In the late summer of 1965, after seeing a new band called Jefferson Airplane at The Matrix club, Grace and Jerry decided to start their own group, assembling it fairly quickly. The band made its debut at the Coffee Gallery in San Francisco's North Beach section on October 15, 1965, and continued to perform throughout 1966.
The band released only one single during its lifetime in 1966, "Someone to Love," (later re-titled "Somebody To Love") written by Darby, backed with "Free Advice." Issued on Autumn Records' tiny North Beach subsidiary label, the single made little impact outside of the Bay Area, but the association with Autumn did lead the band to working with staff producer Sylvester Stewart, still in the process of forming his own band, Sly and the Family Stone. Purportedly, Stewart would eventually walk out as the band's producer during a demo session after it took Great Society over 50 takes just to get one song right.
Momentum for the band began to build as they started opening for Jefferson Airplane and other successful local bands, with Columbia Records offering the Great Society a recording contract. By the time the contract arrived in the mail, however, Grace had been spirited away to replace departing vocalist Signe Toly Anderson in the Airplane, taking "Someone to Love" and her own composition "White Rabbit," one of Great Society's live showcases, with her. As both the visual and musical focal point, the band could not survive without its lead singer, and disbanded in the fall of 1966. Grace and Jerry would divorce as well.
Columbia would eventually release tapes of live performances by Great Society as two separate albums in 1968 after Grace found fame, repackaging both as a double LP in 1971. In 1995, Sundazed issued a compilation disc featuring the band's lone single amidst unreleased studio session material.
Daydream
The Great Society Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And, you think you're much to good for pleasing me.
But now I'm gonna run away, taking all the fun away.
Oh, watch me run.
I see all the wisdom in your eyes.
But now I know, all you've told me is lies.
Now I'm gonna run away, you've taken the fun away.
You move around as graceful as you can.
And all my days, turned into one night mare.
But now I'm gonna run away, takin' the fun away.
Watch me run
The Great Society's song Daydream Nightmare contains lyrics that express the confusion and frustration felt by the singer. The lyrics describe a scenario where the singer does not know their purpose and feels too good to be with their partner. They decide to run away, taking all the fun away. The singer has discovered that their partner has been dishonest with them, and their time together has turned into a nightmare. The lyrics reflect the desire to leave everything behind and escape into a new life, free from the lies and confusion of the old one.
Overall, the lyrics in Daydream Nightmare express a sense of liberation, though not without the accompanying pain and regret that comes with leaving someone behind. The song's structure, which consists of the same four-line verse repeated twice, creates a sense of repetition and a mantra-like quality, reinforcing the idea that the singer's desire to run away is all-encompassing and deeply felt.
Line by Line Meaning
When you don't know what you're ever gonna be.
You feel like you lack direction in your life.
And, you think you're much too good for pleasing me.
You believe you're better than me and don't want to do anything for me.
But now I'm gonna run away, taking all the fun away. Oh, watch me run.
I'm going to leave and take away all the enjoyment in our relationship.
I see all the wisdom in your eyes.
I used to believe in your intelligence and knowledge.
But now I know, all you've told me is lies.
I've discovered that you've been deceiving me all along.
Now I'm gonna run away, you've taken the fun away. Oh, watch me run.
Now that I know the truth, I'm leaving and taking away all the joy.
You move around as graceful as you can.
You try to hide your flaws and act as though everything is perfect.
And all my days, turned into one nightmare.
Being with you has become a constant source of stress and anxiety.
But now I'm gonna run away, taking the fun away. Watch me run
I'm going to escape from this nightmare and remove all the enjoyment from it.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID MINOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
John R
I've had this record since the 70s , still amazing !!
UBECLEB71 Mercyful Fate
Jewel