One of the rarest unreleased NMH tracks, "All the Colors of the Rainbow" is a live improvisation that Neutral Milk Hotel performed several times in 1997. It usually, if not always, featured members of Olivia Tremor Control joining in the jam, as Jeff spouted silliness about rainbows for a couple minutes over the top.

Also Known As
"All the Colours of the Rainbow" (regional spelling variation)

Available
various live bootlegs, such as :
25 April 1997 New York, NY, Knitting Factory
22 November 1997 Atlanta, GA, Red Light Cafe

Live

Played a few times in 1997. The only known recordings of this song are live. It's unknown whether it was ever demoed or done in the studio. Its improv nature makes that prospect doubtful, however.

Lyrics

(from NYC 4/25/97 live performance)

This song is called All the Colors of the Rainbow
Solely dedicated to all the colors of the rainbow
Because the rainbow is a beautiful thing
We actually saw one of them in Philadelphia earlier
Where we had a early rainstorm
And all over the city of Philadelphia was the biggest fucking rainbow I ever saw

I was born on a cold, wet day in 1970 in rural Louisiana
In a brown, dirty hospital bed
I just plopped right out of my mother there
And I wasn't afraid because above the hospital was a beautiful rainbow
A beautiful, beautiful rainbow was above my head
And I was not afraid

This song is called All the Colors of the Rainbow
Solely dedicated to all the colors of the rainbow
Because we're all here, we're playing here
We feel that we are the first band in the history of rock music
To ever solely dedicate a song to all the colors of the rainbow
Instead of naming some of those psychedelic bands
But they were just bullshitting around
They didn't mean it
Lady, wherever they'd go, fucking a rainbow
They gave a fuck about smoking or finding pot
So we're the first, but not really
I like a lot of psychedelic music
Like, you know the one
You know the phony psychedelic bands

(These lyrics are unconfirmed/unofficial. Please write in if you think you've found a mistake.)