Lyrics by Donovan, a song about unease, threat and the need for caution and transformation.
"So many different people to be…you've got to pick up every stitch"
Witten in 1966 for release on Sunshine Superman, it was recorded in California, with musical contributions from Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones )later of Led Zeppelin and a swath of local musicians hired for the recording. The song itself begins with a folksy rock theme, but unease ramps up for the chorus and continues with the increasing tempo of paranoia and the need for awareness. The song is haunting in many ways, I've had it running around in my head for quite a few days now.
Change is imminent and there are potentially hidden threats everywhere.There's a need for cautious awareness, the lyrics speak of looking over one's shoulder, checking every corner because suddenly nothing is certain, everything could be a threat of some sort whether supernatural or psychological.
Paranoia and unease are the blood of the song, highlighting the need to be aware of what's going on, but despite everything there's reference to the seasonal, cyclical nature of life, suggesting that the dark times are followed by renewal and rebirth.
The 1960s were for many people a time of uncertainty and change, and despite the slowdown of McCarthyism, counterculture elements were often the subject of witch hunts from the Establishment, who in turn believed that their way of life as under threat. Everyone was looking over their shoulder for threats, and the paranoid found those threats everywhere.
It is a haunting song, one well suited for our times. There such need for caution in a world that seems to alter almost by the day. Technological, and societal, political changes mean that we've a need forheightened alertness. Pick up every stitch, don't miss a one.
Horrorquest 2024
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