Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. I’m pretty sure that this one will be unfamiliar to the majority, including me!
If you fancy sharing one of your favourite songs you can find out how to participate, and also listen to all the great entries, here.
With Jim’s prompt this week I just could not get away from Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme so I had to start trying to think laterally. I came up with a song title from the psychedelic era, Incense and Peppermints, recorded in 1967. OK, it’s not Mint, but it is a type of mint.
I’m not going to try to analyse the song, or the group, or the era. It is what it is. You either get it, or you don’t. You may like it, even though you don’t get it! This was happening in the USA in 1967 while on the other side of the world, in Vietnam, 11,363 American soldiers were being killed in that one year!
I’m pretty sure that the group, Strawberry Alarm Clock, were very self conscious dressed up for this performance, but, would you believe it, the group carried on and on, with a couple of breaks, and is still performing today!
There are two videos, the first is a TV recording from 1967.
and the second carries a flashing lights warning for epilepsy sufferers or anyone suffering from migraines. It has lots of psychedelic flashing colours.
I hope you enjoy:
Incense and Peppermint
Good sense, innocence, cripplin’ mankind
Dead kings, many things I can’t define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time
Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin’ to lose
Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns
Turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah, yeah!
To divide this cockeyed world in two
Throw your pride to one side, it’s the least you can do
Beatniks and politics, nothing is new
A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view
Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin’ to lose
Good sense, innocence, cripplin’ mankind
Dead kings, many things I can’t define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time
Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin’ to lose
Incense and peppermints
Incense and peppermints
Sha la la, sha la la, sha la la, sha la la, sha la la
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: John Carter / Timothy P. Gilbert
Incense And Peppermints lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
what a good take on today’s theme.
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Thank you.
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I never really paid attention to the words at all! Very interesting!
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I don’t remember this oneit Passed me by somehow!
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I don’t think I’ve heard the song, or knew of the group. They didn’t have much success in the UK.
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This song was featured in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
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I’ve heard this one before and you just have to love that such and upbeat and seamingly light song has such a deep meaning. Excellent choice, Peter.
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Great choice 😎🎶
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Great choice today! Groovy man! 🙂
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Love this song. It was how I learned about Dorian mode…
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Excellent tune that speaks volumes for the time it was created in. It almost feels like rap with a psychedelic interlude 🙂
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I remember the song Incense and Peppermints, but I never knew what the lyrics were. I am not sure I understand them now after reading the lyrics, but I still like the song.
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Did it matter then?
Does it matter now?
Perhaps we spend too much of our lives trying to find the meaning, or reason, or answer of things that don’t demand that! Now that’s deep man!
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Great song choice, Peter!
I’m struck by how some of the words…that one verse is timely today.
(((HUGS))) 🙂
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PETER! I LOVE this song! It’s always been one of my favorites from the 60s.I’m a lyrics freak but for some crazy reason I’d never read these or really knew what the song was saying. WOW! I LOVE it even more now. That’s amazingly cool. Thank You and Cheers!!! 💕💕💕
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I can’t say I remember the group, Strawberry Alarm Clock, but the song does sound familiar. I was at uni in 1967, so perhaps I heard it played around the place. An interesting and thought-provoking choice, Peter. Thank you for sharing it.
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