The original group were one of the first bands to fuse rock and experimental music. Like a few other acts of the time (most notably the United States of America), they were consciously trying to fuse the contemporary sounds of rock with electronic instruments and avant-garde compositional ideas.
The group comprised three core members: founder and bassist Louis "Cork" Marcheschi, guitarist David Blossom, and his wife, vocalist Nancy Blossom, augmented by Kim Kimsey (drums) and Larry Evans (guitar).
Cork Marcheschi (born 1945) grew up in Burlingame, California. In his teens, he performed with the Ethix, who played R&B music in clubs around San Francisco and in Las Vegas, and released one experimental and wildly atonal single, "Bad Trip", in 1966, with the intention that the record could be played at any speed. Interested in the ideas of experimental composers like Edgard Varèse, John Cage, Terry Riley, and George Antheil, he constructed his own custom-made electronic instrument from a combination of elements like theremins, fuzzboxes, a cardboard tube, and a speaker from a World War II bomber.
David and Nancy Blossom brought both psychedelic and jazz influences to the band. Together, the trio recorded a demo which led to a deal with Limelight Records, a subsidiary of Mercury Records. They released one album, Cauldron, in December 1967. It contained eleven songs, including "Fantasy", "Red the Sign Post" and "God Bless the Child", a Billie Holiday cover. It was an intriguing mix of jazzy psychedelic rock tunes with fierce and advanced electronic sound effects. "I don't know if they are immature or premature", said critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The record sold few copies at the time, although the group had a small but intense following in San Francisco and also toured with other acts including Blue Cheer, Chuck Berry and Fairport Convention, when the band was augmented by Robert Goldbeck (bass). They broke up in late 1969 when most of its members joined the musical Hair, Nancy Blossom becoming the lead in the San Francisco production and later singing in Godspell. Larry Evans returned to his hometown of Muncie, Indiana where he fronted several club groups until his death in 2008.
If Not This Time
Fifty Foot Hose Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To turn the lock
And let me enter
My soul is deft
And trained in theft
So I will slither
Under, through, around the cracks
Tiny seams, no door locks
If not this time
Maybe the next
Since light neglected
To be reflected
And let me see
My soul has glasses
Percieves the passes
That should wither
Piercing through around the haze
Pillared clouds drift away
If not this time
Maybe the next
Since love′s rejection
Destroyed perception
And left me free
My soul eroded
My brain imploded
Down to cinders
Growing new senses to feel
Seeing, hearing all that is real
If not this time
Maybe never
The lyrics of Fifty Foot Hose's song If Not This Time reflects the idea of hope and perseverance even in the face of rejection, neglect or forgetfulness. The use of metaphors like 'lock', 'cracks', and 'deft' to represent the difficulties that the singer faces while trying to enter or gain access to something that they desire. The 'soul' is portrayed as a skillful thief that slithers and sneaks through narrow spaces, implying the determination to overcome the obstacles. However, there is a sense of uncertainty and doubt in the phrase 'If not this time, maybe the next', suggesting that the singer is aware of the possibility of failure but still chooses to remain optimistic.
The second stanza follows a similar pattern, but the metaphor is different as this time it is light that is neglected or absent. The 'soul' is depicted as having glasses that enable it to see past the obstructions, the 'passes that should wither', to seek clarity that is obscured by the haze or 'pillared clouds.' The use of 'Maybe never' in the last line of the song contrasts with the previous lines which suggest that the singer will keep trying, no matter how many times they fail. It adds a sense of finality to the tone of the lyrics, implying that there are some things that may never be attainable, no matter how determined one is.
Line by Line Meaning
Since time forgot
Time has neglected to remember me.
To turn the lock
To open the door for me.
And let me enter
And allow me to go through.
My soul is deft
I am skillful with my soul.
And trained in theft
And I know how to steal my way through.
So I will slither
So I will move stealthily.
Under, through, around the cracks
Around the imperfections and gaps.
Tiny seams, no door locks
Narrow openings that are not secured.
If not this time
If not now.
Maybe the next
Perhaps in the future.
Since light neglected
Light has forgotten to show me.
To be reflected
To be revealed to me.
And let me see
And allow me to perceive.
My soul has glasses
I have a unique perception of things.
Percieves the passes
I can sense and understand what passes me by.
That should wither
That should fade or disappear.
Piercing through around the haze
Cutting through the fog.
Pillared clouds drift away
The cloudy barriers dissolve.
Since love′s rejection
Since love has discarded me.
Destroyed perception
Destroyed my ability to perceive.
And left me free
And set me free from that which constrained me.
My soul eroded
My soul has been worn away.
My brain imploded
My thoughts have collapsed inwardly.
Down to cinders
Reduced to ashes.
Growing new senses to feel
Developing new ways of sensing things.
Seeing, hearing all that is real
Perceiving all that actually exists.
If not this time
If not now.
Maybe never
Perhaps I will never achieve this.
Writer(s): David Blossom
Contributed by John H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
xiropigado
This song makes me dizzy, imagine listening to this full blast with headphones 3am alone in some spooky woods.
Dazed_Slowpoke
I be doing that
Zsolt Barkaszi
One of the greatest psych songs ever.
Hughe
This is so good I love it, Ultimate spinach so good but Fifty Foot Hose a great Psichodelicc aggregation! a great band!
punk niilista
incrível ❤
Jamie Mackenzie
This is such an under rated song and album, this is like Jefferson airplane at their peak. Also possibly my favourite ever album artwork, so much so that I put it on a shirt if anyone is interested aha redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Fifty-Foot-Hose-Cauldron-Band-Shirt-by-PsychBeam/48868908.1YYVU
epipsych
I like it, it's so trippy.
Luke Swain
@Jamie Mackenzie the link doesn't work. I'd love to get a fifty foot hose shirt!
Jamie Mackenzie
It's super trippy, the self titled song off this album is a bad trip and a half haha. I made a shirt aswell out of the artwork for anyone interested redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Fifty-Foot-Hose-Cauldron-Band-Shirt-by-PsychBeam/48868908.1YYVU
3243
A classic.