Song of the Week - White Rabbit (1967)

It really is impossible to name a song that will or will not live on through the years and across generations.  As bizzare as it is, Yellow Submarine is a song everyone knows, has heard and probably knows the words to.  Did the general public of 1968 know that Yellow Submarine would go down in history as a legendary song?  I doubt it.  When I look back at the songs that were hits when I was younger like, say, "Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, I could not have forseen that song being so forgotten.  Do YOU remember that song?  Well that song was a big hit in the late 90's and hit number 1 on the Billboard charts.  So, yeah, that song has had zero staying power.  Now, the same can be said for most songs from any era, but for some reason, a vast number of songs from the late 60's have survived the decades.  Why?  Why do you hear THESE songs on ads and in movies to this day when there are plenty of other songs from the current charts to choose from? 

It is hard to say if it is just because the songs are "better" because "better" is subjective.  I am not entirely sure, but I know there has to be a mass of people that openly dispised White Rabbit when it first came out.  I have to admit, it is a peculiar song.  This brings me to the point of that opening, why does THIS song, one that is such an interesting and different tune, stand out over other acts from the same year that were more in tune to the popular uvre?  One could argue that the fact that it is different IS why it remains but that contradicts popular music at any given time, does it not?  At any point you can go back to the pop charts, find songs that were successful, listen to them and find that they are all often characterized by similar styles, genres and tones.  I dunno, but I have to say that with all of the songs of the 1960's to love, I cannot tell you why I feel that White Rabbit ranks among some of my all-time favorites.  It is strange, that is for damn sure, but it is strange in a way that makes me smile, kind of like a song by Beck, or a Wes Anderson film.

Okay, enough blathering about nothing.  White Rabbit.  Okay.  This is a weird song.  I mean... WEIRD.  Even by late 60's standards.  The lyrics were inspired heavily by Lewis Carrol's Wonderland books, stories that were near and dear to singer/songwriter Grace Slick, who in the late 60's took up the lead for the soon-to-be icon of Psychadelia, Jefferson Airplane.  Her undeniably distinct vocals, intense singing and unique style made them a huge hit and their first album with her fronting, Surreallist Pillow, had two mega hits: Somebody to Love and White Rabbit.

White Rabbit has a sound that really stands out.  It is the very definition of a Bolero.  Defying a verse/chorus/verse structure it, insteads, paints a picture of what is said to be an acid trip.  Yes, it is actually about the effects of drugs.  PCP, LSD and other psychoactive substances were really, really popular at the time but the standards of radio and government censorship (UGH!) prevented songs that outwardly spoke of drug use to be played, so artists who chose to sing about these things did not chart.  It is because of this that the airwaves started getting countless tunes using metaphor, vague analogies and obscure slang to get the subject of druge use out there in song without the artist being blacklisted by the looming and puritanical agents of standards and practices.

White Rabbit is an interesting song though.  It seems to really have little to no understanding of the actual stories but I would point out that it has been said that these "misinterpretations and inaccuracies" were intentional, to push other slang into parts of the song where they would not really fit.  But the song has undeniably catchy, memorable, forcefull and I guess that is why it is so beloved by fans of classic rock.  As far as its impact on popular culture, it still pops up here and there, though it is not really pounded into us like other songs from the era like "Happy Together" or "Hey Jude," two great songs that seem to pop up everywere.  No, the occasional mainstream appearance for this song comes from obscure jokes in a few popular TV series over the years and it is also played over the trailer of the X-Box 360 game Lost Odyssey.  White Rabbit, it seems, really remains dear to music fans without really breaking through to the modern generation through pop culture and word of mouth like so many other tunes.

I do have to say that I love the bass in this song, it sounds great with the pulsing drums.   The worldly sound works with the bellowing vocals that fill out the song beautifully.  This is just a good song all around, despite being under two and a half minutes, which is very short for a single.  

Sorry if it seemed like I was just rambling through this one, I am not feeling well but wanted to get this one out there tonight.  I will get back into posting game soundtrack spotlights here soon too, I've just been too sick to really do anything of late.  But there you have it, stay tuned for more content.

The Song-

"White Rabbit" and "Surreallist Pillow", 1967 RCA Victor Records.