Strange Brew

[winston]

As some of you may have already guessed I write a fair amount in my day to day life. I have written a large number of songs as well. Many of them influenced by occurrences in my life, people around me or events in the news.

What is intriguing to me is some of the seemingly nonsensical lyrics that have populated rock and roll songs ever since the genre was born. I have often wondered what it is that drives man to make songs mystical. Is it a desire to escape the norm, is it the result of some drug induced fantasy or is it our fascination with faery tales and the unseen?

The song Strange Brew is a classic example. Perhaps drawing on some fascination with wiccan beliefs. This song has a couple of nonsensical verses. See below.

I think it might be fun to analyze and discuss some songs of your choosing and I look forward to your input and your thoughts.

Here's the first one for discussion. Who wrote it and what was the catalyst for this one?

Strange Brew - by Cream

Strange brew -- kill whats inside of you.

Shes a witch of trouble in electric blue,
In her own mad mind shes in love with you.
With you.
Now what you gonna do?
Strange brew -- kill whats inside of you.

Shes some kind of demon messing in the glue.
If you dont watch out itll stick to you.
To you.
What kind of fool are you?
Strange brew -- kill whats inside of you.

On a boat in the middle of a raging sea,
She would make a scene for it all to be
Ignored.
And wouldnt you be bored?
Strange brew -- kill whats inside of you.

Strange brew, strange brew, strange brew, strange brew.
Strange brew -- kill whats inside of you.

[tennis_nick]

What I like about lyrics is that they don't always have to tell a recognisable story. If you take the song Jet for example, it's mostly pure nonsense, but in this case, the voice/vowel palcement and all that make for soemthing that fits the song perfectly well, it creates a cool atmosphere.

As for strange brew, It falls in two camps. I find the lyrics actually make sense, only the songs antagonist is actually two things. Strange brew - Alcohol (or any other addictive drug he was into) and Woman.

Each line kind of applies to one of these two things, only refered to each other as the same thing.

[tennis_nick]

As for who wrote it, it was written over the music of a song called "Lawdy Mama", and the lyrics were written by Creams Producer Felix Pappalardi, and his wife.

[winston]

Jet was a song for Linda wasn't it? I suspect there were some personal references in that song.

[bitzerguy]

Hmm... I thought Jet was about Paul's dog. Seems to me I saw him say that somewhere. She was very ill, I believe.

[tennis_nick]

Jet was the name of one of his dogs, but just look at the lyrics. kinda like the inane off the cuff ramblings of a mental patient.

[winston]

Hmm... I thought Jet was about Paul's dog. Seems to me I saw him say that somewhere. She was very ill, I believe.

That would surprise me. This seems to be about Linda and her Dad. We need Kris to enlighten us....

Jet
Jet
Jet
Jet I can almost remember their funny faces
That time you told them that you were going to be marrying
And Jet I thought the only lonely place was on the moon
Jet Jet Jet

Jet was your father as bold as the sergeant major
How come he told you that you were hardly old enough yet
And Jet I thought the major was a lady suffragette
Jet Jet Jet

Ah Mater want Jet to always love me
Ah Mater want Jet to always love me
Ah Mater . . . much later
Jet

And Jet I thought the major was a lady suffragette
Jet Jet

Ah Mater want Jet to always love me
Ah Mater want Jet to always love me
Ah Mater . . . much later
Jet with the wind in your hair
Of a thousand laces
Climb on the back and we'll go for a ride in the sky
And Jet I thought
that the major was a little lady suffragette
J et-J et-J et

And Jet you know I thought
you was a little lady suffragette
Jet

A little lady
My little lady . . . yes

[scotty]

A great feel good song.A uplifting track that never fails to get the old foot tapping!

[antipodean]

I always thought Strange Brew was a groupie reference song.....it can definitely be interpreted that way, with the delusional obsessive behaviour and substance abuse references.

I had also read that Jet was a reference to a Labrador, but that could well have been Paul having a bit of fun at a journalist's expense!

There's a rich seam of (apparently) nonsensical lyrics in popular music. This topic could run for ever!

[ozover50]

I think Procul Harum must nearly be World Champions of nonsensical lyrics....... Brooker and Reid came up with some pretty weird stuff. Examples:

Good Captain Clack:

Still scowling black
Good captain clack
Must eat his humble pie
His bed is made
The colours fade
His eyes once wet are dry

The naked muse
Who sits and chews
Tobacco off a tree
Removes his shoes
Gives way to booze
And searches endlessly

See the naked jumberlack
Sip his aphrodisiac
Cotton-picking farmers three
Though I lost my weather vane
And of sense I have one grain
I'm content sipping lemon tea

Whaling Stories:

Pailing well after sixteen days, a mammoth task was set
Sack the town, and rob the tower, and steal the alphabet
Close the door and bar the gate, but keep the windows clean
Gods alive inside a movie! watch the silver screen!

Rum was served to all the traitors; pygmies held themselves in check
Bloodhounds nosed around the houses, down dark alleys sailors crept
Six bells struck, the pot was boiling - soup spilled out on passers-by
Angels mumbled incantations, closely watched by God on high

Lightning struck out - fire and brimstone! boiling oil and shrieking steam!
Darkness struck with molten fury, flashbulbs glorified the scene
Not a man who had a finger, not a man who could be seen
Nothing called (not name nor number) - echo stormed its final scream

Daybreak washed with sands of gladness, rotting all it rotted clean
Windows peeped out on their neighbors, inside fireside bedsides gleam
Shalimar, the trumpets chorused, angels wholly all shall take
Those alive will meet the prophets, those at peace shall see their wake

[charlyg]

I agree Aitch!!

Here's the pre-Strange Brew

Couldn't seem to embed this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbwaK-_un34

[beatlefreak]

Sorry I'm late to the party, guys. I had to hunt around to find an image I knew I had. Jet was indeed about Linda. Here's a scan from the book The Beatles An Illustrated Record by Roy Carr and Tony Tyler. This was a promotional sticker for the song, and the Band On The Run Album. There's little doubt as to who modeled for the photo. I've strategically cropped the photo to keep it forum friendly, not that a whole lot is visible - I've seen an original of the sticker, and Linda is painted gold.

It's interesting to bring up Paul in this discussion. By his own account, he loves to play with similar sounding words and nonsense. In Jet, he liked the way the words 'suffragette' and 'Jet' sounded together. He talked about this when Flowers In The Dirt was released. Someone asked Linda, a photographer, what kind of camera she used. She replied, "I like a Nikon". Paul picked up on this and ran in around in his head, until he came up with the song 'Biker Like An Icon' for the album.

For some real Paul nonsense, listen to 'Junior's Farm' or 'Monlberry Moon Delight'.

Monkberry Moon Delight lyrics

SO I SAT IN THE ATTIC, A PIANO UP MY NOSE,
AND THE WIND PLAYED A DREADFUL CANTATA. (cantata, cantata)
SORE WAS I FROM A CRACK OF AN ENEMY'S HOSE
AND THE HORRIBLE SOUND OF TOMATO. (tomato, tomato)

KETCHUP, (ketchup)
SOUP AND PUREE, (soup and puree)
DON'T GET LEFT BEHIND. (get left behind)
KETCHUP, (ketchup)
SOUP AND PUREE, (soup and puree)
DON'T GET LEFT BEHIND. (get left behind, get left behind, get left behind)

WHEN A RATTLE OF RATS HAD AWOKEN
THE SINEWS, THE NERVES AND THE VEINS.
MY PIANO WAS BOLDLY OUTSPOKEN
IN ATTEMPTS TO REPEAT THIS REFRAIN.

SO I STOOD WITH A KNOT IN MY STOMACH,
AND I GAZED AT THAT TERRIBLE SIGHT,
OF TWO YOUNG STERS CONCEALED IN A BARREL,
SUCKIN' MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT, (om pah om pah pah) HO!
MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT, (om pah om pah pah)
MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT, (om pah om pah pah)
MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT, (om pah om pah pah)
MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT. (om pah om pah pah)

OH -
OH-OH, OH-OH.

WELL, I KNOW MY BANANA IS OLDER THAN THE REST
AND MY HAIR IS A TANGLED BERETTA. (beretta, beretta)
BUT I LEAVE MY PYJAMAS TO BILLY BUDAPEST,
AND I DON'T GET THE GIST OF YOUR LETTER. (your letter, your letter)

CATCH UP, (catch up)
CATCH SOME KITTENS, (catch the kittens)
DON'T GET LEFT BEHIND. (get left behind)
CATCH UP, (catch up)
CATCH KITTENS, (catch the kittens)
DON'T GET LEFT BEHIND. (get left behind, get left behind, get left behind)

OH - MONKBERRY MOON DELIGHT, YEAH, (om pah om pah pah)

[winston]

Thanks fr your help with "Jet" Kris,

I thought it was about Linda. Now what to make of the lyrics you posted? Any thoughts or ideas?

[winston]

Procol Harem wrote some strange stuff indeed. So what did all that mean Aitch..........is there a code that will break that into manageable pieces for us or is it just eccentricity on bahalf of the writer (Keith Reid I presume)?

[melibreits]

I'm loving this thread, guys... You can listen to a song without really paying attention to the words, but when you actually read the words you've just gotta wonder what those guys were smoking, LOL!

And here I always thought that a good song had to have something in it that people could relate to--I guess that doesn't necessarily have to be in the lyrics--maybe it's in the repetition of a chorus or a cool guitar riff.... "Monkberry Moon" is a brilliant show of silly word play--I love that sort of thing, but tend to take songwriting too seriously to even think about writing like that.... Not that I even could!

And here I thought this thread was gonna have something do do with Bob and Doug McKenzie (Take off, eh)!