have matured a bit. The bold lines are the new ones:
Why do you weep? Why do you moan?
Feelin' so cheap, build a new home
Sever the lifeblood, let the birds scream
Feel the moment in everything
It's so easy...
Takes one to know one, so climb aboard
??? ???
Shrinking around ???
Slick as a gutter, down to the drain
Jumpin' around, looking for a membrane
It's so free and easy like a scavenger
Takes one to know one, so climb aboard
And then the third verse is the same as I have in the Lyrics section. I enjoy this version a lot, it seems to me that over the few months Beck sporadically played it, by this point, he had a good understanding of it.
The version on October 25, 1994 also had a new verse of sorts:
It seems so safe, it seems so flat
Rockin' the houseboat, sink into the mud
Stow away, down the drain
Jumpin' around, lookin' for a membrane