Few survivors from the golden age of British folk-rock have kept their reputations intact. Of the generation of troubadours who came of age in the folk clubs of London in the mid-1960s, some have passed away, others have surrendered to the regurgitation of the blandest form of acoustic folk music. But among the survivors, there is one figure whose body of work, comprising 23 studio LPs and almost as many live and compilation releases, has come to stand for a particularly single-minded form of integrity. That man is Roy Harper.
Now officially ‘retired’, and living in a secluded corner of Ireland, Harper has recently been hailed as a key influence by a much younger generation of devoted starsailors who instinctively recognise his innovations, his refusal to compromise and his visionary world view. It is rumoured that Joanna Newsom insisted she’d only play her recent UK shows if he would support her. The likes of Fleet Foxes, Joanna Newsom, and Jim O’Rourke are avowed fans; and in previous decades he has enjoyed public endorsements and tributes from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour and many more.
Biography
Born in 1941, Harper lost his mother within a few weeks of his birth and was brought up in the outskirts of Manchester by his father and stepmother, a Jehovah's Witness. Harper developed a deep hatred of organised religion and ran away, aged 15, to join the Royal Air Force. The rigid discipline required did not suit him. In order to be discharged early he pleaded insanity and was committed to an institution where he received ECT. A former participant in the skiffle revolution in the mid-50s, around 1964 Harper found himself joining the stream of bohemian rambler-buskers hitching and singing their way around Europe and North Africa. On his return to Britain he pitched in to the London coffee-house folk scene and secured a residence at legendary folk club Les Cousins, where he was spotted by the obscure Strike label.
Beginning with 1966’s Sophisticated Beggar, Harper’s music has consistently rattled the cage of received ideas. His versatile, poetic sensibility was employed in a wide range of song styles from romantic love songs to late-night mantras to blackly comedic throwaway numbers. A brilliant, percussive guitar stylist in his own right, he extended the form of folk music over the next few years, allowing himself the space to stretch out in long, lyrically dense and mantrically repetitive odysseys of poetic thought. “I was writing long poems in the 50s,” says Harper, “none of which unfortunately made it past the first few moves of living quarters. My first inspiration was John Keats’s Endymion.”
The first inklings of his expansive approach on record came on the ten minute “Circle” on 1967’s Come Out Fighting Genghis Smith – produced by Shel Talmy – and was vastly ramped up on the following year’s Folkjokeopus, which contained an 18 minute “McGoohan’s Blues”, named after the lead actor of TV’s The Prisoner and whose enigmatic verses were laced with anti-establishment rants.
By this time Harper was a favourite at the outdoor Hyde Park Festivals, where he was exposed to the wider attention of the underground scene. Now produced and managed by Peter Jenner, and signed to EMI’s progressive label Harvest, his 1969 LP Flat Baroque And Berserk reflected his reputation as a bloodyminded, truculent troubadour, reflecting turbulent times with anger, wrath and sardonic humour, singing – like the mistle thrush after which his next opus would be named – into the eye of the storm.
Stormcock (1971) is generally regarded as a masterpiece: a sprawling but focused suite of four lengthy tracks which explored the inner space of Abbey Road Studio to rhapsodic effect. Like Astral Weeks refracted through the pages of OZ magazine, the songs span an enormous spectrum of experience, from the frontline of social unrest to the secluded, birdsong-infested lanes of the English countryside. Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page added guitar, disguised as ‘S Flavius Mercurius’, highlighting a relationship with the group that had begun at the 1970 Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music. “Hats Off To (Roy) Harper”, an incoherent, gutsy blues workout on Led Zeppelin III, paid tribute to the singer’s status as a beacon of integrity for the underground scene.
Harper enjoyed a special relationship with Led Zeppelin, and his subsequent albums began to move into harder rock territory with the addition of various key collaborators including, as well as Page, orchestral arranger/keyboardist David Bedford, David Gilmour, Chris Spedding, Bill Bruford and John Paul Jones. Lifemask (1972) contained several songs written for the film Made, directed by John Mackenzie, which starred Harper as an edgy, high-maintenance rock star. Valentine (1974) was launched with a gig featuring Page and Bedford plus Ronnie Lane and Keith Moon. He was invited to sing lead on the single “Have A Cigar” from Pink Floyd’s classic album Wish You Were Here (1975). In the same year Harper released HQ, a rock based album notable for the closing track, “When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease”, an elegiac hymn to unchanging ways and mortality which BBC DJ John Peel insisted should be played in the event of his death.
With the dawn of the 1980s Harper took part in a musical exchange with Kate Bush, who guested on The Unknown Soldier (1980), while Harper returned the favour by appearing on Bush’s hit single “Breathing”. Harper rode the unsteady waves of the music industry during the early 1980s but kept up a productive output that saw his music taking on a prophetic role, expressing more explicit concerns with environmental disaster, religious fundamentalism, urban poverty and the first Gulf War, on releases like Once (1990) and The Dream Society (1998), through to his most recent studio album, The Green Man (2000). In 1994, exhibiting typical desire for autonomy and self-sufficiency, he set up his own record label, Science Friction, to curate and rerelease his entire back catalogue, along with a clutch of CDs of live and unreleased material covering his entire career. In his book, The Passions Of Great Fortune (2003), he published his complete lyrics together with photos, annotations and re-evaluations of every one of his songs.
With a new series of reissues in 2011, Roy Harper’s incredible, visionary catalogue of work enters the digital domain in time for his music to take on a new, urgent and timely appeal, in an age in which the hypocrisies and injustices he railed against are more present than ever before. It’s been a damned good innings and he’s still not out.
Mañana
Roy Harper Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Until we meet again I'll say manana
I'm practically insane but there's manana
I'm horizontal now
But I'll get up somehow, baby
And maybe we'll all goof again someday
Oh manana
You'll still be up the creek- yes
But here's your favourite freak, baby
And he'll be with you all the drunken way
Oh manana
Just the same old joke again
Manana
We'll all be just as broke the same
Manana
Baby you're a painted screw
And look out the moon's about to spew
But never mind it's all just forgetti on toast
Oh some more manana
The great big floating toilet in the sky
We'll go and rape some queers
And beat up some old dears, baby
And smash a few more windows by and by
Oh manana
Until we meet again my friends
I'll say manana
We'll set a few more trends again
Manana
We'll sing a few pop songs
To fill a few more lungs, babe
With apathetic garbage number ones
Oh manana
We'll help ourselves to lots more toilet roll
We'll do the dirty dog
Sat on the dirty bog, baby
And sell it to the Yanks as English soul
Sell it to the Yanks as English soul
The song "Mañana" by Roy Harper is a reflection on the recklessness and apathy of youth, coupled with a sense of detachment from reality. Throughout the song, Harper speaks about the notion of "tomorrow", or "mañana", as a way of distancing himself from the present moment and any potential consequences of his actions. He sings "Until we meet again I'll say mañana / I'm practically insane but there's mañana / I'm horizontal now / But I'll get up somehow, baby / And maybe we'll all goof again someday", expressing a desire to postpone any accountability for his behavior and suggesting that he will continue to act recklessly in the future.
As the song progresses, Harper's lyrics become increasingly absurd and nonsensical, suggesting a disconnect from reality and a lack of concern for the consequences of his actions. He sings about "drunken frogs" and "raping queers" and "selling English soul to the Yanks", using ironic and satirical humor to critique the behavior of himself and his peers. The song ends with the refrain "Oh manana / Until we meet again my friends / I'll say manana / We'll set a few more trends again", suggesting that the cycle of recklessness and detachment will continue endlessly.
Overall, "Mañana" is a commentary on the mindset of a certain segment of youth culture, highlighting the dangers of apathy and detachment from reality. The song suggests that without a sense of accountability for our actions and a willingness to engage with the world around us, we risk becoming trapped in a cycle of absurdity and meaninglessness.
Line by Line Meaning
Until we meet again I'll say manana
The singer is bidding farewell, with the hope of meeting again in the future.
I'm practically insane but there's manana
Although the singer is struggling, they believe that there is always hope for a better tomorrow.
I'm horizontal now
But I'll get up somehow, baby
The singer is currently down or defeated, but they are determined to keep going and find a way to overcome their obstacles.
And maybe we'll all goof again someday
The artist is reminiscing about past experiences and is hopeful that they will be able to repeat those fun moments with the same people in the future.
The drunken frogs will somersault all day
The artist envisions a world where even the animals are carefree and playful.
You'll still be up the creek- yes
But here's your favourite freak, baby
Even though life may be difficult, the singer wants to be there for the person they care about and provide comfort and support.
And he'll be with you all the drunken way
The singer promises to stick by their friend's side and enjoy life's ups and downs together, even in their drunken state.
Just the same old joke again
The artist is aware that some situations in life may seem repetitive or dull, but they try to find humor in them nonetheless.
We'll all be just as broke the same
The artist recognizes that financial struggles are a reality for many people and that they are likely to continue facing this issue with their friends in the future.
Baby you're a painted screw
And look out the moon's about to spew
The artist is using playful and absurd language to express their affection for their friend and their shared experiences, while also referencing a chaotic and unpredictable world.
But never mind it's all just forgetti on toast
Despite the challenges and chaos both in the world and in their personal lives, the singer chooses to adopt a carefree or blasé attitude.
The great big floating toilet in the sky
The artist is using surreal, absurd language to humorously reference the unknown or unpredictable elements of life.
We'll go and rape some queers
And beat up some old dears, baby
And smash a few more windows by and by
The singer is using tongue-in-cheek humor to comment on the toxic and violent aspects of society, and how they aim to avoid or cope with those issues in unconventional ways.
We'll set a few more trends again
The singer is optimistic for the future and envisions having a positive impact on the world around them.
We'll sing a few pop songs
To fill a few more lungs, babe
With apathetic garbage number ones
The singer is being critical of the music industry and mainstream pop culture, and how many people blindly consume and celebrate shallow or meaningless content.
We'll help ourselves to lots more toilet roll
The artist is using humor to comment on how people might panic or hoard resources during times of crisis or uncertainty.
We'll do the dirty dog
Sat on the dirty bog, baby
And sell it to the Yanks as English soul
Sell it to the Yanks as English soul
The artist is using crude humor to comment on how stereotypes and misconceptions can inform cultural exchanges or misunderstandings.
Contributed by Gabriella Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.