You say the hill's too steep to climb
Climb it
You say you'd like to see me try
Climbing
You pick the place and I'll choose the time
And I'll climb the hill in my own way
Just wait a while for the right day
And as I rise above the tree lines and the clouds
I look down
Hear the sound of the things you said today
Fearlessly, the idiot faced the crowd smiling
Merciless, the magistrate turns 'round, frowning
And who's the fool who wears the crown?
And no doubt in your own way
And every day is the right day
And as you rise above the fear-lines in his brow
You look down and hear the sound of the faces in the crowd
(You'll never walk alone...)
- Its title is derived from a football (soccer) slang term for "awesome", which became a cliché among the band's touring party.
- Near the beginning and at the end of the song, a field recording of fans in Liverpool's Kop singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" is superimposed over the music. This Rodgers and Hammerstein song became the anthem of Liverpool F.C. after Gerry & the Pacemakers had a number-one hit with their recording. Roger Waters is in fact a staunch supporter of Arsenal F.C..
- Video of Liverpool Football fans singing the anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone."
- Video of Gerry & the Pacemakers' number-one hit, "You'll Never Walk Alone."
When you walk through a storm hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm is a golden sky
And the sweet, silver song of a lark.
Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone.
You'll never walk alone.
Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone, you'll never walk alone.
Author's Note: From reading Gerry & the Pacemakers' original song, it is easy to see how the song inspired Pink Floyd to write their own version of fearlessness.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Corporal Clegg
Corporal Clegg had a wooden leg
He won it in the war, in 1944.
Corporal Clegg had a medal too
In orange, red, and blue
He found it in the zoo.
Dear, dear were they really sad for me?
Dear, dear will they really laugh at me?
Mrs. Clegg, you must be proud of him.
Mrs. Clegg, another drop of gin.
Corporal Clegg umbrella in the rain
He's never been the same
No one is to blame
Corporal Clegg received his medal in a dream
From Her Majesty the queen
His boots were very clean.
Mrs. Clegg, you must be proud of him
Mrs. Clegg, another drop of gin.
- This song is about a soldier who lost his leg in World War II, and his apparently alcoholic wife. It is the first mention of war in a Pink Floyd song.
- David Gilmour also plays the kazoo on this song. The inventor of the kazoo was named Thaddeus von Clegg, which is perhaps why they chose to name the title character Clegg. Reference
- Corporal (Cpl) is the second rank of non-commissioned officer in the British Army and Royal Marines, falling between Lance-Corporal and Sergeant. The badge of rank is a two-bar chevronsection, with a Lance Corporal as Second-in-Command (2ic). When the section is split into fire teams, they command one each. In the Royal Armoured Corps, a Corporal commands an individual tank. Their duties therefore largely correspond to those of Sergeants or even Staff Sergeants in the United States Army and Corporals are often described as the "backbone" of the British Army. (also known as "stripes", "tapes" or "hooks"). A corporal's role varies between regiments, but in the standard infantry role a corporal commands a
- Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason sang the lines, "He won it in the war... in orange red and blue... he's never been the same... and from her majesty the queen." It was Mason's only vocal contribution until Pink Floyd's sixth album, Meddle, in 1971.
He won it in the war, in 1944.
Corporal Clegg had a medal too
In orange, red, and blue
He found it in the zoo.
Dear, dear were they really sad for me?
Dear, dear will they really laugh at me?
Mrs. Clegg, you must be proud of him.
Mrs. Clegg, another drop of gin.
Corporal Clegg umbrella in the rain
He's never been the same
No one is to blame
Corporal Clegg received his medal in a dream
From Her Majesty the queen
His boots were very clean.
Mrs. Clegg, you must be proud of him
Mrs. Clegg, another drop of gin.
- This song is about a soldier who lost his leg in World War II, and his apparently alcoholic wife. It is the first mention of war in a Pink Floyd song.
- David Gilmour also plays the kazoo on this song. The inventor of the kazoo was named Thaddeus von Clegg, which is perhaps why they chose to name the title character Clegg. Reference
- Corporal (Cpl) is the second rank of non-commissioned officer in the British Army and Royal Marines, falling between Lance-Corporal and Sergeant. The badge of rank is a two-bar chevronsection, with a Lance Corporal as Second-in-Command (2ic). When the section is split into fire teams, they command one each. In the Royal Armoured Corps, a Corporal commands an individual tank. Their duties therefore largely correspond to those of Sergeants or even Staff Sergeants in the United States Army and Corporals are often described as the "backbone" of the British Army. (also known as "stripes", "tapes" or "hooks"). A corporal's role varies between regiments, but in the standard infantry role a corporal commands a
- Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason sang the lines, "He won it in the war... in orange red and blue... he's never been the same... and from her majesty the queen." It was Mason's only vocal contribution until Pink Floyd's sixth album, Meddle, in 1971.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Jugband Blues
It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here
And I'm much obliged to you for making it clear
That I'm not here.
And I never knew the moon could be so big
And I never knew the moon could be so blue
And I'm grateful that you threw away my old shoes
And brought me here instead dressed in red
And I'm wondering who could be writing this song.
I don't care if the sun don't shine
And I don't care if nothing is mine
And I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my loving in the winter.
And the sea isn't green
And I love the queen
And what exactly is a dream
And what exactly is a joke.
- This is the very last song Syd Barrett wrote for the band, and is the single contribution to the album, A Saucerful of Secrets.
- Interesting to note, it is also listed as the last song on the album.
- Barrett wanted a Salvation Army band to play on the track. They were brought in, but when he stated that he wanted them to simply "play whatever they want" regardless of the rest of the group, Norman Smith insisted on recorded parts. Eventually both versions were recorded and used.
- 8 members of the Salvation Army (The International Staff Band) - Ray Bowes (cornet), Terry Camsey (cornet), Mac Carter (trombone), Les Condon (Eb bass), Maurice Cooper (Euphonium), Ian Hankey (trombone), George Whittingham (Bb bass), and one other.
- The song is viewed by many fans as a sad farewell piece by Barrett who, by the beginning of the recording sessions for A Saucerful of Secrets, was already shrinking into a delirious state of mind, exacerbated by his feelings of alienation from the rest of the band, as can be gleaned from the painfully specific lyrics in the song ("I don't care if the sun don't shine/ And I don't care if nothing is mine"), although it has been argued that the common interpretation of the lyrics as reflecting Barrett's dementia owes more to Barrett's popular image more than fact, and that they could be read as a criticism of the other band members for forcing him out. Reference
- "Jugband Blues" is most often viewed as a creepy-spooky farewell to the band from its increasingly deranged ex-leader. While the lyrics do support this interpretation, the opening line -- "It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here/And I'm almost obliged to you for making it clear that I'm not here" -- sounds more like a potshot at Barrett's soon-to-be-former bandmates and their management, from an all-too-lucid singer/songwriter angered at being edged out of the band he founded. Reference
Author's Note: It is not difficult to see how utterly heartbreaking this song really is. One view of the video with a complacent and unwavering Syd Barrett blatantly reveals the overwhelming depression going on inside him. The opening lines in the song scream of a scathing betrayal by the band. "It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here, And I'm much obliged to you for making it clear, That I'm not here."
He later goes on to say, "And I'm wondering who could be writing this song. I don't care if the sun don't shine. And I don't care if nothing is mine. And I don't care if I'm nervous with you."
It very much sounds like he understands his days of leading Pink Floyd are over, but that he isn't exactly ready to part with the band yet.
And finally, the last two lines in the song seem to confirm his unhappiness of being asked to leave the band.
And I'm much obliged to you for making it clear
That I'm not here.
And I never knew the moon could be so big
And I never knew the moon could be so blue
And I'm grateful that you threw away my old shoes
And brought me here instead dressed in red
And I'm wondering who could be writing this song.
I don't care if the sun don't shine
And I don't care if nothing is mine
And I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my loving in the winter.
And the sea isn't green
And I love the queen
And what exactly is a dream
And what exactly is a joke.
- This is the very last song Syd Barrett wrote for the band, and is the single contribution to the album, A Saucerful of Secrets.
- Interesting to note, it is also listed as the last song on the album.
- Barrett wanted a Salvation Army band to play on the track. They were brought in, but when he stated that he wanted them to simply "play whatever they want" regardless of the rest of the group, Norman Smith insisted on recorded parts. Eventually both versions were recorded and used.
- 8 members of the Salvation Army (The International Staff Band) - Ray Bowes (cornet), Terry Camsey (cornet), Mac Carter (trombone), Les Condon (Eb bass), Maurice Cooper (Euphonium), Ian Hankey (trombone), George Whittingham (Bb bass), and one other.
- The song is viewed by many fans as a sad farewell piece by Barrett who, by the beginning of the recording sessions for A Saucerful of Secrets, was already shrinking into a delirious state of mind, exacerbated by his feelings of alienation from the rest of the band, as can be gleaned from the painfully specific lyrics in the song ("I don't care if the sun don't shine/ And I don't care if nothing is mine"), although it has been argued that the common interpretation of the lyrics as reflecting Barrett's dementia owes more to Barrett's popular image more than fact, and that they could be read as a criticism of the other band members for forcing him out. Reference
- "Jugband Blues" is most often viewed as a creepy-spooky farewell to the band from its increasingly deranged ex-leader. While the lyrics do support this interpretation, the opening line -- "It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here/And I'm almost obliged to you for making it clear that I'm not here" -- sounds more like a potshot at Barrett's soon-to-be-former bandmates and their management, from an all-too-lucid singer/songwriter angered at being edged out of the band he founded. Reference
Author's Note: It is not difficult to see how utterly heartbreaking this song really is. One view of the video with a complacent and unwavering Syd Barrett blatantly reveals the overwhelming depression going on inside him. The opening lines in the song scream of a scathing betrayal by the band. "It's awfully considerate of you to think of me here, And I'm much obliged to you for making it clear, That I'm not here."
He later goes on to say, "And I'm wondering who could be writing this song. I don't care if the sun don't shine. And I don't care if nothing is mine. And I don't care if I'm nervous with you."
It very much sounds like he understands his days of leading Pink Floyd are over, but that he isn't exactly ready to part with the band yet.
And finally, the last two lines in the song seem to confirm his unhappiness of being asked to leave the band.
Monday, January 12, 2009
See Emily Play
Emily tries but misunderstands, ah ooh
She's often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See Emily play
Soon after dark Emily cries, ah ooh
Gazing through trees in sorrow hardly a sound till tomorrow
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See Emily play
Put on a gown that touches the ground, ah ooh
Float on a river forever and ever, Emily
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See Emily play
- The song was reportedly about a girl named Emily, whom [Syd] Barrett claimed he saw while sleeping in the woods after taking a hallucinogenic drug. Barrett later stated that the story about sleeping in the woods and seeing a girl before him was made up "...all for publicity."
-This was the band's second single.
- According to A Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, by Nicholas Schaffner, Emily is the Honorable Emily Young (b. March 13, 1951), daughter of Wayland Hilton Young, 2nd Baron Kennet, and nicknamed "the psychedelic schoolgirl" at the UFO Club. An article in Mojo magazine called "See the Real Emily" supposedly shows a picture of Barrett's Emily. Reference
- During the sessions for the song, David Gilmour was a visitor to the studio, after being invited by Syd. He was shocked by what he perceived as a change in Syd's personality, and Syd did not appear to even recognize his old friend, despite having invited him there in the first place. For many years Gilmour would recall this encounter with the saying, "I'll go on record as saying, that was when he changed." Reference
- The slide guitar work on the song is said to have been done by Barrett with a Zippo lighter.
- The train depicted on the single's sleeve was actually drawn by Barrett himself. Reference
- "Free games for may" = the song was also known as "Games for May," and sometimes "Free Games for May," after a free concert in which [Syd] Barrett's Pink Floyd performed.
She's often inclined to borrow somebody's dreams till tomorrow
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See Emily play
Soon after dark Emily cries, ah ooh
Gazing through trees in sorrow hardly a sound till tomorrow
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See Emily play
Put on a gown that touches the ground, ah ooh
Float on a river forever and ever, Emily
There is no other day
Let's try it another way
You'll lose your mind and play
Free games for may
See Emily play
- The song was reportedly about a girl named Emily, whom [Syd] Barrett claimed he saw while sleeping in the woods after taking a hallucinogenic drug. Barrett later stated that the story about sleeping in the woods and seeing a girl before him was made up "...all for publicity."
-This was the band's second single.
- According to A Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey, by Nicholas Schaffner, Emily is the Honorable Emily Young (b. March 13, 1951), daughter of Wayland Hilton Young, 2nd Baron Kennet, and nicknamed "the psychedelic schoolgirl" at the UFO Club. An article in Mojo magazine called "See the Real Emily" supposedly shows a picture of Barrett's Emily. Reference
- During the sessions for the song, David Gilmour was a visitor to the studio, after being invited by Syd. He was shocked by what he perceived as a change in Syd's personality, and Syd did not appear to even recognize his old friend, despite having invited him there in the first place. For many years Gilmour would recall this encounter with the saying, "I'll go on record as saying, that was when he changed." Reference
- The slide guitar work on the song is said to have been done by Barrett with a Zippo lighter.
- The train depicted on the single's sleeve was actually drawn by Barrett himself. Reference
- "Free games for may" = the song was also known as "Games for May," and sometimes "Free Games for May," after a free concert in which [Syd] Barrett's Pink Floyd performed. - GAMES FOR MAY - Space Age Relaxation for the Climax of Spring
12th of May 1967 - A one-time concert in Queen Elizabeth Hall, London -the first concept piece of PF and the first time Quadraphonic Sound Equipment was used.
1) 'Tape Dawn' Taped sound effects of birds etc. recorded by Roger Waters. Served as introduction to the show and was played in the foyer of the theatre prior to the show.
2) Matilda Mother
3) Flaming
4) Scarecrow
5) Jugband Blues
6) Games for May Written for this occasion and later rewritten and retitled to See Emily Play
7) Bike
8) Arnold Layne
9) Candy And a Currant Bun
10) Pow R Toc H
11) Interstellar Overdrive
12) 'Tape Bubbles' Taped sound effects by Rick Wright to accompany soap bubbles filling the theatre
13) 'Tape Ending' Taped instrumental piece by Barrett
14) Encore: Lucifer Sam
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Arnold Layne
Arnold Layne had a strange hobby
Collecting clothes
Moonshine washing line
They suit him fine
On the wall hung a tall mirror
Distorted view, see through baby blue - he dug it
Oh, Arnold Layne
It's not the same, takes two to know
Two to know, two to know
Why can't you see?
Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne
Now he's caught - a nasty sort of person.
They gave him time
Doors bang - chain gang - he hates it
Oh, Arnold Layne
It's not the same, takes two to know
Two to know, two to know
Why can't you see?
Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne
Don't do it again
- Although it was not included on the band's first album, this is the first single released by the band.
- The single reached #9 on the record charts for 1967. Reference
- This is the band's alternative promotional film, which featured the band goofing around in a forest and in front of a church. It is also the only known footage of Syd Barrett lip syncing to the song.
- "Arnold Layne had a strange hobby, collecting clothes, moonshine washing line, they suit him fine" - The song's title character is a transvestite whose primary pastime is stealing women's clothes and undergarments from washing lines. According to Roger Waters, "Arnold Layne" was actually based on a real person, and that this person routinely stole underwear from the mothers of (Syd) Barrett and Waters during their childhood days in Cambridge.
- Despite finding a place in the Top 20, the song's unusual transvestism theme attracted the ire of Radio London, which deemed the song too far-removed from "normal" society for its listeners before eventually banning it from radio airplay altogether.
-It took (Joe) Boyd 40 years to discover the song's origins - too late to include them in his book.
Collecting clothes
Moonshine washing line
They suit him fine
On the wall hung a tall mirror
Distorted view, see through baby blue - he dug it
Oh, Arnold Layne
It's not the same, takes two to know
Two to know, two to know
Why can't you see?
Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne
Now he's caught - a nasty sort of person.
They gave him time
Doors bang - chain gang - he hates it
Oh, Arnold Layne
It's not the same, takes two to know
Two to know, two to know
Why can't you see?
Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne, Arnold Layne
Don't do it again
- Although it was not included on the band's first album, this is the first single released by the band.
- The single reached #9 on the record charts for 1967. Reference
- This is the band's alternative promotional film, which featured the band goofing around in a forest and in front of a church. It is also the only known footage of Syd Barrett lip syncing to the song.
- "Arnold Layne had a strange hobby, collecting clothes, moonshine washing line, they suit him fine" - The song's title character is a transvestite whose primary pastime is stealing women's clothes and undergarments from washing lines. According to Roger Waters, "Arnold Layne" was actually based on a real person, and that this person routinely stole underwear from the mothers of (Syd) Barrett and Waters during their childhood days in Cambridge.
- Despite finding a place in the Top 20, the song's unusual transvestism theme attracted the ire of Radio London, which deemed the song too far-removed from "normal" society for its listeners before eventually banning it from radio airplay altogether.
-It took (Joe) Boyd 40 years to discover the song's origins - too late to include them in his book.
"After the book came out [in England], I was on the phone with Nick Mason from Floyd," Boyd says. "He told me that Syd Barrett's and Roger Waters' mothers used a room in each of their houses as a boardinghouse for students. And girl students in the house means underwear in the washing machine or on the line. So they grew up with this image, and then there was a case in Cambridge of some guy caught stealing lingerie. All of this was going on while Syd and Roger were 13, 14, 15. And they get to be 19, 20, and it turns into a song - "Arnold Layne." Reference
Friday, January 9, 2009
Astronomy Domine
Lime and limpid green
A second scene
A fight between the blue you once knew
Floating down the sound resounds around the icy waters underground
Jupiter and Saturn
Oberon, Miranda, Titania,
Neptune titan stars can frighten
Blinding signs flap
flicka flicka flicka blam pow
Stairway scare, Dan Dare, who's there?
Lime and limpid green, the sound surrounds the icy waters underground
Lime and limpid green, the sound surrounds the icy waters underground
- Its working title was "Astronomy Dominé (An Astral Chant)", although the accented "é" is an improper spelling. "Domine" ("Lord" in Latin) is a word frequently quoted in Gregorian chants.
- Domine
- As of 2008, Uranus is known to possess 13 inner moons. Their orbits lie inside that of Miranda. All inner moons are intimately connected to the rings of Uranus, which probably resulted from the fragmentation of one or several small inner moons. Uranus has five major moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. The first two moons to be discovered, Titania and Oberon,
- William Herschel, instead of assigning names from Greek mythology, named the moons after magical spirits in English literature: the fairies Oberon and Titania from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
- The song opens with the voice of the band's manager at the time Peter Jenner, reading the names of stars through a megaphone. The intention of this opening is to replicate the feeling of outer space, with Jenner's voice sounding like an astronaut's over an intercom. Reference
- At 0:26, (Nick) Mason's distinctive drum fills emerge, followed closely by (Syd) Barrett's bluesy, sinister-sounding guitar (perhaps reminiscent of Duane Eddy) in a figure suggestive of the brass motif from "Mars, the Bringer of War" in (Gustav) Holst's The Planets.
- (Video of Gustav Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War")
- The last time the song was ever performed with Roger Waters was on 20th June, 1971 at the Palaeur, Rome, Italy.
A second scene
A fight between the blue you once knew
Floating down the sound resounds around the icy waters underground
Jupiter and Saturn
Oberon, Miranda, Titania,
Neptune titan stars can frighten
Blinding signs flap
flicka flicka flicka blam pow
Stairway scare, Dan Dare, who's there?
Lime and limpid green, the sound surrounds the icy waters underground
Lime and limpid green, the sound surrounds the icy waters underground
- Its working title was "Astronomy Dominé (An Astral Chant)", although the accented "é" is an improper spelling. "Domine" ("Lord" in Latin) is a word frequently quoted in Gregorian chants.
- Domine
- As of 2008, Uranus is known to possess 13 inner moons. Their orbits lie inside that of Miranda. All inner moons are intimately connected to the rings of Uranus, which probably resulted from the fragmentation of one or several small inner moons. Uranus has five major moons: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania and Oberon. The first two moons to be discovered, Titania and Oberon,
- William Herschel, instead of assigning names from Greek mythology, named the moons after magical spirits in English literature: the fairies Oberon and Titania from William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
- The song opens with the voice of the band's manager at the time Peter Jenner, reading the names of stars through a megaphone. The intention of this opening is to replicate the feeling of outer space, with Jenner's voice sounding like an astronaut's over an intercom. Reference
- At 0:26, (Nick) Mason's distinctive drum fills emerge, followed closely by (Syd) Barrett's bluesy, sinister-sounding guitar (perhaps reminiscent of Duane Eddy) in a figure suggestive of the brass motif from "Mars, the Bringer of War" in (Gustav) Holst's The Planets.
- (Video of Gustav Holst's "Mars, the Bringer of War")
- The last time the song was ever performed with Roger Waters was on 20th June, 1971 at the Palaeur, Rome, Italy.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Riders on the Storm
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm.
There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirming like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride
Sweet family will die
Killer on the road, yeah.
Girl you gotta love your man
Girl you gotta love your man
Take him by the hand
Make him understand
The world on you depends
Our life will never end
Gotta love your man, yeah.
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm.
Riders on the storm (X4)
- "Riders on the Storm" According to band member Robby Krieger, it was inspired by the song, "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend".
- This is the Johnny Cash version of the song, "Ghost Riders in the Sky"
- Lyrics of the original Stan Jones version of Ghost Riders in the Sky
- The song is played in the E Dorian mode, and incorporates real sound effects of thunder and rain, along with Ray Manzarek's Fender Rhodes electric piano playing, which emulates the sound of rain.
- Jim Morrison recorded his main vocals and then whispered the lyrics over them to create the haunting effect. Reference
- The song's lyrics allude in part to the notorious spree killer Billy Cook, who posed as a hitchhiker and murdered an entire family. ("There's a killer on the road... // His brain is squirmin' like a toad... ") According to a widespread urban legend the song was conceived as an allusion to a tragic accident caused by another car's reckless driving, ending in several deaths of Navajo tribesmen as his car hit a truck where they were traveling.
- The film, Hitch-Hiker, inspired by the events of Billy Cook.
-Featured on The Doors’ 1971 album LA Woman, Riders on the Storm was written by Jim Morrison and reached number 14 on the music charts. According to band member Robby Krieger, it was inspired by the Stan Jones song, (Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend. However popular myth tells us that in fact, Riders on the Storm was possibly written about three different incidents.
- This was the last song Jim Morrison ever recorded.
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm.
There's a killer on the road
His brain is squirming like a toad
Take a long holiday
Let your children play
If you give this man a ride
Sweet family will die
Killer on the road, yeah.
Girl you gotta love your man
Girl you gotta love your man
Take him by the hand
Make him understand
The world on you depends
Our life will never end
Gotta love your man, yeah.
Riders on the storm
Riders on the storm
Into this house we're born
Into this world we're thrown
Like a dog without a bone
An actor out on loan
Riders on the storm.
Riders on the storm (X4)
- "Riders on the Storm" According to band member Robby Krieger, it was inspired by the song, "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend".
- This is the Johnny Cash version of the song, "Ghost Riders in the Sky"
- Lyrics of the original Stan Jones version of Ghost Riders in the Sky
- The song is played in the E Dorian mode, and incorporates real sound effects of thunder and rain, along with Ray Manzarek's Fender Rhodes electric piano playing, which emulates the sound of rain.
- Jim Morrison recorded his main vocals and then whispered the lyrics over them to create the haunting effect. Reference
- The song's lyrics allude in part to the notorious spree killer Billy Cook, who posed as a hitchhiker and murdered an entire family. ("There's a killer on the road... // His brain is squirmin' like a toad... ") According to a widespread urban legend the song was conceived as an allusion to a tragic accident caused by another car's reckless driving, ending in several deaths of Navajo tribesmen as his car hit a truck where they were traveling.
- The film, Hitch-Hiker, inspired by the events of Billy Cook.
-Featured on The Doors’ 1971 album LA Woman, Riders on the Storm was written by Jim Morrison and reached number 14 on the music charts. According to band member Robby Krieger, it was inspired by the Stan Jones song, (Ghost) Riders in the Sky: A Cowboy Legend. However popular myth tells us that in fact, Riders on the Storm was possibly written about three different incidents.
- The killing spree of Billy Cook who posed as a hitchhiker and murdered an entire family – highlighted by the lyrics “There's a killer on the road, His brain is squirmin' like a toad, Take a long holiday, Let your children play, If ya give this man a ride, Sweet memory will die, Killer on the road”
- A tragic accident involving a reckless driver and several deaths of Navajo tribesman when the car hit them head on
- The poem, Chevaliers de l'Ouragan (literally, "Riders of the Hurricane"), by French Communist poet Louis Aragon
- This was the last song Jim Morrison ever recorded.
Friday, January 2, 2009
L.A. Woman
Well....I just got into town about an hour ago
Took a look around see which way the wind blows,
See the little girls in their Hollywood bungalows.
Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light
Or just another lost angel?
City of Night.
City of Night.
City of Night.
City of Night.
Whoo! C'mon!
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
Drive thru your suburbs
Into your blues.
Into your blues.
Yeah, yeah.
Into your blues.
Into your blues.
Oh!
I see your hair is burnin'.
Hills are filled with fire.
If they say I never loved you,
You know they are all liars.
Drivin' down your freeway.
Midnight alleys roam.
Cops in cars. The topless bars.
Never saw a woman
So alone.
So alone.
So alone.
So alone.
Motel. Money. Murder. Madness.
Let's change the mood from glad to sadness.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Gotta keep on risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Gotta keep on risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Well, I took a little downer about an hour ago
Took a look around see which way the wind blows,
See the little girls in their Hollywood bungalows.
Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light
Or just another lost angel?
City of Night.
City of Night.
City of Night.
City of Night.
Oh! Oh!
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman...
- "L.A. Woman" was Jim's (Morrison) despairing salute to Los Angeles, a city he now saw as diseased and alienated. Los Angeles was a "city of night" for Jim. (He took the phrase from a novel by John Rechy).
- "Mr. Mojo Risin'" is an anagram of Jim Morrison's name.
- "Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light, or just another lost angel?" Refers to Jim Morrison's "cosmic mate" Pamela Courson.
- (Jim) Morrison recorded his vocals in the studio bathroom to get a fuller sound. He spent a lot of time in there anyway because of all the beer he drank during the sessions. Reference
- The Doors needed extra musicians to record 'L.A. Woman.'Jerry Scheff was brought in to play bass, Marc Benno to play guitar. Scheff and Benno were going to tour with the band, but (Jim) Morrison's death canceled those plans. Reference
-In 1970, 10 people were killed and some 400 houses destroyed when a 20-mile (32 km) wall of fire burned over a mountain ridge toward the town of Malibu and the sea. A year later, acclaimed crime writer Ross MacDonald published "The Underground Man," in which the so-called Rattlesnake Fire rages in hills as the backdrop to a murder investigation. "Unless the Santa Ana stopped blowing ... Rattlesnake might strike across the city all the way to the sea," he wrote. That same year, that The Doors released the band's evocative "L.A. Woman," featuring singer Jim Morrison intoning: "I see your hair is burning, hills are filled with fire." Reference
Took a look around see which way the wind blows,
See the little girls in their Hollywood bungalows.
Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light
Or just another lost angel?
City of Night.
City of Night.
City of Night.
City of Night.
Whoo! C'mon!
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
L.A. Woman. Sunday afternoon.
Drive thru your suburbs
Into your blues.
Into your blues.
Yeah, yeah.
Into your blues.
Into your blues.
Oh!
I see your hair is burnin'.
Hills are filled with fire.
If they say I never loved you,
You know they are all liars.
Drivin' down your freeway.
Midnight alleys roam.
Cops in cars. The topless bars.
Never saw a woman
So alone.
So alone.
So alone.
So alone.
Motel. Money. Murder. Madness.
Let's change the mood from glad to sadness.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Gotta keep on risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Mr. Mojo Risin'.
Gotta keep on risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Risin', risin'.
Well, I took a little downer about an hour ago
Took a look around see which way the wind blows,
See the little girls in their Hollywood bungalows.
Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light
Or just another lost angel?
City of Night.
City of Night.
City of Night.
City of Night.
Oh! Oh!
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman.
L.A. Woman...
- "L.A. Woman" was Jim's (Morrison) despairing salute to Los Angeles, a city he now saw as diseased and alienated. Los Angeles was a "city of night" for Jim. (He took the phrase from a novel by John Rechy).
- "Mr. Mojo Risin'" is an anagram of Jim Morrison's name.
- "Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light, or just another lost angel?" Refers to Jim Morrison's "cosmic mate" Pamela Courson.
- (Jim) Morrison recorded his vocals in the studio bathroom to get a fuller sound. He spent a lot of time in there anyway because of all the beer he drank during the sessions. Reference
- The Doors needed extra musicians to record 'L.A. Woman.'Jerry Scheff was brought in to play bass, Marc Benno to play guitar. Scheff and Benno were going to tour with the band, but (Jim) Morrison's death canceled those plans. Reference
-In 1970, 10 people were killed and some 400 houses destroyed when a 20-mile (32 km) wall of fire burned over a mountain ridge toward the town of Malibu and the sea. A year later, acclaimed crime writer Ross MacDonald published "The Underground Man," in which the so-called Rattlesnake Fire rages in hills as the backdrop to a murder investigation. "Unless the Santa Ana stopped blowing ... Rattlesnake might strike across the city all the way to the sea," he wrote. That same year, that The Doors released the band's evocative "L.A. Woman," featuring singer Jim Morrison intoning: "I see your hair is burning, hills are filled with fire." Reference
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
The Unknown Soldier
Wait until the war is over
And we're both a little older
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmet's head
And it's all over
For the unknown soldier
It's all over
For the unknown soldier
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Comp'nee
Halt
Preeee-zent!
Arms!
Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Bullet strikes the helmet's head
And, it's all over
The war is over
It's all over
The war is over
Well, all over, baby
All over, baby
Oh, over, yeah
All over, baby
Wooooo, hah-hah
All over
All over, baby
Oh, whoa-yeah
All over
All over
Heeeeyyyy
- More time was consumed by the pefectionism of Paul Rothchild. Nearly every song on the album required at least twenty takes- admittedly a lot of the blown takes where Jim's fault- while "The Unknown Soldier," recorded in two parts required a total of 130 starts. (pg. 179, No One Here Gets Out Alive)
- Jim Morrison's father (George Stephen Morrison) was the youngest admiral in the U.S. Navy until 1964.
- Jim Morrison would graduate high school in 1960 from George Washington High School in Alexandria, Virginia - not too far from the tomb of the Unknown Soldiers in Arlington National Cemetary.
- "Breakfast where the news is read, television children fed" Jim Morrison is referring to the late 60's and how the Vietnam War was the first "living-room war." Each and every household in the United States received daily news of the Vietnam War via the local newspapers, or aired daily on television sets everywhere- particularly in front of the children.
- The Saigon bureau was for years the third largest the networks maintained, after New York and Washington, with five camera crews on duty most of the time. Reference
- " Unborn living, living, dead" This has absolutely nothing to do with abortion. It is merely a reflection of how children in the United States were being fed so much television that they were the 'unborn living,' and 'living dead' is a reflection of how they were numbed by by that entertainment.
- The song was Jim Morrison's reaction to the Vietnam War and the way that conflict was portrayed in American media at the time. Lines such as, "Breakfast where the news is read/Television children fed/ unknown living, living dead/bullets strike the helmet's head", concern the way news of the war was being presented in the living rooms of ordinary people. Reference
- The middle of the song acts out a ritual in the ancient tradition of the shaman. Morrison, the artist incarnate of the shamanic spirit, sacrifices himself in a ritual – one of military execution, the firing squad – to purge us of the burden of war. Then he softly invites us to make a grave for all this death. The song recants the breakfast and television fed images, but Jim doesn’t repeat unborn living, living dead, allowing the listener to fill in that hollow space before the bullet hits the helmet’s head and The Doors close by chanting that the war is over. Reference
And we're both a little older
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Unborn living, living, dead
Bullet strikes the helmet's head
And it's all over
For the unknown soldier
It's all over
For the unknown soldier
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Hut
Hut
Hut ho hee up
Comp'nee
Halt
Preeee-zent!
Arms!
Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder
The unknown soldier
Breakfast where the news is read
Television children fed
Bullet strikes the helmet's head
And, it's all over
The war is over
It's all over
The war is over
Well, all over, baby
All over, baby
Oh, over, yeah
All over, baby
Wooooo, hah-hah
All over
All over, baby
Oh, whoa-yeah
All over
All over
Heeeeyyyy
- More time was consumed by the pefectionism of Paul Rothchild. Nearly every song on the album required at least twenty takes- admittedly a lot of the blown takes where Jim's fault- while "The Unknown Soldier," recorded in two parts required a total of 130 starts. (pg. 179, No One Here Gets Out Alive)
- Jim Morrison's father (George Stephen Morrison) was the youngest admiral in the U.S. Navy until 1964.
- Jim Morrison would graduate high school in 1960 from George Washington High School in Alexandria, Virginia - not too far from the tomb of the Unknown Soldiers in Arlington National Cemetary.
- "Breakfast where the news is read, television children fed" Jim Morrison is referring to the late 60's and how the Vietnam War was the first "living-room war." Each and every household in the United States received daily news of the Vietnam War via the local newspapers, or aired daily on television sets everywhere- particularly in front of the children.
- The Saigon bureau was for years the third largest the networks maintained, after New York and Washington, with five camera crews on duty most of the time. Reference
- " Unborn living, living, dead" This has absolutely nothing to do with abortion. It is merely a reflection of how children in the United States were being fed so much television that they were the 'unborn living,' and 'living dead' is a reflection of how they were numbed by by that entertainment.
- The song was Jim Morrison's reaction to the Vietnam War and the way that conflict was portrayed in American media at the time. Lines such as, "Breakfast where the news is read/Television children fed/ unknown living, living dead/bullets strike the helmet's head", concern the way news of the war was being presented in the living rooms of ordinary people. Reference
- The middle of the song acts out a ritual in the ancient tradition of the shaman. Morrison, the artist incarnate of the shamanic spirit, sacrifices himself in a ritual – one of military execution, the firing squad – to purge us of the burden of war. Then he softly invites us to make a grave for all this death. The song recants the breakfast and television fed images, but Jim doesn’t repeat unborn living, living dead, allowing the listener to fill in that hollow space before the bullet hits the helmet’s head and The Doors close by chanting that the war is over. Reference
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Five to One
Yeah, c'mon
Love my girl
She lookin' good
C'mon
One more
Five to one, baby
One in five
No one here gets out alive, now
You get yours, baby
I'll get mine
Gonna make it, baby
If we try
The old get old
And the young get stronger
May take a week
And it may take longer
They got the guns
But we got the numbers
Gonna win, yeah
We're takin' over
Come on!
Yeah!
Your ballroom days are over, baby
Night is drawing near
Shadows of the evening crawl across the years
Ya walk across the floor with a flower in your hand
Trying to tell me no one understands
Trade in your hours for a handful dimes
Gonna' make it, baby, in our prime
Come together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together, aha
Get together one more time!
Get together one more time!
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together, gotta, get together
Ohhhhhhhh!
Hey, c'mon, honey
You won't have a long wait for me, baby
I'll be there in just a little while
You see, I gotta go out in this car with these people and...
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together, got to
Get together, got to
Get together, got to
Take you up in my room and...
Hah-hah-hah-hah-hah
Love my girl
She lookin' good, lookin' real good
Love ya, c'mon
- The song took its title from the first line, "Five to One," a statistic that went unexplained by Jim.
- Statistics between 1960-1969
- Paul Rothchild's theory is that, "Five to one is the same as one in six, the approximate ratio of blacks to whites in the U.S., and one in five I remember being reported as the dope-smoking ratio in Los Angeles." But whenever he was asked, Jim (Morrison) would only say that he didn't consider the song political. (pg 152, No One Here Gets Out Alive)
- Listened to in its entirety, the song seems to be a parody of all the naive revolutionary rhetoric heard on the streets and read in the underground press in the late sixties This interpretation is strongly supported by the final verse, the verse Jim's audience paid little attention to. In it Jim addressed some of the young people in his constituency, the "hippie/flower child" hordes he saw in growing numbers, panhandling on the city sidewalks outside every concert hall.
Your ballroom days are over, baby
Night is drawing near
Shadows of the evening crawl across the years
Ya walk across the floor with a flower in your hand
Trying to tell me no one understands
Trade in your hours for a handful dimes
Gonna' make it, baby, in our prime
(pg 152, No One Here Gets Out Alive)
- He (Jim Morrison) was so drunk when he recorded this song, he needed help from the studio staff on when to begin singing. If you listen closely, you can hear someone in the background say "One more" before Jim starts his first verse. The opening part ("Yeah, c'mon - I love my girl. She lookin' good...") is some of Jim's nonsensical drunk rambling. Reference
- The song's most famous performance was at the 1969 Miami concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium. Towards the end of the performance, a drunken Morrison declared the audience "idiots" and "slaves". The concert would end with Morrison being accused of "attempting to incite a riot" among the concert goers, resulting in his arrest, and later conviction, for indecent exposure.
Author's Note: The above paragraph stated that this event occurred "towards the end of the performance" when rather it was actually near the beginning of the performance as evidenced by the link to the live recording I posted.
- If the lyric "Five to one" is taken to be the mathematical odds against "getting out of here alive," then the next line, "One in five" is incorrect. Five-to-one odds against success represents a one-in-six chance. "Four to one" would correspond to "One in five." Reference
- One of the more common interpretations was that "Five to One" was about the Vietnam War, the title a reference to the oft-repeated statistic that the Viet Cong forces outnumbered American troops by a ratio of five to one. Reference
- Most likely Morrison selected the song's title not because it echoed a ratio that had any particular referent, but simply because he like the sound and meter of the phrases 'five to one' and 'one in five.' Reference
- "Night is drawing near, shadows of the evening crawl across the years" is an adaption of the Victorian-era hymn "Shadows of the Evening," whose first verse is:
Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh.
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky. Reference
Love my girl
She lookin' good
C'mon
One more
Five to one, baby
One in five
No one here gets out alive, now
You get yours, baby
I'll get mine
Gonna make it, baby
If we try
The old get old
And the young get stronger
May take a week
And it may take longer
They got the guns
But we got the numbers
Gonna win, yeah
We're takin' over
Come on!
Yeah!
Your ballroom days are over, baby
Night is drawing near
Shadows of the evening crawl across the years
Ya walk across the floor with a flower in your hand
Trying to tell me no one understands
Trade in your hours for a handful dimes
Gonna' make it, baby, in our prime
Come together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together, aha
Get together one more time!
Get together one more time!
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together, gotta, get together
Ohhhhhhhh!
Hey, c'mon, honey
You won't have a long wait for me, baby
I'll be there in just a little while
You see, I gotta go out in this car with these people and...
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together, got to
Get together, got to
Get together, got to
Take you up in my room and...
Hah-hah-hah-hah-hah
Love my girl
She lookin' good, lookin' real good
Love ya, c'mon
- The song took its title from the first line, "Five to One," a statistic that went unexplained by Jim.
- Statistics between 1960-1969
- Population 177,830,000
- Unemployment 3,852,000
- National Debt 286.3 Billion
- Average Salary $4,743
- Teacher's Salary $5,174
- Minimum Wage $1.00
- Life Expectancy: Males 66.6 years, Females 73.1 years
- Auto deaths 21.3 per 100,000
- An estimated 850,000 "war baby" freshmen enter college; emergency living quarters are set up in dorm lounges, hotels and trailer camps.
- Paul Rothchild's theory is that, "Five to one is the same as one in six, the approximate ratio of blacks to whites in the U.S., and one in five I remember being reported as the dope-smoking ratio in Los Angeles." But whenever he was asked, Jim (Morrison) would only say that he didn't consider the song political. (pg 152, No One Here Gets Out Alive)
- Listened to in its entirety, the song seems to be a parody of all the naive revolutionary rhetoric heard on the streets and read in the underground press in the late sixties This interpretation is strongly supported by the final verse, the verse Jim's audience paid little attention to. In it Jim addressed some of the young people in his constituency, the "hippie/flower child" hordes he saw in growing numbers, panhandling on the city sidewalks outside every concert hall.
Your ballroom days are over, baby
Night is drawing near
Shadows of the evening crawl across the years
Ya walk across the floor with a flower in your hand
Trying to tell me no one understands
Trade in your hours for a handful dimes
Gonna' make it, baby, in our prime
(pg 152, No One Here Gets Out Alive)
- He (Jim Morrison) was so drunk when he recorded this song, he needed help from the studio staff on when to begin singing. If you listen closely, you can hear someone in the background say "One more" before Jim starts his first verse. The opening part ("Yeah, c'mon - I love my girl. She lookin' good...") is some of Jim's nonsensical drunk rambling. Reference
- The song's most famous performance was at the 1969 Miami concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium. Towards the end of the performance, a drunken Morrison declared the audience "idiots" and "slaves". The concert would end with Morrison being accused of "attempting to incite a riot" among the concert goers, resulting in his arrest, and later conviction, for indecent exposure.
Author's Note: The above paragraph stated that this event occurred "towards the end of the performance" when rather it was actually near the beginning of the performance as evidenced by the link to the live recording I posted.
- If the lyric "Five to one" is taken to be the mathematical odds against "getting out of here alive," then the next line, "One in five" is incorrect. Five-to-one odds against success represents a one-in-six chance. "Four to one" would correspond to "One in five." Reference
- One of the more common interpretations was that "Five to One" was about the Vietnam War, the title a reference to the oft-repeated statistic that the Viet Cong forces outnumbered American troops by a ratio of five to one. Reference
- Most likely Morrison selected the song's title not because it echoed a ratio that had any particular referent, but simply because he like the sound and meter of the phrases 'five to one' and 'one in five.' Reference
- "Night is drawing near, shadows of the evening crawl across the years" is an adaption of the Victorian-era hymn "Shadows of the Evening," whose first verse is:
Now the day is over,
Night is drawing nigh.
Shadows of the evening
Steal across the sky. Reference
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