The "classic" lineup of Jefferson Airplane, from October 1966 to February 1970, was Marty Balin (vocals), Paul Kantner (guitar, vocals), Grace Slick (vocals), Jorma Kaukonen (lead guitar, vocals), Jack Casady (bass), and Spencer Dryden (drums). Marty Balin left the band in 1971. After 1972, Jefferson Airplane effectively split into two groups. Kaukonen and Casady moved on full time to their own band, Hot Tuna. Slick, Kantner, and the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane recruited new members and regrouped as Jefferson Starship in 1974, with Marty Balin eventually joining them. Jefferson Airplane was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
Spencer Dryden died on January 11, 2005.
Both Signe Anderson and Paul Kantner died on January 28, 2016.
Marty Balin died on September 27, 2018
Let's Get Together
Jefferson Airplane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hear a way we die.
You can make the mountains ring,
Hear the angels cry.
Tho' the dove is on the wing
You need not know why.
Hey, people now,
Let me see you get together,
Love one another right now.
Some will come and some will go,
We shall surely pass.
When the wind that left us here,
Returns for us at last.
We are but a moment's sunlight,
Fading on the grass.
Hey, people now,
Smile on your brother.
Let me see you get together,
Love one another right now.
Hey, people now,
Smile on your brother.
Let me see you get together,
Love one another right now.
If you hear the song I'm singing,
You will understand.
You hold the key to love and fear,
All in your trembling hand.
One key unlocks them both, you know,
It's at your command.
The song "Let's Get Together" by Jefferson Airplane is a message of peace, unity, and love that rises above time and cultural barriers. The song starts off with a metaphor - love is but a song we sing, hear a way we die - that suggests that life is just a fleeting melody which will end at some point, but while it lasts, it can transmute mountains to ring and angels to cry. The singer then alludes to the transient nature of life and how the dove's flight is an enigma that's not supposed to be unravelled.
The chorus delivers the song's central message - individuals should come together and love one another, dispelling hate, prejudice and animosity that separate us. The singer invites the listeners to smile on their brother, while he urges to let him see them getting together and loving one another right now. He repeats these lines twice, reinforcing their importance and echoing the urgency to showcase humanity, brotherhood, love, and peace.
In the final stanza, the singer states that if the listeners "hear the song" he's singing, they will understand the power they possess to counter the fear and hate that divides us. And although fear and love may be viewed by some as polar opposites, he suggests that with one key, which is at their command, both emotions can be unlocked, unveiling the lyrics' final message of peace, unity, and love.
Line by Line Meaning
Love is but a song we sing,
Love is something that we can sing and express
Hear a way we die.
Love is what gives us life and purpose
You can make the mountains ring,
Love has the power to move mountains and create change
Hear the angels cry.
Love can bring great happiness and joy
Tho' the dove is on the wing
Even though love is often seen as peaceful and gentle
You need not know why.
It can be difficult to understand the reasons behind love.
Hey, people now,
The singer is addressing the listener directly and urging them to take action.
Smile on your brother.
The singer is encouraging the listener to be kind and compassionate to their fellow human beings.
Let me see you get together,
The singer is urging the listener to connect with others and work together.
Love one another right now.
The singer is emphasizing the importance of love and connection in the present moment.
Some will come and some will go,
People will enter and exit our lives over time.
We shall surely pass.
We are all mortal and will eventually die.
When the wind that left us here,
When we die and our spirits leave our physical bodies
Returns for us at last.
We will finally be reunited with our loved ones who have also passed.
We are but a moment's sunlight,
Our lives are brief, like a fleeting moment of sunlight.
Fading on the grass.
Our lives come to an end and we return to the earth.
If you hear the song I'm singing,
If you understand the message of this song
You will understand.
You will understand the importance of love and connection.
You hold the key to love and fear,
You have the power to choose either love or fear.
All in your trembling hand.
The choice is in your hands, and it can be a difficult one.
One key unlocks them both, you know,
Love and fear are two sides of the same coin.
It's at your command.
You have control over which side you choose.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHESTER POWERS, CHESTER WILLIAM JR. POWERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
pat cola
@Evan Oswald
Exactly. Politics should never be a place for any PUBLIC SERVANT to get wealthy.
You have to remember also though that the Scandinavians countries are more or less a homogenous people.
When you have one type of people it can possibly work but also stifles creativity.
The Danish aren't encouraged to dream big for example on some video of how people are supposedly so "happy" there.
If people want to make a fortune they would have to travel abroad.
With the influx of foreigners flooding those countries it will be getting much worse.
Evan Oswald
he propose to send young people to college for free ? Someone had to pay for that...hmm.....who would get stuck with that
> Mega traders on wallstreet would pay for that like bernie said from day one. many countries around the world have a high volume trading tax. it's like a penny per 10 stocks or something. only rich capitalists are impacted by that tax.
Sadly colleges are godless secular institutions of dangerous ideologies and fascism.
> uh, that's false? I have a feeling you haven't actually been on a campus recently. I spent the past 15 years on college campuses and they are not socialists. In fact colleges are all capitalist money making institutions that serve a board of directors. They are not ran by the workers, and colleges do not teach kids that the workers owning the means of production is the way to go. The young people know how shitty this country has been to everyone but the rich, nobody needed to teach them to hate the injustice they see all around them.
Socialism of any form leads to communism .
> The form of socialism the US will adopt has not been seen before. The word communism is lost on me since China is ran by the communist party but is a state capitalist economy. Denmark and Finland are the happiest places on earth, and are democratic socialist countries (which, isn't really socialism....but rather a welfare state).
I don't want the state dictating to me what I can think or believe and so doesn't anyone with sense and a knowledge of history to see how communism is a failed system. All for what ?
> nobody wants that. communism isn't uniquely prone to slipping into a dictatorship. The nazi's, pinochet, and the list goes on when it comes to dictatorships from the RIGHT. Any government and economic systems you set up have to have checks and balances and an active and knowledgeable electorate.
Take a look at Venezuela to see how socialism is working there. You want that for the US ? Not me and I will fight and pray every step of the way that that never happens.
> Venezuala isn't failing because of socialism. Even if it was, that wouldn't prove anything. There are 100x more examples of capitalism failing than socialism. Somalia's economy is in the shitter and they are a capitalist free market economy....does that make you feel like capitalism will never work?
The state is made up of educated men who are sinners like you and I. Men can be bribed all the time and money is always a good starting point.
> we agree on this. What we need to do, no matter what economic and political systems we democratically set up, is get money out of politics and quite gerrymandering.
pat cola
@Evan Oswald
Since government doesn't generate money it has to come from somewhere . The rich should pay more, but you can't legislate morality. So who gets stuck ? The dying middle class .
How does he propose to send young people to college for free ? Someone had to pay for that...hmm.....who would get stuck with that ? Sadly colleges are godless secular institutions of dangerous ideologies and fascism.
Where are these SJW learning their hatred for this country and it's history ?
Socialism of any form leads to communism .
I don't want the state dictating to me what I can think or believe and so doesn't anyone with sense and a knowledge of history to see how communism is a failed system. All for what ?
Take a look at Venezuela to see how socialism is working there. You want that for the US ? Not me and I will fight and pray every step of the way that that never happens.
The state is made up of educated men who are sinners like you and I. Men can be bribed all the time and money is always a good starting point.
Joaquin Wells
That second verse were Signe is signing by herself and toward the end were Marty is singing by himself is hauntingly beautiful! I love it
Steve Fredericks
I love both this version and the Youngblood's version equally. They are very different and unique in good ways.
Hannah Desrosiers
the indigo girls also have a really good acoustic cover!
Paul Hendricks
david crosby sung it with the byrds, prior to tambourine man
sirvidia
check the HP Lovecraft version.
ngiyaxolisa
Thanks for bringing us the early airplane when they were a "folkie" band. It's good to hear these tunes again after all these years!
Nealix D.
Love it. Signe was a class act. Even the Kingston Trio did this tune, but oddly it did not hit big until the Youngbloods, possibly because of their very deliberate, slower version that became the gold standard for the song. But this is nice, didn't know they did it until the last day or so.........
keith mac cracken
Dino Valinti sold this to the Kingston Trio, for money to pay a lawyer when he got busted...
Susan Meyer
This song is an anthem of an era; I played this over and over during college. The message is still relevant today. My Yorkie who passed into Spirit this week chose this as her memorial song... She was all about Love, it's why we are here. It's reminding me to open my heart. I Love this song, it makes me feel a rhyme and reason to going on living through tough changes.
slothropgr
For a long time Signe Anderson was my favorite trivia question. Grace took the lead vocals over so completely that no one remembered Signe a year later. Didn't help that she sounded so much like Grace that everyone just assumed that's who it was. But SA was the vocalist the first time I saw the Airplane at the Avalon, and she kinda stuck with me.