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.
Blues For The Muse
The Incredible String Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wake up in the early when I start to begin
I drink up my coffee to drive dreams away
And I think about leaving but remain for the day
Oh, glory but I just stay blind
Think about my loving, yes, some of the time
Ain't it hard like they say
But I can play
And most any morning, most any morning
I like to be born into my guitar day
They say it's all butterflies
Don't let your dreams get in your eyes
But Orpheus made the sunrise
'Cause he knew how to play
Well, she sings so fadey, I called my guitar lady
She's a noted writer, I just can't seem to let her be
And she is my flower, I call her my easy hour
She's a low special, and baby that's enough for me
I got sorrow spells, I got sorrow spells
She showed up low to the blues away
And it's raining in the ocean, raining in the ocean
And stones on the mountain and just like they say
I'm just the string striker, just the lamplighter
I ain't no price fighter, it's easy to play
Well, she sings like the seashore
Tonight I don't ride on your seesaw
I will call up the angels if they have a little word to say
And I think I'll try cloud walking
It's just my face you see here talking
And it's just the guitar singing
And I have to let her have her way
And it's all right, you're in the graveyard now
And it's all right, you're in the graveyard now
You may weep, you may moan
You may pass your life so gay
But lucky in life, I swear sometimes
Surely going to have to meet your leaving day
Well, she sings like the seashore
Tonight I don't ride on your seesaw
I will call up the angels if they have a little word to say
And I think I'll try cloud walking
It's just my face you see here talking
And it's just the guitar singing
And I have to let her have her way
The song "Blues For The Muse" by The Incredible String Band is a contemplative piece about the creative process and the relationship between the artist and their instrument. The singer awakens in the morning and immediately turns to their guitar to begin their day. They struggle with the desire to take it easy and the pressure to create, but ultimately find solace in playing music. They discuss the legend of Orpheus and his ability to create beauty through his music. The singer then introduces their guitar as their companion and muse, calling her their "flower" and "easy hour."
The second half of the song shifts to a more melancholic tone, with the singer mentioning "sorrow spells" and needing to play the blues away. They acknowledge their role as a simple string striker and lamplighter, but find comfort in the fact that playing music is easy for them. The song concludes with the singer contemplating their own mortality and the inevitability of their own "leaving day."
Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of an artist struggling with the pressures of creating and finding solace in their instrument. The singer finds beauty and meaning in playing music, even in the face of their own mortality.
Line by Line Meaning
I wake up in the early when I see my day walk in
I wake up early when the day is beginning
I wake up in the early when I start to begin
I wake up early when I am starting a new day
I drink up my coffee to drive dreams away
I drink coffee to become alert and focused
And I think about leaving but remain for the day
I consider leaving but decide to stay for the day
Oh, glory but I just stay blind
I am oblivious to what's happening around me
Think about my loving, yes, some of the time
I think about love sometimes
I want to take it easy
I want a relaxed and stress-free life
Ain't it hard like they say
Life is challenging, as people say
But I can play
But I am capable of playing
And most any morning, most any morning
Almost every morning
I like to be born into my guitar day
I feel reborn when I play the guitar
They say it's all butterflies
Some say it's all good and easy
Don't let your dreams get in your eyes
Do not let your own dreams deceive you
But Orpheus made the sunrise
But Orpheus created beauty and enlightenment
'Cause he knew how to play
Because he was talented and capable
Well, she sings so fadey, I called my guitar lady
My guitar sounds like a woman's voice and I call her my lady
She's a noted writer, I just can't seem to let her be
My guitar is an excellent instrument, so I cannot stop playing it
And she is my flower, I call her my easy hour
My guitar is like a flower to me, it's a calming experience to play it
She's a low special, and baby that's enough for me
My guitar is unique and special, and that's all I need
I got sorrow spells, I got sorrow spells
I have spells of sadness and depression
She showed up low to the blues away
Playing my guitar helps me overcome sadness
And it's raining in the ocean, raining in the ocean
It's raining heavily, even in the ocean where it doesn't rain
And stones on the mountain and just like they say
The stones on the mountain stay the same, as people say
I'm just the string striker, just the lamplighter
I am only a musician and a source of inspiration
I ain't no price fighter, it's easy to play
I'm not a fighter, I'm a musician, and playing music is easy
Well, she sings like the seashore
My guitar sounds like the ocean
Tonight I don't ride on your seesaw
Tonight I am not involved in the ups and downs of life
I will call up the angels if they have a little word to say
I will be open to anything that the universe has to tell me
And I think I'll try cloud walking
I want to try something new and different
It's just my face you see here talking
It's my face that you see, and I am speaking to you
And it's just the guitar singing
It's just my guitar making music
And I have to let her have her way
And I must let my guitar do its thing
And it's all right, you're in the graveyard now
Everything is okay, you are in the cemetery now
You may weep, you may moan
You may cry and feel sad
You may pass your life so gay
You may live your life happily
But lucky in life, I swear sometimes
But sometimes being lucky in life is not enough
Surely going to have to meet your leaving day
You will have to face death eventually
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBIN WILLIAMSON, ROBIN D.H. WILLIAMSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
joytuc58
for the past 45 years, I often hum "It's alright, you're in the graveyard now" from hearing it emanating from my brother's room in my childhood. Just now looked it up - yes, I remember listening to this album all those years ago. It's part of my psyche now!
Robert Rogers
Awesome selection 👍
Thee Drowned God
fuck me, this song is about as close to perfect as you can get
Fatgeologist
A man of many moods, Robin Williamson. Responsible for this and "My name is Death" on the same album.
Dave Wilson
Quite the album cover they've got here. Anyone know who drew it?
Dave Wilson
@Clothosx Thanks mate greatly appreciated. 👍
Clothosx
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fool_(design_collective)
david higgen
And no thumbs down!! Surprising: the ISB are a bit of an aquired taste, after all? I always thought Williamson was the more creative songwriter: but without Heron's injection of a certain amount of rock, blues, and (dare I say it) pop sensibility, he might have just drifted off into a sort of amorphous Celtic Twilight oblivion? There was certainly some synergy going on in those days...
Joe Copeland
being dosed,no taste aquirization was required!
Clothosx
Er ... no, The Incredible String Band. Robin Williamson, Mike Heron, and sometimes, Clive Palmer, Rose Simpson and Licorice McKechnie. Danny Thompson of Pentangle also played bass on this album.