I.R.S.

by **Soulmonster** Tue Aug 31, 2010 9:14 pm

I.R.S.

Albums:

Chinese Democracy, track no. 11, November 2008.

Written by:
Axl Rose, Paul Tobias and Dizzy Reed.

Musicians:
Axl Rose – lead vocals, backing vocals, keyboards, piano, guitar
Robin Finck – lead guitars, keyboards
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal – lead guitar
Buckethead – lead guitar
Paul Tobias – rhythm guitar, piano
Richard Fortus – rhythm guitar
Tommy Stinson – bass, backing vocals
Dizzy Reed – keyboards, piano, synthesizer, backing vocals
Chris Pitman – keyboards, programming, sub bass, backing vocals, bass, 12 string guitar, mellotron
Bryan "Brain" Mantia – drums, percussion
Frank Ferrer – drums, percussion

Live performances:
'I.R.S.' was played live for the first time on May 12, 2006, at the Hammerstein Ballroom, USA. In total it has, as of {UPDATEDATE}, at least been played {IRSSONGS} times.

I.R.S.
From the alternative Red Hand album artwork
Credit to troccoli

I.R.S.
From the alternative Grenade album artwork
Credit to troccoli

Lyrics:

Ah, ah
Is it true
What they say of you

Gonna call the President
Gonna call a Private Eye
Gonna get the IRS
Gonna need the FBI

There's not anymore that I can do
All the reasons that you gave
I'd follow you
To where you'd lead and if that be the end of time its true

Wouldnt be the first time I been WRONG
Wouldnt be the last I'M SURE, I've Known
With all the rumors I could tell,
Some things didn't work so well

Well anyway, it feels the same

As when you first told me you were gone,
So long ago but I still held on
Through all the Motions, the Love and the Sex
And thats the truth, and here's the worst yet

Would it even matter the things that I'd say
You made your mind up and gone anyway
And there's no use now in dragging it on
Should've seen it coming all along

Well it’s true....ooh....I had,
My doubts of you

Gonna call the President
Gonna call myself a Private Eye
Gonna need the IRS
Gonna get the FBI
Gonna make this a federal case
Gonna wave it right down in your face
Read it baby with your morning news
With a sweet hangover
And the headlines too, now

Ah ah

I bet you think I'm doing this all for my health
I should've looked again babe at somebody else
Feelin' like I'm done way more than wrong
Feelin' like I'm livin' inside of this song
Feelin' like I'm just too tired to care
Feelin' like I done more than my share
Could it be the way that I carried on
Like a broken record for so long

And I do
Ooh, oh,
I'm Gonna call the President,
I'm gonna call a private Eye
Gonna get the IRS,
Gonna need myself the FBI.

Oooh, What shall I do,
If I gave my heart to you?
It's such a crime you know it's true

Gonna call the president
Gonna need myself a private eye
Ooh, gonna need the IRS
Gonna get the FBI
Gonna make it a federal case
Gonna wave it right down in your face
Read it baby with your morning news
With a sweet hangover and the headlines too

There's not anymore that I can do

by **Soulmonster** Tue Apr 09, 2024 3:03 pm

Studio engineer Sean Paden talking about I.R.S. already being named in 1998 (Paden worked with the band from January to August 1998), but that it might just have been the name of a loop back then:

There was a lot of loops. IRS was an actual... I think if I'm not mistaken, IRS was an actual loop name. [...] I can't remember. And I think the same for Oklahoma. Like those are the only two songs that I think actually that I kind of go, "Oh, I remember that." I think they were... I don't even think they were songs, I think it were loop names. Maybe they were the songs that they were gonna call those songs and they had the idea, but those were the loop names that I would get. Like Dizzy would go, "Okay, I'm gonna play, can you record this section, call it, or label it IRS" and "Oklahoma," and I would record ADAT. And all it was was a loop. A four minute loop, a five minute loop, or a minute loop, whatever it was. And that's all he would go, okay.

GN'R Central, January 16, 2019

If this is correct, then it is possible, as for The General, that Axl either just keep the early placeholder names or use them as inspiration for writing lyrics.

I.R.S.

I.R.S.

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