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.
The Mad Hatter's Song
The Incredible String Band Lyrics
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Oh seekers of spring how could you not find contentment
In a time of riddling reasons in this land of the blind
By the joke of fate alone
It's sure that as the loved hand leaves you,
You clutch for the slip-stream, the realness to find.
But do what you like, do what you like, do what you like,
Do what you like, do what you like, do what you can,
My poor little man.
For Jesus will stretch out his hand no more.
But in the south there's many a waving tree;
Oh would that musky fingers move your pain;
In the warm south winds the lost flowers bloom again.
And if you cried, you know you'd fill a lake with tears,
Still wouldn't turn back the years,
Since the city has took you,
Mad Hatter is on my mind.
So sad, sad to see the way it grew
Those other people that I knew
That have either fell or faltered.
Mad Hatter is on my mind.
And you must have to see clear some time.
Prometheus the problem child,
Still juggling with his brains
Gives his limping leopard's visions
To the miser in his veins.
Within the ruined factory is the normal soul insane
As he sets the sky beneath his heel
And learns away the pain.
But I am the archer the lover of laughter,
And mine is the arrowed flight.
I am the archer, and my eyes yearn after the unsullied sight.
Born of the dark waters of the daughters of night,
Dancing without movement after the clear light.
Oh Perithian fate be kind in the rumbling and trundling rickshaw of time.
Hooked by the heart to the king fisher's line,
I will set my one eye for the shores of the blind.
The Mad Hatter's Song by The Incredible String Band is a song that deals with themes of disillusionment, loss, and hope for a better future. The opening lines of the song speak to the search for contentment in a time of confusion and uncertainty. The imagery of a land of the blind and riddling reasons highlights the idea that the singer and others around them are struggling to make sense of the world they inhabit. The next section of the song speaks to the inevitability of change and the desire to hold onto what is slipping away. The lines "My poor little man. For Jesus will stretch out his hand no more" suggest a sense of abandonment and despair.
In the latter half of the song, there is a strong sense of nostalgia and loss for what has passed. The singer longs for a time when things were simpler and the world was not so confusing. The lines "So sad, sad to see the way it grew. Those other people that I knew that have either fell or faltered" speak directly to the sadness that comes with the loss of the past. However, there is also a sense of resilience and determination in the singer's words. They speak of being an archer, a lover of laughter, and yearning after the unsullied sight, suggesting a hope for a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh seekers of spring how could you not find contentment
How can you not be happy during this time when there are so many joyful things happening, such as the arrival of spring?
In a time of riddling reasons in this land of the blind
During a time when everything seems confusing, uncertain, and difficult to understand.
By the joke of fate alone
Fate plays a large role in our lives, and sometimes it feels like it's playing a cruel joke on us.
It's sure that as the loved hand leaves you,
You clutch for the slip-stream, the realness to find.
When someone you love leaves, you feel like you're in a dream and you desperately want to find something tangible to hold onto.
But do what you like, do what you like, do what you like,
Do what you like, do what you like, do what you can,
Do what you can, live till you die
My poor little man.
You can do whatever you want with your life, but make sure to live every day to the fullest.
For Jesus will stretch out his hand no more.
A reference to the end of an era - things will never be the same again.
But in the south there's many a waving tree;
Oh would that musky fingers move your pain;
In the warm south winds the lost flowers bloom again.
There are beautiful things in the world that can help alleviate your pain.
And if you cried, you know you'd fill a lake with tears,
Still wouldn't turn back the years,
Since the city has took you,
Mad Hatter is on my mind.
No matter how much you cry, you can't change the past, and it's something that the artist is struggling with.
So sad, sad to see the way it grew
Those other people that I knew
That have either fell or faltered.
Mad Hatter is on my mind.
It's heartbreaking to see how some people you used to know have changed or have been unsuccessful, and the artist can't help but think about it.
And you must have to see clear some time.
At some point, you have to be honest with yourself and see things as they really are.
Prometheus the problem child,
Still juggling with his brains
Gives his limping leopard's visions
To the miser in his veins.
The singer is referring to someone who is struggling with their own thoughts and emotions, and they are projecting their problems onto others.
Within the ruined factory is the normal soul insane
As he sets the sky beneath his heel
And learns away the pain.
Someone who seems 'normal' on the outside can still be struggling mentally or emotionally, and may be trying to control their pain in unhealthy ways.
But I am the archer the lover of laughter,
And mine is the arrowed flight.
I am the archer, and my eyes yearn after the unsullied sight.
The singer is confident in their ability to find joy in life and to remain positive in the face of adversity.
Born of the dark waters of the daughters of night,
Dancing without movement after the clear light.
A poetic description of being born into a difficult situation, but still being able to find happiness within it.
Oh Perithian fate be kind in the rumbling and trundling rickshaw of time.
Hooked by the heart to the king fisher's line,
I will set my one eye for the shores of the blind.
The singer acknowledges that life can be chaotic and unpredictable, but they remain committed to finding beauty and meaning in the world around them.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBIN WILLIAMSON, ROBIN D.H. WILLIAMSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind