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.
Explorer
The Incredible String Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fog on the line has shaken my will not to yield
The one left here, my command all gone down
I'm caught, caught, where the cold dark fingers trace
Where the men who failed, they lie and kiss the dark earth's face
I am lost, lost, by the storm clouds am tossed
Now here comes the snow deep
And I will take a sleep, sweet Margaret my dear
It was long and a strong and sweet year indeed
To get lost in
I've seen the survivors when they come home from the icefields
The lace and the ladies' flush and a pearl on the eye
Fine bone china and the log fire spark high
But I'm back in the wasteland low, where the ripe seed never gets blown
What chance I'll see te sun on the lea, hear the cornfield moan
I am lost, lost, by the storm clouds am tossed
Now here comes the snow deep
And I will take sleep, sweet Margaret my dear
Tell me
It was a long and a strong and a sweet year indeed
To get lost in
No one to hear me when I cry
No one to hold me when I sigh
No one to watch me when I die
How will I live again
The Incredible String Band's song, "Explorer," is a melancholic tale of isolation, loss, and longing. The first verse reveals the singer's loneliness, having lost contact with someone they cared about due to interference on the communication channels. They are caught in a place where the darkness seems to have taken over, and all those who have failed to make it lie buried beneath the ground. Despite the desolation, the singer's devotion to Margaret remains their solace, and they seek comfort in sleep.
In the second verse, the singer contrasts their experiences with those survivors who return from the "icefields." The survivors are surrounded by fine things - lace, ladies, pearls, fine bone china - and comfort. Meanwhile, the singer pines for warmth and the sound of the wind blowing through the fields. They lament the fact that they are driven to seek solace in sleep and dream of Margaret. The final lines, "no one to hear me when I cry, no one to hold me when I sigh, no one to watch me when I die, how will I live again," are poignant in their expression of a perceived lack of meaning and purpose.
Line by Line Meaning
I can no longer hear you call 'cross the airwaves
I cannot hear your voice over the radio waves anymore
Fog on the line has shaken my will not to yield
The static on the line has made it difficult for me to resist giving up
The one left here, my command all gone down
The only one remaining, my power and control all lost
I'm caught, caught, where the cold dark fingers trace
I am trapped where the cold, dark hands roam
Where the men who failed, they lie and kiss the dark earth's face
Where the unsuccessful men rest eternally in the soil
I am lost, lost, by the storm clouds am tossed
I am directionless, thrown by the stormy clouds
Now here comes the snow deep
Now the deep snow is arriving
And I will take a sleep, sweet Margaret my dear
And I will rest, my dear Margaret
Tell me
Say to me
It was long and a strong and sweet year indeed
It was a long, powerful and enjoyable year
To get lost in
To become absorbed in
I've seen the survivors when they come home from the icefields
I have observed the people who survive after returning home from the icy regions
The lace and the ladies' flush and a pearl on the eye
The beauty of the lace, the ladies' rosy glow, and a glimmer in the eye
Fine bone china and the log fire spark high
Delicate bone china and a high-spark log fire
But I'm back in the wasteland low, where the ripe seed never gets blown
But I am in the barren land where the fertile seeds never flourish
What chance I'll see the sun on the lea, hear the cornfield moan
What possibility do I have of experiencing the sunlight on the meadow and hearing the cornfield flutter
No one to hear me when I cry
No one to listen to me when I weep
No one to hold me when I sigh
No one to comfort me when I exhale in despair
No one to watch me when I die
No one to witness my last moments
How will I live again
How will I revive myself
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
A Pa
for me, a classic melody, I was drownding, but I did not know it rationally, but I felt it emotionally. How that happens I don't exactly know, but in hindsight, it is all very clear. This tune somehow sums it up.
A Pa
Great tune, but the transcript is all fowled up, the words have not been saved.