KINCADE was the brain-child of songwriter/producer John Carter, who wrote a… Read Full Bio ↴KINCADE was the brain-child of songwriter/producer John Carter, who wrote all of the songs with lyrics by his wife Gill. As Carter put it: "We wrote loads of Kincade stuff, we wrote the album in a week!".
All recordings were made with session musicians (with Carter singing lead) for his own production company Sunny Records and the records were leased to Larry Page's Penny Farthing Records. In 1973 the single "Dreams Are Ten a Penny" came out and a singer called John Knowles was sent out to promote the record as "Kincade". The song wasn't a hit in the UK, but got to number 2 in Germany and number 5 in Sweden. Carter: "Larry kept saying 'an album, another single' and he found this group". This group was Octopus, for after a disagreement John Knowles was replaced by Paul & Nigel Griggs and Rick Williams, who were part of a band called Octopus that had been signed to Penny Farthing Records. They were now sent off to promote Kincade records, although neither they nor John Knowles had taken part in any of the recordings. This caused much confusion especially when John Knowles re-emerged as John Kincade for a solo career.
Following the success of "Dreams Are Ten a Penny", Kincade scored a few minor hits in Germany in 1973 and 1974, including "Do You Remember Marilyn", "Big Hand for Annie" and "How Can I Fly". In the meantime Carter was already busy with his new project, First Class, who would have a huge hit with Beach Baby in the summer of 1974.

www.paulgriggs.com (The Complete Story of KIncade)
www.diaryofamusician.com (includes the kincade story)

Pied Piper
Kincade Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You with your masquerading
you always contemplating
What to do if happiness found you.
You can't see that it's all around you
so follow me.
Hey
come on Babe
follow me

I'm the Pied Piper
Follow me I'm the Pied Piper and I'll show you where it's
at.
Hey
Babe
can't you see I'm the Pied Piper

7rust in me I'm the Pied Piper and I'll show you where
life is at.
Girl
don't be scared to move
Hey
Babe
what are you tryin' to prove
It ain't true that your life has kicked you.
Lt's your mind and that's all that's trickin' you so fall
in line.
Girl

don't be scared to move
. . .

Overall Meaning

In Kincade's song, "Pied Piper," the singer takes on the persona of the titular character and invites the listener to follow him towards happiness. He acknowledges that the listener is constantly contemplating what they would do if they found happiness, but insists that the happiness they seek is already all around them. The singer encourages the listener to trust him and follow his lead, promising to show them where life is at. He reassures the listener that their current struggles are merely a trick of the mind and encourages them not to be afraid to move towards a better life.

The lyrics of "Pied Piper" are particularly interesting because they are based on the traditional story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, a legend from medieval Europe about a man who used his musical skill to lure rats out of the town of Hamelin. However, in Kincade's song, the singer takes on a more benevolent role as he guides the listener towards happiness. The song was a hit in 1972, and has since become a staple of the 1970s soft rock genre. Its catchy melody and optimistic lyrics make it a popular choice for easy listening radio stations to this day.

Line by Line Meaning

You with your masquerading
You pretend to be someone you're not

you always contemplating
You're always thinking

What to do if happiness found you.
You don't know what you would do if you were happy

You can't see that it's all around you
You don't realize that happiness is already present in your life

so follow me.
So trust me and follow my lead

Hey
Hey

come on Babe
Come on, my love

follow me
Trust me and follow me

I'm the Pied Piper
I'm the one who can guide you to happiness

Follow me I'm the Pied Piper and I'll show you where it's at.
Trust me and I'll take you to where you can find happiness

Hey
Hey