Small Faces were an influential British mod… Read Full Bio ↴Correct tag: Small Faces
Small Faces were an influential British mod/psychedelic band of the 1960s, led by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane with Kenney Jones and Ian MacLagan (who replaced original organist Jimmy Winston). The Small Faces were all genuine East End mods and they ranked second to The Who as Britain's premier Mod band. They were signed to Decca records initially and enjoyed major success across Europe between 1965 and 1967 with classic singles like "All or Nothing" and "Sha La la Lee" before moving to a new label.
By late 1967, the band had felt constricted financially & creatively by manager Don Arden (father of Sharon Osbourne), and were lured by Rolling Stones' publicist Andrew Loog Oldham into signing with his new Immediate label. They soon recorded more expansive psychedelic sounding material including hit pop tunes like "Lazy Sunday" which was included with their UK number one classic concept album Ogdens Nut Gone Flake and "Itchycoo Park" which was their only stateside charting single.
The demise of the Small Faces arrived on New Years Eve 1968, when Steve Marriott walked off stage at The Alexandra Palace in London. Marriott felt that despite the success of the group, he was still not being taken seriously as a musician. He went on to achieve major status in the U.S.A with Peter Frampton in Humble Pie. The others continued as The Faces, opting to drop the "Small" after one LP as new recruits Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood towered above their new band mates. Drummer Kenney Jones later joined The Who after the death of their drummer Keith Moon. As years went on, Marriott kept recording various lineups as Humble Pie but became somewhat of a caricature and casualty of rock excess. Tragically, Steve Marriott died in a house fire in 1991 and Ronnie Lane followed him in 1997 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis. Keyboardist Ian McLagan has continued to tour and record with his own band as well as with artists like Billy Bragg, The New Barbarians ( a group composed of Ian, Ron Wood, Keith Richards, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Cobham), and The Rolling Stones. According to announcements at the shows on the New Barbarians tour, the proceeds of the live gigs were going to pay Ronnie Lane's medical expenses associated with Ronnie's struggle with Multiple Sclerosis.
The Small Faces remain one of British rock's most important legacy acts, with their membership having links to so many other acts. Amongst the many bands they influenced were The Jam, Ramones, Oasis and X.
The Journey
The Small Faces Lyrics
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It would yesterday
The sun is surely just a thought away
Where visions that men fail
To put to words to tale
And music that they try but cannot play
You're right it's just a dream, your company so kind
The Small Faces's song The Journey is a contemplative work that deals with the themes of time and existence. The opening lines of the song, "If tomorrow was today It would yesterday," suggest that time is a fluid construct that is constantly being shaped and reshaped by our perception of it. The next line "The sun is surely just a thought away" reinforces this idea by suggesting that our experience of time is perhaps nothing more than a figment of our imagination.
The next line, "Where visions that men fail to put to words to tale," suggests that the true nature of reality is beyond our ability to explain or articulate. The final line, "And music that they try but cannot play," suggests that the music that we create is perhaps our best attempt at expressing the inexpressible.
In the second half of the song, the singer seems to be addressing someone directly, perhaps a lover, saying "You're right it's just a dream, your company so kind, Hold very tightly please and we shall go out." The use of the phrase "it's just a dream" suggests that perhaps the singer feels that their existence, and perhaps their relationship, is nothing more than an illusion, a fleeting moment in time that will soon be gone.
Overall, The Journey is a poetic and thought-provoking song that encourages listeners to ponder the mysteries of time and existence.
Line by Line Meaning
If tomorrow was today
If the future became the present
It would yesterday
It would become the past
The sun is surely just a thought away
The possibility of success is very close
Where visions that men fail
Where ideas that people can't achieve
To put to words to tale
To describe or tell to others
And music that they try but cannot play
And the sounds they try to create but can't
You're right it's just a dream, your company so kind
You are correct in saying it's only an idea, but it's comforting to be with you
Hold very tightly please and we shall go out.
Please hold on tight and we'll leave this place
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: JIMMY CLIFF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind