Shocking Blue was a rock band from The Hague, The Netherlands that existed … Read Full Bio ↴Shocking Blue was a rock band from The Hague, The Netherlands that existed from 1967 to 1974. Fronted by singer, Mariska Veres, and with guitarist/songwriter, Robbie van Leeuwen, as its creative force, the band enjoyed international chart success and are one of the most successful bands ever to come out of The Netherlands.

Shocking Blue's by far biggest hit was Venus, which went to #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in February 1970. 'Venus' returned to the top of the U.S. charts in 1981 as part of the Stars on 45 Medley and was also successfully covered by artists such as Greece's Olympians (1970), Bananarama (1986), Japanese singer Yoko Nagayama (1986).

Nirvana covered the song Love Buzz for their debut album Bleach in 1989, and it was released as their first single. The British Group The Prodigy also sampled Love Buzz for their song 'Phoenix' on their 2004 album Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

Before 'Venus' the group had only had two minor Dutch hits in 1969: Long Lonesome Road and Send Me A Postcard. In 1970 two more hits followed: Mighty Joe and Never Marry A Railroad Man, the latter almost provoking a strike by workers on the London Underground when posters advertising the single in the Underground stations were put on display.

Shocking Blue had several more hits in The Netherlands and beyond. The group started to dissolve in 1973 when Van Leeuwen called it quits. Singer Mariska Veres left the group to start a solo-career in 1974 and Shocking Blue folded.

Mariska Veres died on December 2nd, 2006, after a short battle with cancer. She was just 59 years old.

Members

The initial line-up consisted of
Robbie van Leeuwen (guitar, sitar and backing vocals) (1967–1973)
Fred de Wilde (vocals, 1967–1968)
Klaasje van der Wal (bass guitar, 1967–1972, deceased in 2018)
Cor van der Beek (drums) (1967–1974, deceased in 1998)
Later members were
Mariska Veres (vocals, 1968–1974, deceased in 2006)
Leo van de Ketterij (nl) (guitar, 1970–1971)
Martin van Wijk (guitar, 1973–1974)
Henk Smitskamp (nl) (bass guitar, 1972–1974)
Also
Wim Voermans
Jan Pijnenburg (nl)
Michael Eschauzier
André van Geldorp (nl)
Charles Pesch

Discography

Albums
1967 Shocking Blue (Polydor) also known as Beat with Us (German title) #31 US
1969 At Home (Pink Elephant)
1970 Scorpio's Dance (Pink Elephant) also known as Sally Was A Good Old Girl (Japanese title)
1971 Third Album (AKA Shocking You, Pink Elephant)
1972 Inkpot (Pink Elephant) – The official music of Mark Six
1972 Live in Japan (Pink Elephant)
1972 Attila (Pink Elephant) also known as Rock in the Sea (Japanese title)
1972 Eve and the Apple (Same as Attila with one different track, Polydor)
1973 Ham (Pink Elephant)
1974 Dream on Dreamer (Same as Ham, but with 3 different songs and 6 alternate versions, Polydor)
1974 Good Times (Pink Elephant)

Singles
Year Title US UK AUS NED NOR GER FRA NZ BEL JPN
1967 Love is in The Air / Fix Your Hair Darling - - - - - - - - - -
1968 Lucy Brown is Back in Town / Fix Your Hair Darling - - - 21 - - - - - -
1968 Send Me a Postcard / Harley Davidson - - - 10 4 - 4 - - -
1969 Long and Lonesome Road / Fireball of Love 75 - - 17 - - 6 - - -
1969 Venus / Hot Sand 1 3 1 3 1 2 1 1 - 15
1969 Mighty Joe / Wild Wind 43 45 43 2 - 6 8 - - -
1970 Never Marry a Railroad Man / Roll Engine Roll 102 - 40 1 5 10 1 4 19
1970 Hello Darkness / Pickin' Tomatoes - - - 4 - - - - 12 -
1971 Shocking You / Waterloo - - - 10 - - 1 - 21 -
1971 Serenade / Sleepless at Midnight 110 - - - - - - - - -
1971 Blossom Lady / Is This a Dream - - - 2 - - - - 3 -
1971 Out of Sight, Out of Mind / I Like You - - - 6 6 - - - 5 -
1972 Inkpot / Give My Love to The Sunrise - - - 5 - 21 1 - 4 -
1972 Rock in the Sea / Broken Heart - - - 14 - - 3 - 21 -
1972 Eve and the Apple / When I was a Girl - - - 15 - - 1 - 18 -
1973 Let Me Carry Your Bag / I Saw You in June - - - - - - 2 - - -
1973 Oh Lord / In My Time of Dying - - - 14 - - - - 6 -
1974 This America / I Won't be Lonely Long - - - - - - - - 16 -
1974 Dream on Dreamer / Where The Pick-Nick Was - - - - - - 4 - - -
1974 Good Times / Come My Way - - - - - - - - - -
1975 Gonna Sing My Song / Get It On - - - - - - - - - -
1980 Louise / Venus - - - - - - - - - -
1986 The Jury and The Judge / I am Hanging on to Love - - - - - - - - - -
1990 Venus '90 (UK Only) - 75 - - - - - - - -
1994 Body and Soul / Angel - - - - - - - - - -

Pickin' Tomatoes
Shocking Blue Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm pickin' tomatoes,
And I do it for you.
I'm pickin' tomatoes
The whole day through.

I go into the field to make me some money
By having a good time with my honey,
And the sun looks over the hill.

I don't feel tired
When I see your smile,
Know I feel the pain
In my bones.

But I don't mind working so hard
For I know we'll never be apart,
And the sun looks over the hill.

I'm pickin' tomatoes,
And I do it for you.
I'm pickin' tomatoes
The whole day through.

When my bag is filled with fruit
I'd take a little rest in the wood,
And the sun is already down again,

And the sun is already down again,
And the sun is already down again.

Overall Meaning

The song "Pickin' Tomatoes" by Shocking Blue is a love song with a twist - instead of the usual flowers and chocolates, the singer is picking tomatoes for his lover all day long. The lyrics depict a man who is working hard in a field to make money for himself and his partner. Although he physically feels the pain and exhaustion of the work, he gets his motivation from his love for his partner. He takes a break in the woods when his bag is filled with tomatoes and the sun is already setting. The entire day, he is toiling with a smile on his face, knowing that the hard work he is putting in is worth it for the love of his life.

The song not only portrays the love of the singer, but also the hardships and struggles of a hard-working person who is trying to make a living. The lyrics of the song seem to suggest that when someone works hard for something they love, the pain and effort do not matter as long as the desired outcome is achieved.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm pickin' tomatoes,
I am spending my time picking tomatoes

And I do it for you.
I am doing this to make money to support you

I'm pickin' tomatoes
I am spending my time picking tomatoes

The whole day through.
I am picking tomatoes for the entire day

I go into the field to make me some money
I am picking tomatoes in order to earn money

By having a good time with my honey,
I enjoy spending time with my significant other while picking tomatoes

And the sun looks over the hill.
The sun is setting in the background

I don't feel tired
I am not feeling drained or exhausted

When I see your smile,
Your smile encourages me and motivates me to keep picking tomatoes

Know I feel the pain
Even though I am motivated by your smile, my body is still in pain from the work

In my bones.
My entire body aches from the hard work