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 - - - - - - - - - -
Water Boy
Shocking Blue Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come from the well on the hill.
If you wonder where the well comes from,
Come from the rain, Lord.
Water boy, water boy,
Water, water boy.
Water boy, water boy,
If you wonder where the rain comes from,
Come from the sky, Lord.
If you wonder where the water comes from,
Come from the well on the hill.
Water boy, water boy,
Water, water boy.
Water boy, water boy,
Bring some water now.
The lyrics to Shocking Blue's song "Water Boy" revolve around the simple concept of the source of water. The song begins by introducing the idea that if someone wonders where the water comes from, they should look no further than the well on the hill. This initiates a conversation about the source of water and how important it is for people to understand where it comes from. The lyrics poetically state that the well is supplied by water that comes from the rain, which is in turn supplied by the sky - a religious nod to the idea that all things come from a higher power.
Line by Line Meaning
If you wonder where the water comes from,
If you're curious about the origins of water,
Come from the well on the hill.
it can be found in the well located on top of the hill.
If you wonder where the well comes from,
If you're curious about where the well gets its water from,
Come from the rain, Lord.
it's sourced from the rain sent by the divine Lord.
Water boy, water boy,
Addressing the water bearer, the person who provides them with water.
Water, water boy.
Asking the water boy to bring water their way.
If you wonder where the rain comes from,
If you're curious about the source of rain,
Come from the sky, Lord.
it comes down from the heavens after being blessed by the Lord.
If you wonder where the water comes from,
If you're still curious about the origins of water,
Come from the well on the hill.
Know that it comes from the well on the hill.
Water boy, water boy,
Pleading with the water bearer to get them some water.
Bring some water now.
Urgently asking the water bearer to bring them some water.
Contributed by Miles S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dpramirez66
Why did this band not make it bigger? This is pure psychedelic man.
@lindatiferet9729
Eclipsed by Hendrix Comet, and all is for the Good
@jamesaron1967
They were Dutch, hard to make it big competing with the British Invasion and Laurel Canyon scene among others..
@yavoralexandroff2321
I don't think they deserve that much attention.
@dongkysp8870
In a 5/4 measure? Gosh....these guys are really great!
@jamesaron1967
They were a great band. I hate to use the word 'underrated' but being billed as a one-hit wonder certainly is!
@honeybozo
probably better than Jefferson Airplane - but they didn't hail from Frisco but from The Hague , which didn't help. Having said that, Blue did get their props from Nirvana -as their first single was Love Buzz - a Shocking Blue song..... Kris is probably still a fan. I certainly am.
@Julio_Cesar_82
Krist Novoselic?
@wellylhakim3619
awesome👍👍👍👍👍
@TrueFreddyK
Cool Tune, a bit like Jethro Tull's- Living in the past