Their early sound was a quirky, cabaret-inflected pop-rock with witty, literate lyrics from Blegvad. Their first two albums featured members of Faust in the backing band, although the second was later re-recorded with session musicians for Virgin records.
By 1975, they had been interleaved with the British avant-rock group Henry Cow, a union that produced two important works: a theatrical, Kurt Weill-esque set of songs entitled Desperate Straights and a much more daunting and avant-garde set entitled In Praise Of Learning.
The band has had fitful reunions ever since, sometimes just for the odd single, but often for major projects (the 1991 television opera Camera and the 1998 studio album Ça Va, for example).
Krause, Moore and Blegvad reformed Slapp Happy again in November 2016 to perform with Faust at the Week-End festival in Cologne, Germany. The two groups also played on 10–11 February 2017 at Cafe Oto in London. On 24 February 2017 Slapp Happy (without Faust) performed at Mt. Rainer Hall, Shibuya in Tokyo. In September 2017, Slapp Happy and Faust played at the 10th Rock in Opposition festival in Carmaux, France. They made a final appearance in November 2017 in Brussels, Belgium.
Haiku
Slapp Happy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Issa and her sister chip until the moon is gone
An endless row of wagons in the snow
Issa grabs her sister says c’mon let’s go ‘cause
Yeah, I think I’ll write a haiku
Well, you know as well as I do
You gotta, gott have a high IQ
So eat this and have a cup of tea
Sengai stamps to help his blood flow
From his brush figures rush
In the middle sits a poet
Almost smothered, almost crushed, crying
"yeah, I think I'll write a haiku..."
(Systole, diastole
Dealing with the parts but
Feeling with the whole.)
Yo!
Han Shan's tears, small worlds
Resting on the spears of warlords
In the wood a drop of blood
Hits an inky pond which ripples as it should...
The lyrics of Slapp Happy's song Haiku incorporate multiple references to classical Japanese poetry and literary traditions. The opening lines of the song depict an imaginary scene where two people are attempting to chip away at the moon with an old bone. This scenario is reminiscent of the Japanese folktale of the rabbit in the moon, which is frequently referenced in haiku and other forms of Japanese literature. The following lines describe a snow-covered landscape with an endless row of wagons, before Issa grabs her sister and suggests they leave. These images are likely intended to evoke a sense of transience and impermanence, which are central themes in Japanese poetry.
The chorus of the song features the lines "Yeah, I think I'll write a haiku / Well, you know as well as I do / You gotta, gott have a high IQ / So eat this and have a cup of tea." This section employs a playful tone and a self-referential quality, suggesting that writing haiku requires intelligence and wit. The final verse describes the image of a poet sitting amidst a flurry of brush figures in the middle of a chaotic scene. The poet is crying, perhaps overwhelmed by the scale of the conflict around them. The final lines reference the tears of the Tang dynasty poet Han Shan and the idea of small worlds resting on the spears of warlords. The song as a whole seems to capture the bittersweet nature of life and the beauty of fleeting moments, which are such integral components of haiku and other Japanese poetry.
Line by Line Meaning
We’re chippin’ at the moon with an old bone
Issa and her sister chip until the moon is gone.
An endless row of wagons in the snow
Issa grabs her sister says c’mon let’s go ‘cause
Yeah, I think I’ll write a haiku
I'll pen my thoughts and feelings into a traditional Japanese poem
Well, you know as well as I do
It goes without saying
You gotta, gott have a high IQ
Having intellect doesn't hurt
So eat this and have a cup of tea
Take this and relax
Widow lighting lamps at cock crow
A lonely widow, awakening at dawn to light the lamps
Sengai stamps to help his blood flow
The Zen master Sengai helps his blood flow by stamping
From his brush figures rush
As he moves his brush, beautiful art appears
In the middle sits a poet
A poet sits in the center of it all, contemplating
Almost smothered, almost crushed, crying
Emotions can be overwhelming, to the point of suffocation
Yo!
Addressing someone with casual familiarity
Han Shan's tears, small worlds
The tears of the poet Han Shan create their own tiny universes
Resting on the spears of warlords
Even in the midst of violent conflicts, poetry endures
In the wood a drop of blood
Amidst nature, a drop of blood falls
Hits an inky pond which ripples as it should...
Creating ripples in the pond, like the impact of words on our lives
Contributed by Keira I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.