The band originally consisted of Ed King (lead guitar), Mark Weitz (keyboards), Lee Freeman (rhythm guitar), Gary Lovetro (bass), and Randy Seol (drums). On their first and most famous single, Incense and Peppermints, lead vocals were sung by Greg Munford, a 16-year-old friend of the band.
Strawberry Alarm Clock's song reached #1 on the Billboard pop singles chart in late 1967, and it has since been included in many mutli-artist collections and also appeared in many films as an iconic tune of the swinging sixties. After that success, the band added George Bunnell (bass and rhythm guitar) before making their first LP in 1967, also titled Incense and Peppermints. Bunnell would also become their main songwriter.
Membership changes were many. which sadly foretold the band's falling fortunes. Gary Lovetro left the band before their second album, Wake Up It's Tomorrow, which was also released in 1967. Their single from that album, Tomorrow, was a minor hit and their only other top 40 appearance, reaching #23 in early 1968. Although the group followed up with more LPs in 1968 (The World in a Seashell) and 1969 (Good Morning Starshine), Strawberry Alarm Clock had begun to fall apart and their audience was mostly gone The group managed to keep performing in various forms until 1971, when Strawberry Alarm Clock finally broke up.
Strawberry Alarm Clock as a band has made two notable appearances in films, first in the 1968 Jack Nicholson movie Psych-Out, where they played several songs including Incense and Peppermints, Rainy Day Mushroom Pillow, and The Pretty Song from Psych-Out. They second' appeared in the 1970 Russ Meyer camp classic Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
Ed King went on to join Lynyrd Skynyrd. Several members of Strawberry Alarm Clock reunited in the 80s to perform on oldies concert tours as well. Still, no additional albums came of that.
The original band lineup reunited one last time to perform an approximately one-hour set at the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, IL, on April 29, 2007. The event was part of the last day of film critic Roger Ebert's ninth annual Overlooked Film Festival and was preceded by a screening of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. Despite being unable to speak due to recent surgery, Ebert made prepared remarks with the use of a device given to him by a U of I professor.
Incense And Peppermints
Strawberry Alarm Clock Lyrics
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Ba, ba, ba, ba
Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
Dead kings, many things I can't define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time
Little to win but nothin' to lose
Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns
Turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
To divide this cockeyed world in two
Throw your pride to one side, it's the least you can do
Beatniks and politics, nothing is new
A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view
Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin' to lose
Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
Dead kings, many things I can't define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time
Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin' to lose
Incense and peppermints
Incense and peppermints
Sha la la, sha la la
Sha la la, sha la la, sha la la, sha la la
The song Incense and Peppermints by Strawberry Alarm Clock is a psychedelic song with a lot of symbolic and metaphorical references. The opening lines, "Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind, dead kings, many things I can't define, occasions, persuasions clutter your mind" indicate the general confusion and cluttering of our minds by various influences. The use of incense and peppermints as the metaphorical reference for the color of time highlights the psychedelic nature of the song. The use of meaningless nouns and phrases like "turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around" creates a hazy and trippy atmosphere.
The song talks about unity amid division, asking people to throw away their pride and beatnik attitudes. The use of the phrase "a yardstick for lunatics," suggests the measure for sanity and insanity is subjective and arbitrary, and we are all somewhat insane in our ways. The chorus, "who cares what games we choose, little to win but nothing to lose" indicates that ultimately, our choices and actions may not matter much in the grand scheme of things and we should not take ourselves too seriously.
Line by Line Meaning
Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
The world's decent and pure qualities are crippling humanity by emphasizing the stark contrast between them and the current state of the world.
Dead kings, many things I can't define
The immortality of dead rulers and the omnipresence of unexplainable vagueness across the world.
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Certain events and forces of influence can be overwhelming and cause mental clutter.
Incense and peppermints, the color of time
The scent of incense and the color of peppermints represent the passing of time and the fleeting nature of human experience.
Who cares what games we choose?
Why does it matter which path we take or what actions we choose to undertake?
Little to win but nothin' to lose
There is very little to gain from any particular choice, but there is also nothing to lose.
Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns
The ideas of incense and peppermints are light and meaningless in comparison to the larger problems in the world.
Turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around
Become aware of your surroundings and try to see them from different perspectives.
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah
Reflect on yourself and your own actions and decisions.
To divide this cockeyed world in two
To try and draw a clear line between good and bad, and to categorize people and things based on this binary thinking.
Throw your pride to one side, it's the least you can do
Be humble and try to see things from a different point of view, without trying to impose your own beliefs on others.
Beatniks and politics, nothing is new
Counterculture and political movements are not new, and there is always opposition against the status quo.
A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view
The standard for what is considered 'normal' or 'crazy' is arbitrary and subject to change based on perspective.
Incense and peppermints, the color of time
The scent of incense and the color of peppermints represent the passing of time and the fleeting nature of human experience.
Who cares what games we choose?
Why does it matter which path we take or what actions we choose to undertake?
Little to win but nothin' to lose
There is very little to gain from any particular choice, but there is also nothing to lose.
Incense and peppermints
The fleeting and meaningless nature of sensory experiences like the smell of incense and the taste of peppermints in the face of greater human problems and experiences.
Sha la la, sha la la
Repeating sounds that evoke a sense of carefree happiness.
Sha la la, sha la la, sha la la, sha la la
Further repetition of the previous sounds.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: John Carter, Timothy P. Gilbert
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind