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.
Frutch
The Incredible String Band Lyrics
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And she liked dirt and me very much
She said if she'd met me during the war
And she found me hiding underneath the door
Even if she was German and I was Dutch
She wouldn't shoot me
She was a fine girl, Frutch
Shot me last Tuesday
Now I met me a girl and her name was Scrot
She kept a notebook with many a jot
About how to turn a banknote into a cat
And many such things just as useful as that
But I told her she wouldn't dig it if she turned
into a piece of gunshot
She didn't listen
She was a fine girl, Scrot
I got her right here in my shoulder now
thanks to Frutch
Now I met me a girl and her name was Blit
And she bought a do-it-yourself submarine kit
She tried it in the bath and it went down the plug
And she was inside it, she was making it chug
When she found there wasn't no place at all for
her to sit
She didn't worry none
She was a fine girl, Blit
She was still standing when she passed Norroway
for the fourth time
Now I met me a girl and her name was Twing
She looked like a yoyo without a string
She rolled up and down like a solid hoop
Right round the block and right through the soup
And right through the stew and the chicken stuffing
She was a fine girl, Twing
She was a good cook as cooks go...she went!
Now I met me a girl and her name was Plof
She had a car with a nasty cough
She fed it with aspirins and vitamin pills
Lotions and potions for to cure all ills
'Til you couldn't see the car for three miles of froth
Big Claimsville
She was a fine girl, Plof
Car don't cough no more
Just sits in the garage all day long
And screams for the doctor
Hypochondriac!
The Incredible String Band's song Frutch tells the stories of different girls that the singer has met. The first girl mentioned is Frutch, who the singer says liked him and dirt very much. Frutch tells the singer that even if she was German and he was Dutch, she wouldn't shoot him if they had met during the war. However, the singer reveals that Frutch shot him last Tuesday. The second girl is Scrot, who keeps notebooks full of useless information like how to turn a banknote into a cat. The singer warns Scrot that she wouldn't like it if she turned into a piece of gunshot, but she didn't listen and now the singer has a bullet wound thanks to Frutch. The third girl is Blit, who bought a do-it-yourself submarine kit and tried it in the bath. Despite the fact that there was no place for her to sit, Blit was still standing when she passed Norroway for the fourth time. The fourth girl is Twing, who rolled up and down like a yoyo without a string, right through the block, the soup, and the stew. The fifth and final girl is Plof, who had a car with a nasty cough. She tried all sorts of lotions, potions, aspirins, and vitamin pills to cure the car's cough, but now the car just sits in the garage and screams for the doctor.
Line by Line Meaning
Now I met me a girl and her name was Frutch
I encountered a girl named Frutch
And she liked dirt and me very much
She had an affinity for dirt and she was fond of me
She said if she'd met me during the war
She expressed that if we were to have met during the war
And she found me hiding underneath the door
And if she had discovered me concealed beneath the door
Even if she was German and I was Dutch
Despite the fact that she was German and I was Dutch
She wouldn't shoot me
She would not have shot me
She was a fine girl, Frutch
Frutch was a commendable person
Shot me last Tuesday
However, she shot me on the day of Tuesday
Now I met me a girl and her name was Scrot
I came across a girl named Scrot
She kept a notebook with many a jot
She carried a notebook containing many notes
About how to turn a banknote into a cat
The notes pertained to transforming a banknote into a feline creature
And many such things just as useful as that
As well as other similarly practical endeavors
But I told her she wouldn't dig it if she turned
However, I informed her that she would not enjoy it if she were to transmute
into a piece of gunshot
into a component of a projectile
She didn't listen
She did not heed my warning
She was a fine girl, Scrot
Scrot was a worthy person
I got her right here in my shoulder now
I now have a wound caused by her in my shoulder
thanks to Frutch
Which was the result of the actions of Frutch
Now I met me a girl and her name was Blit
I encountered a girl named Blit
And she bought a do-it-yourself submarine kit
She purchased a kit for constructing a submarine oneself
She tried it in the bath and it went down the plug
She tested it out in the bathtub and it went down the drain
And she was inside it, she was making it chug
And she was inside it, striving to make it run
When she found there wasn't no place at all for
But when she discovered that there was actually no room for
her to sit
Her to occupy a seat
She didn't worry none
She did not fret about it at all
She was a fine girl, Blit
Blit was a praiseworthy individual
She was still standing when she passed Norroway
She continued to stand even when she reached Norway
for the fourth time
For the fourth occasion
Now I met me a girl and her name was Twing
I chanced upon a girl named Twing
She looked like a yoyo without a string
She resembled a yo-yo that lacks a tether
She rolled up and down like a solid hoop
She moved up and down similarly to a solid circular toy
Right round the block and right through the soup
Throughout the entire block, even through a soup
And right through the stew and the chicken stuffing
Including stews and chicken dishes
She was a fine girl, Twing
Twing was a commendable person
She was a good cook as cooks go...she went!
She was a skillful cook, but suddenly left
Now I met me a girl and her name was Plof
I met a girl whose given name was Plof
She had a car with a nasty cough
She possessed a car that produced an unpleasant sound
She fed it with aspirins and vitamin pills
She provided it medication such as aspirin and vitamin supplements
Lotions and potions for to cure all ills
Also, lotions and miscellaneous liquid remedies to treat all ailments
'Til you couldn't see the car for three miles of froth
To the point where the car was disguised by the three-mile layer of foam generated by the treatments
Big Claimsville
This was a boastful exclamation
She was a fine girl, Plof
Plof was an admirable person
Car don't cough no more
The car no longer produces a coughing sound
Just sits in the garage all day long
It only sits idly in the garage all day
And screams for the doctor
Except for the fact that it periodically makes a very loud noise, likely requiring medical attention
Hypochondriac!
Describing the car as a hypochondriac, constantly thinking it is sick when it is not
Contributed by Ruby F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
niki_nine
i had this strange memory from when i was 10, of going to red rooster on the way home from soccer training when half the squad was carpooling in this one guys minivan, and the soccer venue was halfway across the city. i remember eating chicken tenders in the back seat with my friends and the guys dad who drove always played a strange song and it was also dark and cold outside but being inside this warm minivan that was driving down the freeway with a bunch of ten year olds for an hour long drive were some of the best memories that i had forgotten about until very recently. this song played all the time and we found it so fucking funny. i just spent literally 4 hours trying to find it going off of the words, "through the chicken stuffing" and "rolled around the block" and "now met me girl her name was" finally i fucking found it. SO FUCKING SATISFYING MEMORIES OF CHICKEN TENDERS JUST CAME FLOODING BACK WHEN I hEARD IT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 9 YEARS. (i dont remember much from when i was 10)
David Tough
Thank you thank you thank you for posting this! So great.
Bray Bray
beautiful
Dingo
this song i didnt know,
thank you
The Carromkid.
Anyone know how to play it?