My Pearls Before Swine "One Nation Underground" CD

[Mark E. Smith]

...finally arrived. All the way from Italy. Perhaps the finest and most complex example of the hippie conundrum ever. Recorded May 6 to May 9, 1967. Tom Rapp recorded many great songs over the course of a remarkable career, but his finest moment will always be the first record he ever put recorded.

My favorite tracks? "Another Time," "Drop Out!," and "Morning Song."

And then there is the fey dagger beneath the dewy fuzzball of peace and love, "I Shall Not Care."

If you're into the whole current fascination with all things 60s and obscure (sort of in this case, I guess), you have to find this record.

[seemslikeadream]

1. Look here!

There Was A Man"

young girl at a Vietnam era peace rally

There was a man came to our town
He wore a suit of red
He memorized with secret eyes
That he hid away in his head

He had a scar upon his head
Where there used to be a crown
But he sold his robes at the five and ten
And lived on the edge of town
That fall he showed us a magic leaf
That he could change to snow
He bought it partly with his grief
And partly with his soul
He scattered seeds in the alley way
He never seemed to rest
And when you went to ask him why
All he ever said was yes
He made a swan from waving grass
Beside a crystal shore
And a sunrise spun from broken glass
And many things wondrous more
But then his hands began to burn
When he heard the news from the war
When we cannot find each other he said
Then we can't run away any more
Next day with tears along his face
He passed us on the hill
No one thought to ask him to stay
And he knows that we never will
There was a man came to our town
He wore a suit of red
He memorized with secret eyes
That he hid away in his head

Tom Rapp



Pearls Before Swine
Balaklava



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3557033&mesg_id=3567713



Man In The Tree"

The man in the tree is staring at me
All of the blood dripping down
He says: where are you bound?
Said: I'm going to town to pawn my crown
And never come back here again

My lady in waiting is weaving a robe
Of silk and moonlight and now
And she never asks how
So pleasant a task she never asks
And she only listens to friends

The man at the store he looks at my crown
Listens to my sad tale
He says it never fails
If the crown is for sale, I'll give you some nails
But you can only use them on friends

The man in the tree was staring at me
As I passed by again on that day
He said I'd got in his way
Said: nails aren't the way to be free to stay
So I traded them all for the end
Went back to my lady in waiting and all of her friends

Tom Rapp
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3557033&mesg_id=3565445&page=

[Mark E. Smith]

2. Hah! "Triumph Of Death" by Breughel the Elder.

A portion of that was used for the 2nd Pearls album, Balaklava. And their last before leaving ESP for Reprise, I believe.

Man you just gotta love DU. Such a knowledgeable place.