What’s incredible is that I never heard of these guys before the Hubs. I was appalled by their sound at the time, I think, but they’ve really grown on me. We often find ourselves singing pieces of various “hits” by the group.
This one starts with what sounds like an old folk song about the death of a girl:
Lay down my dear sister
Won’t you lay and take your rest
Won’t you lay your head upon your saviours breast
And I love you but Jesus loves you the best
And I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight,
And I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight.
But then goes in a completely different direction:
Amoebas are very small
Oh ah ee oo there’s absolutely no strife
living the timeless life
I don’t need a wife
living the timeless life
If I need a friend I just give a wriggle
Split right down the middle
And when I look there’s two of me
Both as handsome as can be
Oh here we go slithering, here we go slithering and squelching on
Oh here we go slithering, here we go slithering and squelching on
Oh ah ee oo there’s absolutely no strife living the timeless life
The Incredible String Band were one of the most influential bands of the Sixties but their roots lie in the folk clubs of Edinburgh.
Their incredible journey took them from experimenting in Scotland’s all-night venues to an infamous appearance at Woodstock, the biggest counter-cultural event of the decade.
Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were all said to have been influenced by the psychedelic folk rock of the band, who played “world music” a decade before the term was coined.
So there you go. If you like any of those dudes, try these dudes.
One Minion's Opinion 