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.
Empty Pocket Blues
The Incredible String Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Singin′ the blues for you
My pockets empty baby
You know I love the truth
Even my old kettle
Is whistling the blues for you
Back again
I'm still waiting for
With you
The nights are lonely baby
I need you all the time
I am lonely baby
Need your lips on mine
Even my old kettle
Is whistling the blues for you
Back again
I′m still waitin'
I'm goin′ back again
With you
My pockets empty baby
Singin′ the blues for you
My pockets empty baby
You know I love the truth
Even my old kettle
Is whistling the blues for you
Back again
I'm still waiting
I′m going back again
With you.
The lyrics of The Incredible String Band's Empty Pocket Blues are about a person who is feeling sad and lonely because their pockets are empty. They are singing the blues for their loved one, who they miss and need desperately. The singer even personifies their old kettle, saying that it is also whistling the blues for their loved one. The line "you know I love the truth" suggests that the singer is being honest about their feelings and that this truth is the reason they are sad.
The chorus repeats throughout the song, with the singer lamenting the emptiness of their pockets and expressing their deep desire to be reunited with their loved one. The final lines suggest that the singer is determined to go back to their loved one and that they will keep on waiting until that happens.
Overall, the lyrics of Empty Pocket Blues convey a sense of deep longing and sadness, but also of hope and determination. They show the deep connection that the singer feels with their loved one and the intense need they have to be together.
Line by Line Meaning
My pockets empty baby
I am broke and have no money
Singin' the blues for you
Expressing my sadness and hardships to you through blues music
You know I love the truth
I value honesty and sincerity in my relationship with you
Even my old kettle
My household items are also affected by my low mood
Is whistling the blues for you
My surroundings reflect my emotional state
Back again
Thinking about past experiences and events
I'm still waiting for
Hoping for something that has not yet come to fruition
With you
Desiring to be with a loved one
The nights are lonely baby
I feel lonely and yearn for company
I need you all the time
I depend on the presence and support of my loved one
I am lonely baby
I feel isolated and disconnected from others
Need your lips on mine
Longing for physical intimacy and connection with my partner
I'm goin' back again
Looking to return to a happier time or situation
Writer(s): Palmer
Contributed by Hunter V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Chris Smith
In these dark and dismal times I crave the joyful music this band created a the beginning of the seventies. I am so grateful to German TV for preserving this for posterity.
martifingers
Indeed Chris. I agree . BTW Rose has recently written a book about her time with the band you might like. There will be a "virtual" book launch here https://www.facebook.com/groups/1530562813829624/ on Sunday 13th December at 14.00 GMT.
http://strangeattractor.co.uk/shoppe/muse-odalisque-handmaiden/
Coffee
A reminder of my wonderful early teens seeing them live every chance I got and saving up for all their albums! 👍
corey wiley
That is such an orchestra of sound for just two guitars! I love that acoustic guitar anarchy and the exuberant vocal harmonies!
Eight Reasons
For being so imperfect, this band really is great! My first time hearing them. There is something very underrated about not needing to be too exact with your sound.
Michael Igoe
Love how this band got so huge ... they demythologised the whole star thing... just some friends having fun. And coincidentally producing great music effortlessly.
fredlyr1
Like the Grateful Dead.
The Bad Lieutenant
Also a bit like Tyrannosaurus Rex in the early days, but Bolan was always searching for stardom and in 1970 with Ride A White Swan, he eventually got it.
Andrew Laycock
How can you watch this and not smile? Absolutely brilliant!
Paul Stygal
Never get tired of listening to this. This performance with the girls singing on it has transformed the version on the first album into something really great. Pity it was never recorded.