1/28/2024 0 Comments Lyrics instruments of destructionThe majestic Heavy Horses is something of a song cycle about animal life. The jangling "Jack-in-the-Green," about a raggy character somewhere between a hobbit and the wizard Radagast, is one irresistible highlight. Songs From the Wood is drenched in the atmosphere of the English countryside, where “fairytale creatures, ley lines, naughty equestriennes and the pre-Christian era old gods all came to call," Anderson writes in Silent Singing. Jethro Tull's so-called "folk trilogy" in the late 1970s - Songs From the Wood, Heavy Horses, and Stormwatch - address the natural world from three different angles. Of the religious commentary scattered throughout Tull's discography, none seem to summarize Anderson's views like the above. In an Olde English font in the Aqualung sleeve, Anderson printed a facsimile of Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning Man created God and in the image of Man created He him." I've always believed there are certain aspects of our society that, while anachronistic, are still worth preserving." "I'm not a Christian, but I like to do things for the church. "I've learned to describe myself as somewhere between a pantheist and a deist," he wrote. Read More: Jethro Tull's Aqualung At 50: Ian Anderson On How Whimsy, Inquiry & Religious Skepticism Forged The Progressive Rock Classic In "Wind Up," he rails: "I don't believe you/ You have the whole damn thing all wrong/ He's not the kind you have to wind up on Sundays." But it's crucial to stress that Anderson is decidedly not a man of faith. "It's actually quite pro-God in asking: 'People what have you done/ Locked him in his golden cage?'" "It's about turning God into a vehicle for personal power and the glitz and paraphernalia that sometimes surrounds religion," Anderson wrote of "My God" in 2019's oral history of the band, The Ballad of Jethro Tull. Jethro Tull classics that address faith, like Aqualung 's "My God," "Hymn 43" and "Wind Up," excoriate religious corruption and dogma - to the degree that Anderson comes across as defensive of God. Then, the unforgettable closing line: "And it's only the giving that makes you what you are." "We are our own saviors as we start/ Both our hearts beating life into each other." The aroma of breakfast wafts through the kitchen he considers their years ahead. "Last night sipped the sunset/ My hand in her hair," he sings. Rather, the tune unfurls a quiet, domestic tableau of romantic bliss: If there's any kind of social commentary or obscure meaning in "Wond'ring Aloud," it's difficult to tease out. Take "Wond'ring Aloud," his gorgeous acoustic ballad on 1971's Aqualung that clocks in at less than two minutes. But there are a couple of major exceptions - perhaps ones that prove the rule. True, this applies to the lion's share of his songs. Social documentary that you can hum along to." "Not so often a storyteller, and almost never a heart-on-sleeve love-rat. "I am a descriptive writer," Anderson wrote in the preface to his career-spanning compendium of lyrics, Silent Singing. To celebrate the release of RökFlöte, here's a by-no-means-comprehensive breakdown of the poles Anderson and crew have tended to touch on throughout the band' almost 60-year career. Even Tull's most straightforward hits often contain richer meaning than what immediately meets the ear. Take a stroll through the band's discography, and you'll find Anderson doesn't linger on one topic for long - and often addresses many concepts within the same album, or even song. A band less cited for their musical and philosophical depth than mined for cheap codpiece and Anchorman jokes, Jethro Tull contain multitudes just beneath the surface. This sheer depth of reference is not new for Anderson and company. "Ithavoll" is the meeting place of the gods. Lead single "Ginnungagap" refers to the bottomless abyss that encompassed all things prior to the creation of the cosmos. RökFlöte ’s opener, "Voluspo," is titled after the most famous poem in the Poetic Edda, which dates back centuries. But never had Anderson dedicated an entire album to this specific system of concepts. The GRAMMY-winning prog-rock heroes’ catalog has always been flecked with similar mythology, especially on 1977's fantastical, bucolic Songs From the Wood. Fast forward to today, and we have the result: RökFlöte, which arrived April 21 and is based on "the characters and roles of some of the princip gods of the old Norse paganism."
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