Soft Machine was a pioneering psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz band f… Read Full Bio ↴Soft Machine was a pioneering psychedelic, progressive rock and jazz band from Canterbury, United Kingdom, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury Scene.

The band originally consisted of Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Mike Ratledge, most of whom were former members of The Wilde Flowers in 1966. Later members have included Hugh Hopper, Roy Babbington, Elton Dean, John Etheridge, Karl Jenkins, John Marshall, and Allan Holdsworth.

Soft Machine continued on in name, even after all the original founder members moved on; Mike Ratledge was the last to depart in 1976. Numerous offshoots and side projects have included "Soft" in their names: Soft Heap, Soft Head, Soft Works, and the band Matching Mole, a play on words for the French of Soft Machine ('machine molle'). As of 2005, Soft Machine Legacy is a working concern.

Other musicians in the band during the later period were bassists Percy Jones of Brand X and Steve Cook, saxophonists Alan Wakeman and Ray Warleigh, and violinist Ric Sanders. Their 1977 performances and record Alive and Well: Recorded in Paris were among the last for Soft Machine as a working band. The Soft Machine name was used for the 1981 record Land of Cockayne with Jack Bruce and Allan Holdsworth, plus Ray Warleigh and Dick Morrissey on saxes and John Taylor on electric piano, and for a final series of dates at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in the summer of 1984, featuring Jenkins and Marshall leading an ad-hoc line-up of Etheridge, Warleigh, pianist Dave MacRae and bassist Paul Carmichael.

Hulloder
Soft Machine Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If I were black, and I lived here
I'd want to be, a big man in the FBI or the CIA
But as I'm not and of course I don't
And as I'm free white and twenty-one
I don't need more power than I've got
Except for some times when I'm broke

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Soft Machine's song "Hulloder" seems to focus on the issue of racial inequality and the privileges that come with being free, white and twenty-one. The song acknowledges the existence of a system that is skewed in favor of the white and powerful, represented here by the FBI and CIA. The singer in the song recognizes the advantages he has in life but is aware that there are moments when he feels powerless, especially when broke.

The opening lines of the song present an alternate reality where the singer is a Black man who desires a powerful position in the FBI or CIA. This suggests that the system is constructed in a way that excludes people of color from positions of power. Furthermore, the contrast between the singer's white privilege and black disadvantage shows how the system works to maintain a hierarchy of power that is beneficial to some and oppressive to others. The line, "I don't need more power than I've got," highlights this privilege and the comfort it affords the singer in not feeling the need to accumulate more power, as he already has enough.

Overall, the song encourages the listener to recognize the societal structures that give some people advantages based on factors beyond their control, while others are hampered by the same criteria. The song suggests that it takes acknowledging and addressing these inequalities to bring about meaningful change in society.

Line by Line Meaning

If I were black, and I lived here
If I belonged to a race that is often discriminated against and had to live in this region which is notorious for its racism

I'd want to be, a big man in the FBI or the CIA
I would aspire to achieve a position of power in the FBI or the CIA, which are the most prestigious organizations for people of authority in the United States

But as I'm not and of course I don't
However, since I'm not a black person, I am free from such inequalities and therefore, I have no such ambitions

And as I'm free white and twenty-one
As a white person with freedom and a young age, I have relatively fewer restrictions on what I can do, and I have more opportunities to achieve what I want

I don't need more power than I've got
I am content with the power that I have because I have already been granted many privileges because of my race and status

Except for some times when I'm broke
However, there are occasions when I require additional power due to financial constraints

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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