Lyrics question on Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit"

I posted this in question in Classified in "The Doors" thread and Patrick M suggested I post it here.

From the song "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane, here is the last verse. What goes in xxxx?

"When logic and proportion
Have fallen xxxx dead,
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's 'off with her head!'
Remember what the dormouse said:
'Feed your head. Feed your head. Feed your head' "

Now please don't just hit the lyric sites and get their take on it. I know what they say. I just don't believe it.

What I would like to know is what do you hear. And can you make a case for what you hear? In other words, does it make sense to you and why.

If you like what they say on the lyric sites and can make a case for that too, I'm all ears.

 

I always thought it said "sloppy" . What do the lyric sites say?

 

Speaking of "sloppy," I think Grace was pretty sloppy singing the lyrics, maybe on purpose. To me, it sounds like "have fallen smivy dead," but obviously that can't be right, no such word as smivy. And the line about "the red's queen's off with her head" should really be "The red queen screams "Off with her head!'" But hey, that's rock and roll!

 

Metralla, what do you you think it says?

Steve, you've played the master. What do you think? Do you have Grace on speed dial? That might be handy.

 

According to the Blue Man Group it's "blah blah blah." But according to Grace it's "so I'll be dead." I remember it from either her book (horrible!) or some interview.

 

Sloppy is the word, but not for critisism of Grace herself.

Grace was never "near perfect" but it's rare that her voice would ever be duplicated.

"I cannot sing a lullaby (tries) but I can sing real loud and blow your camera [mics] away! What kind of a voice is that? Well, perfect for Rock And Roll." - Grace Slick, BBC, 1994

 

Here's hoping this link works:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&[email protected]

 

A couple more:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=...7444316fdde&[email protected]#link1

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=...f5a49&[email protected]#link1

 

It's just a song about the downside of taking drugs, man. I don't ponder this stuff anymore. I just enjoy the song.

 

This was supposed to be sarcastic, right? I didn't see a winky, so I'm not sure.

 

Nope! No saracasm! It's what the song is about and it's the way I feel. In other words, I have nothing to add to the thread!

 

"I dig my own graves,' he said. "Green water and the White Rabbit... put it on; don't make me use this." His arm lashed out of the water, the hunting knife gripped in his fist.
"Jesus," I muttered. And at that point I figured out he was beyond help - lying there in the tub with a head full of acid and the sharpest knife I've ever seen, toally incapable of reason, demanding the White Rabbit.
This is it, I thought. I've gone as far as I can with this waterhead. This time it's a suicide trip. This time he wants it. He's ready....


Bad Craziness.

 

I just enjoy the song as well, Grant. You are right that it is about the downside of taking drugs.

 

Point counterpoint

I saw a member of JA in an interview -- probably Grace Slick -- talking about the lyrics once. The message I got, and one that makes sense to me, was, "Hey, parents, you do your own drugs (mother's little helper, booze) and you read us all these stories describing drug-like experiences growing up (Lewis Carroll), now you're telling us that drugs are bad?" I think it's a song about the hypocrisy of the older generation telling youth not to do drugs.

I don't remember the last time there was a serious discussion about lyrics (i.e., semantics) on this forum, so let's see some thoughts!

 

Now that ya mention it Patrick I seem to recall seeing this too and it was Grace Slick I got the same message as you did as well. The hypocrisy of it all.

 

"sloppy" seems to be right.
Check this link out.
http://grove.ufl.edu/~number6/Jefferson.Airplane/airplane.html

Michael

 

I listened to a live version which is a little bit clearer and it sounds like sloppy to my ears also.

 

All I am asking folks, is if you really think it's "sloppy", what on earth does "sloppy dead" mean?

I used to think it was "salty dead" but that didn't make sense. I tried to run with "so be dead" but it doesn't quite sound like that. Makes more sense though.

Jimbo says he heard "smivy", but there's no such word. Of course, there is a word "slithy" (long 'I') that Lewis Carroll invented as in:

''Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe.
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mame raths outgrabe." - Jabberwocky

I do believe that all the Web sites feed off the one transcription, which is here.

Says transcribed by Johnny Blasi. Why am I skeptical of this? Well, I even have a problem with a couple of the other words. For example,

"And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low."

I don't think this is very cosmic. I always thought it was:

"And you've just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving on."

My mind did not move "low" on mushrooms. It did move "on though.

I think "low" has been selected because it rhymes ... but it doesn't seem adequate.

"And the Red Queen's 'off with her head!'"

This doesn't fit the timing. I liked one poster on the usenet thread who said Grace was singing a shortened form, as in:

"And the Red Queen's 'Off her head!'"

meaning - cut-off her head; but with the obvious drug analogy. Wrong queen of course.

It has nothing to do with the downside of taking drugs, but everything to do with the upside of taking psychotropic chemicals, which was the only game in town. Heady times indeed.

Regards,
Metralla

 

Actually Metralla,

I believe that the correct phrasing is:

"You've just had some kinda mushroom
and your mind is moving along."

Also, but not 100% sure I believe it's "Off with her head". It's just sang really quickly along with her to make the timing in the song correct.

 

That's interesting. I've always heard it as "You've just had some kind of mushroom/and your mind is moving wrong" which makes some sense to me. (Grace stretches the word to two syllables--"wro-ong.")

I also think it's more in keeping with Alice in Wonderland to assume that Grace drops a word in the second phrase, and it should be "The Red Queen screams 'Off with her head!'" (referring to Alice). In the book, the Red Queen goes around screaming that a lot.

 

Jimbo,

Wrong Queen. It's the Queen of Hearts in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland".

------------------------------------------------------------------

When the procession came opposite to Alice, they all stopped and looked at her, and the Queen said severely `Who is this?' She said it to the Knave of Hearts, who only bowed and smiled in reply.

`Idiot!' said the Queen, tossing her head impatiently; and, turning to Alice, she went on, `What's your name, child?'

`My name is Alice, so please your Majesty,' said Alice very politely; but she added, to herself, `Why, they're only a pack of cards, after all. I needn't be afraid of them!'

`And who are THESE?' said the Queen, pointing to the three gardeners who were lying round the rosetree; for, you see, as they were lying on their faces, and the pattern on their backs was the same as the rest of the pack, she could not tell whether they were gardeners, or soldiers, or courtiers, or three of her own children.

`How should I know?' said Alice, surprised at her own courage. `It's no business of MINE.'

The Queen turned crimson with fury, and, after glaring at her for a moment like a wild beast, screamed `Off with her head! Off--'

`Nonsense!' said Alice, very loudly and decidedly, and the Queen was silent.

-------------------------------------------------------------

I'm perfectly in agreement that Grace means "Off with her head", and either drops the "with" completely or sings it so fast it's rolled into "off". No matter. Nice double entendre in my interpretation.

Regards,
Metralla

 

Jimbo,

Host your theory on the word a-long. Makes a lot more sense than wr-ong. When you've actually done mushrooms in your life (though it be many moons ago) you'll realize that your mind is moving along at quite a speed up pace from the normal rythmn.

 

misheard lyrics

I assume you're all familiar with this site...

http://www.kissthisguy.com/

 

RDK,

I couldn't find a thing posted about the lyrics of which we are talking about but thanks anyway.

 

Sorry, Dave, didn't mean to imply that it offered any insight into "White Rabbit," just that it's a fun site related to misunderstood/indecipherable lyrics in general.

Ray