The Incredible String Band was formed in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK by folk musicians Robin Williamson, Mike Heron, and Clive Palmer (1943 - 2014). They recorded their eponymous debut album in 1966, a lighthearted affair which revealed only the merest hint of the psychedelic adventures to come. After that, the band broke up. Palmer decamped for the Trail to Afghanistan and Williamson visited Morocco from where he returned laden with exotic instruments like the famous gimbri, which was, much later, eaten by rats. In 1967 Heron and Williamson recorded 'The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion', an audaciously eclectic mix of bookish folk music, hippy love songs and Eastern modalities. They soon became the-name-to-drop-in-interviews for luminaries such as Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan, and in their annum mirabilis of 1968 they practically defined the hippy counterculture in the extraordinary albums 'The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter' and 'Wee Tam and the Big Huge'. By then the group consisted of Williamson, Heron, Rose Simpson and Licorice McKechnie - the same line up played at Woodstock in 1969 at the wrong time, having refused to play in the pouring rain the previous day (seen by manager Joe Boyd as a great missed opportunity).
In 1970 Robin Williamson attempted to fuse the music with his theatrical fantasies in a quixotic multi-media spectacular at London's Roundhouse called 'U'. It was "a surreal parable in dance and song" and highlighted the fact that they were never destined to make much money out of things. After that they lasted another four years. By 1974 tension between Williamson and Heron, who was pushing the band into prog-rock territory, had become unbearable and they split up.
Williamson soon formed "Robin Williamson and His Merry Band" which toured and released three albums of eclectic music with a Celtic emphasis. Within a few years, he went on to a solo career, moving increasingly into traditional Celtic styles. He also produced several recordings of humorous stories. Heron formed the rock group "Heron" and later released occasional solo albums. Responding to a comment by Joe Boyd in 1997 that they hadn't spoken since the breakup in 1974, the pair got back together for two concerts. This was followed by a full reunion of the original three members plus Williamson's wife Bina and Lawson Dando in 1999. By 2001 both Robin and Bina Williamson had left. Heron, Palmer and Lawson, and new member Fluff toured regularly around the United Kingdom and internationally until an end to the tour was announced in 2006.
The music of the ISB ranges from quite conventional folk songs to innovative “art song” and hybrid forms that were a precursor to World Music. In 1967-8 they were sometimes described as part of pop music's "avant-garde", which had emerged in the wake of the more adventurous work of The Beatles, with whom they were often compared. Although they lacked the Beatles' broad pop appeal, the ISB showed a similar interest in extending the boundaries of their music. Both Mike Heron and Robin Williamson would break apart a traditional song structure, inserting seemingly unrelated sections in a way that has been described as "always surprising, laughably inventive, lyrically prodigious". While at times this resulted in a lack of conventional unity, it also opened up the song musically and thematically to allow greater depth and exploration. This aspect of their music, combined with Williamson’s soaring melismatic vocal ornamentation (perhaps influenced by Islamic chanters heard during his visit to Morocco, as well as by the Scots-Irish traditional singing with which he had grown up) made for music that still sounds fresh forty years later.
Air
The Incredible String Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Brighter then than brightest star
You are by far
You come right inside of me
Close as you can be
You kiss my blood
And my blood kiss me
The lyrics to The Incredible String Band's "Air" are about the life-giving force of breath and its connection to all living things. The opening line, "Breathing, all creatures are," sets the stage for a contemplation of the power of the breath to sustain living organisms. The next line, "Brighter than the brightest star," suggests that this life-giving energy is not only essential but also precious, even transcendent in its beauty and significance. The following line, "You are by far," implies that whatever is being referred to here is of utmost importance to the singer, perhaps even more significant than any earthly possession or relationship.
The imagery in the second stanza is even more intimate, with the line "You come right inside of me" suggesting an almost spiritual union between the singer and the object of their devotion. The subsequent lines, "Close as you can be / You kiss my blood / And my blood kiss me," reinforce this sense of dual intimacy, with the idea that the breath, or whatever symbolic object is being referenced, is both literally and figuratively inside the singer, as present in their physical vessel as their very lifeblood. Ultimately, the lyrics to "Air" celebrate the interconnectedness of all living things, while also hinting at the possibility of deeper levels of communion and unity.
Line by Line Meaning
Breathing, all creatures are
All living beings are connected through the act of breathing.
Brighter then than brightest star
This connection creates an energy that shines brighter than any star.
You are by far
This connection is the most important thing in the world.
You come right inside of me
This connection is so strong that it feels like the other being is physically inside of oneself.
Close as you can be
This connection brings beings as close together as possible without physically merging.
You kiss my blood
The connection is so strong that it feels like the other being is intimately connected to one's life force.
And my blood kiss me
This connection is reciprocal and both beings are intertwined with each other's life force.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MIKE HERON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@martifingers
So I absorbed (no pun intended!) this in 1968 when it first came out. I loved the band but this I took to be one of their simpler songs musically and lyrically. But it was all part of their raising of the mundane and the common place to the level of what you might called revelation. Not quite religious in a conventional way but still with (although I hate the word really) a spiritual purpose.
And it's accurate too: from Wikipedia:
"Alveoli are tiny balloon shaped structures and are the smallest passageway in the respiratory system. The alveoli are only one cell thick, allowing the relatively easy passage of oxygen and carbon dioxide (CO2) between the alveoli and blood vessels called capillaries.
One cubic millimeter of lung tissue contains around 170 alveoli. While the total number can vary from one person to the next, there are literally millions within the human lungs spanning a surface area of roughly 70 square meters." And amoebas are indeed very small...
Now 50+ years on I am recovering from a heart condition that deprived me of breath so oddly it means even more now. And I still love the band having met and talked to both Mike and Robin over the years.
And watch out soon for a book from Rose Simpson on her experiences with the band. I have a strong feeling it will be well worth reading....
@reglewis393
My best friend of over 50 years loved this record and sang it for his children. He was laid to rest today, a victim of Covid 19. This was played at his funeral where few had heard it before but everyone loved it. Goodbye Laurence R.I.P.
@polfabra3413
Jeez... sorry for your loss man
@PIPEHEAD
I don't consider MH to be on the same level as RW by any means, but this song is presumably the only one ever written in praise of something which most people find quite useful !!!!!!!! In 72 or 3 my pal's ma, passing through, said " Oh that's a bit rude, isn't it ? " - few had heard it ........................
@izzgal7
Raised my children on The Incredible Sting Band. This is one favorite of mine among so many.
@SpeegBJ
Oh yes...so so good to read you raised your children (as I did) on ISB.
@user-xh5wj4tw8k
Adam Curtis sent me here
@helensmith9597
Me too so long since I heard it
@SpeegBJ
In the U.S. and have loved this tune since its beginning. Yes, one of the most beautiful songs ever made. I sang it to myself constantly while my mother was on a respirator before passing away....and to my children when they were babies as a lullaby.
@jeffreydwightryanriley8308
Had the privilege of having my mom in my home with she passed. Things that remind you of the universe makes it easy to be patient until you see her again. ❤️
@CJ-vj7pm
brought here by the Adam Curtis documentary series "Can't Get You Out of My Head", nobody else?