| Jethro Tull – Dogs in the Midwinter Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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"And it's hard to find true equilibrium When you're looking at each other down the muzzle of a gun." Brilliant lyrics. |
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| Jethro Tull – Night in the Wilderness Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Many of us have been in this situation - a date with a beautiful woman who we've been trying to work up the courage to ask out for weeks...and now that the momentous occasion has arrived, you realize that she is nothing but a pretty face, with the conversation skills and personality of a "plate of soft-shelled crab". Or as the Harvard Lampoon once observed, "Rest assured that a walk through the ocean of most people's souls would scarcely get your feet wet." |
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| Jethro Tull – A Small Cigar Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[Krendall2006:31905] You are spot on. Having had the honor of serving as a "roadie for a day" for Tull during the Passion Play tour, I saw Ian smoke (regular) cigarettes and drink an occasional beer, but nothing else. I believe he once commented quite strongly in an interview that those were the only "mind altering substances" he ever enjoyed. | |
| Jethro Tull – Pied Piper Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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The "sequel" to the song "Too Old To Rock and Roll" in which we learn that Ray doesn't end it on the trunk road in a final blaze of glory, but in fact is resurrected -- but not redeemed. Rather he returns on his bike (presumably the one he wasn't riding in the previous song, probably the Harley) to pursue his favorite past time, namely, picking up young school girls who are more than willing to scandalously ride off with "the mad biker". I've sometimes wondered if Ray is actually Aqualung's son... Also note the reference to "small cigars" -- which show up again in another Tull song. |
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| Jethro Tull – We Used To Know Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I don't think there's much question that this is something of a biographical song about Tull itself, but in a larger sense I see it as a general, slightly wistful nostalgic observation - looking back on how things were when you were young and struggling, just barely getting by, looking desperately for your first break, hoping that things would get better someday -- but not really appreciating that in some ways those times had a happiness that later success would never recapture. Thematically, I couple this song with The Chequered Flag and more recently as I am in my "golden years" with At Last, Finally as something of a life trilogy. Yeah, I know I'm weird. |
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| Jethro Tull – The Waking Edge Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| Ian gets little credit (it seems) for being a romantic: cynical perhaps, but a romantic nonetheless. Several of his songs are odes to lost love, (First Snow on Brooklyn, Jack-A-Lynn) and this one is no different. Here he describes waking from a dream of his love so real, he could feel her beside him in the hotel room bed. As he comes fully awake he realizes it was just a lucid dream, but it was so real and dear to him that now he wants to somehow freeze it in time and "rewind" it so he can live it again rather than having to come to grips with the reality that he is alone. | |
| Jethro Tull – Orion Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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A soliloquy to a celestial presence, perhaps more tangible than the popularized and mass-marketed God, who looks down upon our pitiful existence from the heavens. Omnipresent and benign, it nonetheless has no impact (or interest) whatsoever in the scenes that play out below. Orion of course refers to the constellation, one of the more easily identifiable in the night sky. "Your faithful dog shines brighter than its lord and master" likely refers to the constellation Canis Major ("large dog") which seems to follow Orion on his nightly journey. "Your jeweled sword twinkles" is a reference to the bright stars (42 Orionis, Theta Orionis, and Iota Orionis) and M42, the Orion Nebula which make up Orion's "sword" which are in an almost straight line and are prominent features of the constellation. |
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| Jethro Tull – Heavy Horses Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| @[pipster:31901] Winter wheat, perhaps? | |
| Jethro Tull – First Snow on Brooklyn Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Another poignant and gut-wrenching song about lost loves and how you can never go home again. Here, the singer has gambled on flying to America to perhaps rekindle an old romance with his life's love on Christmas, who he parted with some time before. He did not arrange this with her in advance - it appears to be an impulsive visit. As he rides to his destination in a cab from the airport, he replays all the old memories and emotions that brought him there -- all bittersweet. The bitter cold and snow sets an unforgiving stage for his brave but foolhardy quest as he realizes the folly of his actions when he arrives. As the cab drives away leaving him alone with his thoughts, memories and conflict of what to do, he realizes (too late) that his lost love is no longer alone, and perhaps as he had hoped and fantasized, did not wait for him to come back to her. He realizes, too late, that even calling her would be a mistake. She has moved on, as now he realizes he must also do as he walks away alone through the snow leaving no trace, having never even let her know that he was there. |
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| Jethro Tull – Crossfire Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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"Somewhere there are Brownings in a two-hand hold, Cocked and locked, one up the spout." Another lyric indicating that Ian Anderson is somewhat more erudite than most rockers when it comes to firearms (see my offering under "I'm Your Gun" for some technical details). As if I needed another reason, this solidifies Tull and Ian as my favorites - an enthusiastic following which now spans 50 years of my life. This lyric refers to the Browning P-35 or "High Power" 9mm pistol, initially developed by American firearms genius John Moses Browning as the intended successor to his very successful M1911 .45 caliber pistol, which had been adopted by the US military as its standard issue sidearm in 1911. The Browning High Power first saw service during WW2 and was the issued sidearm to the British SAS at the time. The High Power is a single action semi-automatic pistol, meaning that the hammer must be cocked to the rear manually or by movement of the slide for each round to be fired. "Cocked and locked, one up the spout" refers to the ready condition of the pistol, which means the hammer is back (cocked), the safety on (locked) with a live round chambered (one up the spout). |
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| Jethro Tull – I'm Your Gun Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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This could be the only musical recital of firearms history ever written. Here's some selective interpretation and clarification for those who might not be firearms aficionados: =================== "Match, wheel and flintlock, they all caught your eye. Pearl-handled ladies' models, scaled down to size. I am the peacemaker, so the theory goes. But I don't choose the company I keep --- and it shows." Matchlocks, wheel locks and flintlocks were all early forms of ignition methods for black powder firearms until the invention of various forms of percussion priming devices in the 1800s. The "Peacemaker" was the marketing name for Colt's Single Action Army (SAA) revolver, which was popularized by Western TV and movies. It was issued to US military troops through the early 20th century. "Maxim and Browning, they helped me along. Stoner, Kalashnikov --- thrilled to my song." This lyric refers to 4 renowned firearms inventors, pioneers and developers. - - Hiram Maxim, among other things, invented the first widely used military heavy machine gun. John Moses Browning was perhaps one of the most prolific firearms inventors in US history; among other famous weapons, he invented the Winchester Model 12 pump shotgun, the M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun (still in use by the US military to this day, 100 years after its invention) and the M1911 .45 caliber semi-auto pistol, used by the US military for over 70 years. Eugene Stoner developed the original Armalite Rifle (AR) in the 1950s which was subsequently adopted (in a modified form) by the US Army as the M-16 issued during the Vietnam Conflict, and is still in use (although even more modified) by the US military and scores of countries around the world. Mikhail Kalashnikov was the inventor of the Avtomat Kalashnikov (AK-47) rifle which was first introduced after WW2 and like the AR, is still in use in a highly modified version by Russia and China and many of the former "client states" of the old Soviet Union. "Now one of me exists, for each one of you, So how can you blame me for the things that I do?" Likely a reference to the 'gun culture' and widespread ownership of firearms in the US, where there are supposedly enough firearms that have been sold to arm every man, woman and child...the inference is that with that many guns in circulation, something bad is bound to happen from time to time. "Now I take second place to the motor car in the score of killing kept thus far." This is a factual statement regarding the number of people killed annually (again, presumably in the US) by automobiles as opposed to those killed in firearms incidents. There are far more people killed by cars than guns. "And just remember, if you don't mind --- it's not the gun that kills, but the man behind." A sage statement to remember for those who would seek to demonize firearms and seek ways to ban them. Guns are just pieces of machinery - inanimate objects which do nothing until used by a human being. |
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| Jethro Tull – Jack-a-Lynn Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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One of my all-time JT favorites, the soulful wistfulness expressed for one's lost love is an emotion that most of us can relate to. The song goes through a litany of bittersweet memories and everyday encounters that trigger the sad but indelible recollections of times gone by, as happens when you have been so close to someone that virtually everything reminds you of them somehow. Perhaps this song is a restatement of the old adage "It is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all." But...is it? |
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