Pink Floyd and The Incredible String Band.
The Incredible String Band.
This is a post very special indeed to me, as it starts by talking about Track 5, the final track, on Side 3. This is a Williamson composition called “Puppet Song”, lasting 6.15 minutes, on which Robin is the sole performer, singing and playing guitar. It is very special to me, as it was the first ISB track I ever heard. I can’t quite remember exactly when this happened, but it was certainly a radio broadcast, and for some reason I always associate it with a meeting at the curate’s house. I don’t think that’s where I heard it; rather, I think I was discussing it there with a chap some years older than I was, who was an ISB fan. The song has a remarkable opening, with the words more spoken than sung; and these are the words: “Now you may have observed, that if you walk into a wall, you get a certain sensation of reality.” The song goes on to tell the tale of a “little man” who sets out to find the meaning of life. He starts with his spouse:
“So he asked his wife about it, and his wife said yes
Come back and see me if it’s time to know less
You do too much aquestioning of the world at large
Everybody knows the politician’s in charge.”
This is a truly brilliant, lilting song, and I was immediately hooked. It ends up with the little man asking God about it. But the lyrics and tunes are just fantastic. These are a few of the words:
At the “Kinghouse” he sees the Politician:
“He had false pretendies, I had to love his style
Bound to make some havoc with that violin smile”
And on his way up to heaven, or rather just before, the “narrator” sings:
“Oh the past is something, we all have some
Universal history is a bundle of fun”
I hope this gives a true feel for this wonderful song
This is a close up of the price label. I referred to the error on it in my first post on this record. If I had bought it 7 weeks after I did, it would have cost me ten shillings/50 new pence more!
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