During the transitional period of the early 70s, Paul Kantner (a founding m… Read Full Bio ↴During the transitional period of the early 70s, Paul Kantner (a founding member of Jefferson Airplane) recorded Blows Against the Empire, a concept album featuring an ad hoc group of musicians that he dubbed "Jefferson Starship", marking the first use of that name. This edition of Jefferson Starship (such as it was) included members of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (David Crosby and Graham Nash) and members of Grateful Dead (Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart), as well as some of the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane (Grace Slick, Marty Balin, Joey Covington, and Jack Casady).
By 1973, after the breakup of Jefferson Airplane, with Kaukonen and Casady now devoting their full attention to Hot Tuna, several of the musicians who worked on Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg's album "Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun" formed the core of a new lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg were charter members. The line-up also included late-Airplane holdovers drummer John Barbata, Marty Balin,and fiddler Papa John Creach (who also played with Hot Tuna), along with Pete Sears (who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards) and twenty-year-old guitarist Craig Chaquico.
Eventually, Slick's alcoholism became a problem, which led to two nights of disastrous concerts in Germany in 1978. The first night, fans ransacked the stage when Slick failed to appear. The following night, Slick, in a drunken stupor, shocked the audience by using profanity and sexual references throughout most of her songs. She also reminded the audience that their country had lost during World War II , repeatedly asking "Who won the war?", and implied that all residents of Germany were responsible for the wartime atrocities. After the debacle, she left the band.
The band soon cribbed vocalist Mickey Thomas from the popular Elvin Bishop Group. After the 1979 release of 'Freedom at Point Zero' (which spawned the hit single "Jane"), Slick returned to the band. She joined in time to contribute one song, "Stranger", on the group's next album, Modern Times (1981). Modern Times also included the notorious "Stairway to Cleveland," in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name. One noted personnel change in the group was when Dunbar left and was replaced by Donny Baldwin (also of the Elvin Bishop Group). Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's final two albums, Winds Of Change (1982) and Nuclear Furniture (1984).
Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing rock's video age. Grace Slick would appear frequently on MTV and such music-oriented television shows as Solid Gold, giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. However, the Jefferson Starship albums of this era were only modestly successful, yet the band remained a gold-selling (and thus commercially credible) act, and a popular concert draw.
In 1984, Kantner (the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane) left the group, but not before taking legal action over the Jefferson name against his former bandmates, who wanted to continue as Jefferson Starship. Kantner settled out of court and signed an agreement that neither party would use the names "Jefferson" or "Airplane" unless all members of Jefferson Airplane, Inc. (Bill Thompson, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady) agreed. The band used the titles "Starship Jefferson" and "Jefferson Starship" during the proceedings, but ultimately settled on the shortening 'Starship'.
In 1992, Kantner restarted Jefferson Starship as Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation before returning simply to Jefferson Starship after a couple of years. This incarnation of the band continues to perform and record to this day.
By 1973, after the breakup of Jefferson Airplane, with Kaukonen and Casady now devoting their full attention to Hot Tuna, several of the musicians who worked on Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg's album "Baron von Tollbooth & the Chrome Nun" formed the core of a new lineup that was formally reborn as "Jefferson Starship" in 1974. Kantner, Slick, and Freiberg were charter members. The line-up also included late-Airplane holdovers drummer John Barbata, Marty Balin,and fiddler Papa John Creach (who also played with Hot Tuna), along with Pete Sears (who, like Freiberg, played bass and keyboards) and twenty-year-old guitarist Craig Chaquico.
Eventually, Slick's alcoholism became a problem, which led to two nights of disastrous concerts in Germany in 1978. The first night, fans ransacked the stage when Slick failed to appear. The following night, Slick, in a drunken stupor, shocked the audience by using profanity and sexual references throughout most of her songs. She also reminded the audience that their country had lost during World War II , repeatedly asking "Who won the war?", and implied that all residents of Germany were responsible for the wartime atrocities. After the debacle, she left the band.
The band soon cribbed vocalist Mickey Thomas from the popular Elvin Bishop Group. After the 1979 release of 'Freedom at Point Zero' (which spawned the hit single "Jane"), Slick returned to the band. She joined in time to contribute one song, "Stranger", on the group's next album, Modern Times (1981). Modern Times also included the notorious "Stairway to Cleveland," in which the band defended the numerous changes it had undergone in its musical style, personnel, and even name. One noted personnel change in the group was when Dunbar left and was replaced by Donny Baldwin (also of the Elvin Bishop Group). Slick remained in the band for Jefferson Starship's final two albums, Winds Of Change (1982) and Nuclear Furniture (1984).
Around this time, the band began enthusiastically embracing rock's video age. Grace Slick would appear frequently on MTV and such music-oriented television shows as Solid Gold, giving the band a high visibility in the MTV era. However, the Jefferson Starship albums of this era were only modestly successful, yet the band remained a gold-selling (and thus commercially credible) act, and a popular concert draw.
In 1984, Kantner (the last remaining founding member of Jefferson Airplane) left the group, but not before taking legal action over the Jefferson name against his former bandmates, who wanted to continue as Jefferson Starship. Kantner settled out of court and signed an agreement that neither party would use the names "Jefferson" or "Airplane" unless all members of Jefferson Airplane, Inc. (Bill Thompson, Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady) agreed. The band used the titles "Starship Jefferson" and "Jefferson Starship" during the proceedings, but ultimately settled on the shortening 'Starship'.
In 1992, Kantner restarted Jefferson Starship as Jefferson Starship - The Next Generation before returning simply to Jefferson Starship after a couple of years. This incarnation of the band continues to perform and record to this day.
I Want to See Another World
Jefferson Starship Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
I want to see another world
For me and my child
My old lady, too
Maybe you
If we can
If we get to
I want to see another world
I want to see another world.
I think you might see a great ship up in the sky
Like an eagle, like a stallion
Might be a burning silver wheel
Let you know you can fly
Look up in the sky
Look up through the darkness
I think it might be love.
I want to see another world
For me and my child
My old lady, too
Maybe you
If we can
If we get to
I want to see another world
I want to see another world
I want to see another world
When all the sky is darkness
When all the ground you know is gone
How the solar wind she blows
Snowy silver dragon sings the songs
Flying straight up to the sky
Great singing engines sigh and
Drive this metal fragment into time.
Let's try to get along with each other
Sister and brother
Father and mother
Everyone's a lover.
I want to see another world
Let's try to get along with each other
Sister and brother
Father and mother
Everyone's a lover.
Get along with each other
Sister and brother
For me and my child
My old lady, too
Maybe you
If we can
If we get to
I want to see another world
I want to see another world.
I think you might see a great ship up in the sky
Like an eagle, like a stallion
Might be a burning silver wheel
Let you know you can fly
Look up in the sky
Look up through the darkness
I think it might be love.
I want to see another world
For me and my child
My old lady, too
Maybe you
If we can
If we get to
I want to see another world
I want to see another world
I want to see another world
When all the sky is darkness
When all the ground you know is gone
How the solar wind she blows
Snowy silver dragon sings the songs
Flying straight up to the sky
Great singing engines sigh and
Drive this metal fragment into time.
Let's try to get along with each other
Sister and brother
Father and mother
Everyone's a lover.
I want to see another world
Let's try to get along with each other
Sister and brother
Father and mother
Everyone's a lover.
Get along with each other
Sister and brother
The song "I Want to See Another World" by Jefferson Starship is a call for change, for a way out of the mundane and into the extraordinary. The lyrics express a desire to see something beyond the troubles of this world, and into a better place for all. The singer seeks to take their family and friends with them, to share in the experience of something greater than themselves.
The first verse sets up the longing for a better place, a new world, and the possibility that others might join in the journey. The second verse continues with a vision of a ship in the sky, or a symbol of a future beyond the limits of this world. There's a suggestion that this ship represents love and hope, guiding people to a better place. The line "let you know you can fly" is especially poignant, referring not just to the ship, but to the idea that we can all rise above our present circumstances.
The bridge offers a message of unity and hope. The singer asks for us all to get along, as siblings and lovers, mothers and fathers, to recognize our shared humanity and work together for a better future. The repetition of the final verse underscores the desire for this new world, and the idea that it is something we can all aspire to achieve together.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Marty Balin, Paul L Kantner, Grace Wing Slick
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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