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.
Little Girl
The Incredible String Band Lyrics
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Everybody knows tears that fall
You and me had something higher than just good times
Something else that I just can't find without you
Without you got emptiness
Without you I've got an emptiness
That is lower
Pick up, let me pick up
Let me pick up on your lovelight
Please let it shine on me, I want that more
Than just about anything at all
Little girl I love you, spend my walking hours in thoughts or you
You held your love light high
And it shone and it shone down on me
But you let it fall so low I could not see
Without you got emptiness
Without you I've got an emptiness
That is lower
Than just about anything at all
The Incredible String Band's song 'Little Girl' is a heartfelt ballad that deals with love, loss and the emptiness that accompanies the absence of a loved one. The opening lines, 'Everybody knows good times, everybody knows tears that fall', set the tone for the song, which is in essence an ode to the powerful and complex emotions that humans go through when they experience love and loss. The singer talks about the special connection that he shared with his lover which was higher than just good times. However, since the lover is no longer in the singer's life, he is left with an incredible emptiness that is lower than just about anything.
The singer then pleads with his lover to let their love shine on him through the lyrics 'Pick up, let me pick up, let me pick up on your lovelight, please let it shine on me, I want that more than just about anything at all'. Here, he reveals that even when the lover is not physically present, their love can still light up his life and fill him with a sense of hope and joy. The final verse speaks of his love for this 'little girl' and how he spends his walking hours in thoughts of her. He talks about how she had the power to light up his life, but because she let her love fall so low, he is unable to see it and is left with an emptiness that is unbearable.
Overall, the song deals with the melancholic emotions of love, loss, and longing. It is a deeply personal and introspective track that allows the listener to connect with the singer's emotions and their own experiences of love and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Everybody knows good times
It's a well-known fact that life is full of enjoyable moments
Everybody knows tears that fall
It's also acknowledged that life is full of sorrowful moments
You and me had something higher than just good times
Our relationship was based on something more meaningful than just happy moments
Something else that I just can't find without you
I'm struggling to find that kind of connection with anyone else
Without you got emptiness
When you're not around, I feel hollow inside
Without you I've got an emptiness
I feel empty inside when you're not here with me
That is lower
This feeling of emptiness is worse
Than just about anything at all
It's the worst feeling imaginable
Pick up, let me pick up
Please answer the phone or respond to my messages
Let me pick up on your lovelight
Let me feel your love and positive energy
Please let it shine on me, I want that more
I crave your love and positivity more than anything else
Than just about anything at all
There's nothing else I want or need more than your love and light
Little girl I love you, spend my walking hours in thoughts or you
I'm in love with you, constantly thinking about you
You held your love light high
You used to have a radiant and positive aura
And it shone and it shone down on me
And I used to bask in the warmth of your love and positivity
But you let it fall so low I could not see
But lately, you've been distant and your light has faded, leaving me feeling lost
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: HARRY SIMEONE, HENRY ONORATI, KATHERINE K. DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patricia Nazzaro
One of my favorites by the Incredible String Band, also love Turquoise Blue among many others. I saw them at Lincoln Center in NYC, there were great, so unique!!
douglas parker
wonderful performance at incoln center by ISB
gill james
lovely