When the world was travelling faster and faster
and colours became just a blur.
And the buildings were falling plaster from plaster
Til things just weren't what they were.

What could save mankind from man?
When the blind the blind overran.
From the scene of confused devastation
Came the great spontaneous apple creation.

And a speck in the sky grew to a cloud.
And fishes flew and laughed aloud.
And hamsters grew wings and flew under doors.
And rich wine was sweated from every man's pores.
And 3000 people ate one strawberry.
And the cloud grew green and pushed out a stalk.
And churches grew suede boots and started to walk.
And the strong silent ones began to talk.
And three million people told butter from Stork.

And the cloud grew greener and greener and harder.
Til it reminded all those there of something from the larder.
And suddenly it was there and in each and every land
Each man, beast, and creature had an apple in his hand.
And from that day came a new recreation,
The great spontaneous apple creation.

What could save mankind from man?
When the blind the blind overran.
From the scene of confused devastation
Came the great spontaneous apple creation.


Lyrics submitted by joelm, edited by HenryCow

Spontaneous Apple Creation song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    I believe Arthur Brown was experimenting with different archetypes on this album, blending occult, Gnostic, pagan, and Christian traditions in creative ways, spurred by the possibilities of creating a psychedelic experience for the listener, reminiscent of something from Alice in Wonderland, or William Blake's prints (or Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds).

    In this song, he plays with all of the above themes. Biblical tropes are used, but they are inverted, remixed, distorted, recombined in creative and thought-provoking ways.

    On one level, the narrator is narrating an overwhelming psychedelic experience in the present day, or even the future - thus the presence of buildings (and the fact that the buildings are falling apart even suggests a kind of apocalyptic scenario).

    But on another level, this song reaches into the past - the Biblical past, in both the Old and New Testaments. As for the New Testament, there is a kind of distorted or rearranged version of Jesus's miracles, such as the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, water into wine, the feeding of the 5000, etc.. Thus 3000 people eat one strawberry, and wine comes out of not of wineskins, but out of people's skins.

    But the overriding imagery is from Genesis, the story of the Garden of Eden. Spontaneous Apple Creation - this is a kind of mocking reinterpretation of both God's self-creation, and the fruit of the knowledge of Good and Evil.

    In the traditional narrative, God creates Himself ex nihilo, (that's one apparent paradox or mystery) and then God, who is all good, creates evil, in the form of the fruit of the tree of knowledge (that's another paradox - how could an all-good-God create evil?). The appearance of God out of nothingness is reflected in this song as a cloud that appears out of a "speck," grows, and eventually seems to rot (like something in the larder) and mutate, turning green and growing stalks.

    In this version of the story, we "skip the middle man," so to speak: rather than God creating Himself ex nihilo, the Apple itself appears ex nihilo. And not just one apple but millions of apples, enough for every "man, beast, and creature".

    Therefore, I think this song is ultimately a fearful and mysterious meditation on the evil that lies in the heart of every person (where did it come from?) made all the more visceral and frightening, and heightened through surreal, unassimilable imagery.

    hanumanianon January 17, 2019   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Gentle Hour
Yo La Tengo
This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version. Great version of a great song,
Album art
When We Were Young
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.