Bungle
in The Jungle
It is important to
reaffirm Ian's perception of himself as an
outsider. His opinion of the American
counter-culture? "I HATED the hippies.
Love and peace and flower power and nuts and
berries..." (Anderson, 4). This
statement is very reminiscent of Bungle in
the Jungle "Down
by the waterhole - drunk every Friday,eating
their nuts - saving their raisins for
Sunday." The
Jungle of the song is clearly an allegory on
city life. The song could probably best be
described as a very impressionistic criticism
of the American urban population as perceived
by Ian Anderson. In 1971 he described America
in an interview: "Everybody is sort of
grabbing at something, out for themselves.
Particularly on the East Coast... You get the
feeling that you're in the midst of some
incredible game... everybody is rude, pushy,
grabby..." (Lewis, 24). This comes
through in the line, "I'll write on
your tombstone, 'I thank you for dinner.'
This game that we animals play is a
winner." Also,
the rhyming of the title, and the use of the
nonsense word "Bungle" in the
phrase "Let's
Bungle in the Jungle" is very
reminiscent of American slang terms
originating in "bop talk" (Lipsitz
121).
* Judson C. Caswell
David Lee Wilson
interviewed Ian Anderson in Stormbringer
Webzine and asked him what the song
"Bungle In The Jungle" was about.
Ian: ".... it was just, sort of, about
the harsh realities of the business world,
the urban jungle, the city of London and
finance. The way that people in urban
society, I have never really been a town guy,
I have usually lived in the country and
whenever I go to town I am rally quite
excited by it but I don't really want to
spend the night there if I can avoid it.
(laughs) It is always a bit scary and a bit
"dog eat dog" and a bit of a
roughhouse down there. It is a song about
that using the analogy of animals in the
jungle, how people behave in the world of
corporate competition."
* Interview with Jethro
Tull, Stormbringer Webzine, 1999.
On October 30th 1974,
the heavyweight title boxing match between
Muhammed Ali and George Foreman was referred
to as 'The Rumble in the Jungle', since it
was staged in Kinshasa, Zaire
(Africa). 'Rumble' is American slang for
a fight, and it seems likely that this is the
inspiration for the song's title. On
stage, Ian also introduced this song as
'Rumble In the Bathroom'.
* Andy Jackson
Back
Door Angels
So in 1974, Ian still
doesn't associate himself with the popular
urban culture. He does access the conventions
of that culture to give form to his
criticisms, however. This is possible for him
because of his security in his own growing
sense of individual identity. Clues to the
nature of this identity are found in a number
of places on the album. First off, in the
song 'Back Door Angels' he offers the
proposition, "Think
I'll sit down and invent some fool - some
Grand Court Jester." This
is the first verbalization of that particular
image, though that has been the approximate
content of his stage performance all along.
He reminds the listener of his role as an
entertainer and subversive commentator. But
right away he describes the limitations of
this jester. The next time this jester, he
has invented, casts the dice, "he'll throw a six or
two" referring
to craps where a first rolel of a two is a
loss and a six gives you a chance to
continue. Anderson doesn't offer any easy
chances or quick fixes. Any change in the
environment that he sees as bringing out the
worst in us will come about over a long
period of time and perhaps only with much
effort. We will see how this theme will
reoccur esp. on 'Songs From The Wood' and on
'Stormwatch'.
* Judson C. Caswell
Ian Anderson in his 'court jester'
outfit during the Warchild tour 1974-1975.
But there is more in
this beautiful song that needs to be
discussed. The song is in my opinion about
the happiness we all are looking for and the
hope for a better life, symbolized as "back-door
angels", who sneak in and out
and who are beyond our control. We want to
lure these angels into our lives but they
can't be forced into it ("they
didn't see me wink my eye"), since
they only grace our lives when they please to
do so ("she smiled and I
thing she winked her eye"). They
bring calmness and rest ( "
'Tis said they put we men to sleep with just
a whisper"), light
and enlightment ("they light
the dark hours") joy,
quality and beauty in our lives ("They
grow all their roses red, and paint our skies
blue"). However, not all of
us are granted with fortune: these angels "drop
one penny in every second bowl", which
is very confusing for it makes "half
the beggars lose". Then
our narrator shows us what those who are
unfortunate do to reconcile themselves with
their fate: they turn to religion or concepts
that give them the strength to go on: "why
do the faithful have such a will to believe
in something? And call it the name they
choose". Whether it is God,
some idol, socialism or whatever, they will
discover in the end that it will not solve
their problems or give them satisfaction or
relief from "the tension of the
fray": "having
chosen nothing". The
imagery here brings us close to the critique
on organized religion as expressed on
'Aqualung'.
* Jan Voorbij
Something I've learned
about the lyrics of Ian Anderson is to take
nothing for granted. Every word he writes is
there for a reason. For this reason I
feel that there is yet more to the song
"Back Door Angels". Let us not
overlook the fact that Ian uses the word "angel". I
think that the back door angel is the
messenger of "evil" whereas the
front door angel is the operative of
"good". I use quotes because Ian
says in the intro that God is not all good
and Satan is not all bad. I think that, in
fact, is the theme of this song. The back
door angels come in the front door because we
accept the fact that evil can be fun! Ian
notes how a bit of vice can perhaps "put
we men to sleep"
(keeping them content and secure -- i.e.
escapism), "make dying
dogs linger" (for
example: medicinal marajuana?), and such
activities. People who are having a llittle
fun see life in a better way, hence the red
roses and blue skies. But some people begging
for fun end up as simply alcoholics or
crackheads, et al. ("half
the beggars lose").
The second half of the song is about
"good". The Court Jester, while it
may very well be IA, is God. As we all know,
good doesn't really triumph over evil, they
both continue to go at it ("he'll
roll a six or two").
Note the gambling reference; gambling is
considered a vice, but even God gambles. This
becomes clear in the final lines: the lone
front door angel has to come in the back
door, because the good is no fun. She is
indistinguishable from the back-door angel,
with hair a golden brown. She winks her eye:
this is the beggar's way of beckoning the
back door angel. Even the "good"
indulge in the bad sometimes. Notice that
there is only one front door angel but twelve
back door angels. There is more bad than
good, says Ian.
* Ian MacFarland
-
It seems to me
that the song Back-Door Angels is a harsh and
rather direct criticism of organized religion and the rigid concept
of "God" as many people view it.
The terms
"back door" and "front-door" as used in
the song refer to status or respectability. Even here in
America our houses have front doors on the front, and
"service entrances" on the side or back. I'm sure British
society is traditionally much more class-conscious;
high-class guests would always be welcomed into the house
through the front door, while servants would never use it
except as part of their required duties.
At the beginning
of the song, we have 12 back-door angels going in and out
the front door. These angels represent the supposed will or
force of God, and Ian is saying that they are treated with a
great level of respect -- which they really do not deserve.
Whether these angels are seen as actual angels doing
God's bidding, or earthly nuns as depicted on the album
cover, or just the overall standardized concept of God, Ian
proclaims them as "back-door" while the rest
of society treats them as "front-door" and credits
them with having magical powers that affect our daily lives
in infinite ways. The large number of these angels probably
represents either the omnipotence of God, or else varying
views of God, as seen through different religions. The
actual number 12 seems to suit the latter purpose very well,
in Ian's mind.
But Ian observes
that these supposedly wonderful angels cruelly "drop
one penny in every second bowl." For example, when a
person is alive and healthy at age 100, conventional
religion sees this as a sign of God's goodness. Yet, when
someone's innocent spouse or child drops dead or is killed
in some random accident far before their time, it is said
that such things are "part of God's plan" --
something good that just appears bad.
As the
proponents of such religion try to have it both ways,
Ian becomes disgusted, says that they are effectively
believing in "nothing," and suggests that he
personally could cook up just as good of a god, in the form
of a "Grand Court Jester." It is Ian's conclusion
that random chance -- the throwing of dice -- would yield
results indistinguishable from the
"wisdom," "planning," and "compassion"
of God.
The song wraps
up with a front door angel going in and out through the back
door. I believe this Cinderella-like figure represents the
potential for a single ordinary person to make the
world genuinely better through human kindness and compassion.
*
John W. Loosemore
Only
Solitaire
He describes his
persona through the eyes of a rock critic in
the song 'Only Solitaire'. This songs not
only clearly defines him in Court Jester
terms, it also serves to show his sense of
isolation from the rock music world,
particularly when he poses the question, of
himself, "Well,
who the hell can he be when he's never had
V.D., and he doesn't even sit on toilet
seats?" These
are his perceptions of the prerequisites for
belonging to a rock culture, and hence he is
not interested in being a part. He refers to
his "oratory
prowess" and
contrasts that with his "lame-brained
antics". He concludes, "And every night his
act's the same and so it must be all a game
of chess he's playing..." The
final retort? "But
you're wrong, Steve: you see, it's Only
Solitaire". The
song clearly shows a disdain for the values
of the culture, a strong self-image modeled
after a jester, and an strong individualism.
("Steve" is Steve Peacock
a music critic).
* Neil Thomason
Skating
Away On The Thin Ice Of The New Day
The final theme voiced
on Warchild is the historical dislocation of
society. This requiem for the loss of
historical perspective is the ever-popular
'Skating Away on the Thin Ice of the New
Day'. The opening line, "Meanwhile
back in the year one, when you belonged to
no-one"
alludes to a lack of personal autonomy: you
didn't used to belong to someone, but now you
do. This is reiterated. "You were bred
for humanity", and
could expect the rights of humanity, until
you are, "sold
to society", at
which time you no longer belong to yourself.
You are, "a
million generations removed from expectations
of being who you really want to be". You
have no control over who you are or what you
do, because you have no past, no tradition to
hold on to. You are "spinning
in your emptiness" and
feel the need to pray. He speaks of a need to
ground ourselves in some greater scheme, "Looking for a sign the
the Universal Mind has written you into the
Passion Play".
Living each new day in the present tense,
lacking the orientation of history is like
skating out and away on thin ice: "The story is too damn
real and in the present tense".
* Judson C. Caswell
Another British
reference is in the line: "And as you cross the
circle line...". The
Circle Line is part of the London Underground
network.
* Neil R. Thomason
There are numerous references in the song to
the historical Jesus and I have always felt
that it described the tension between that
historical person, Yehoshua, and the social
construct of the deified Jesus. The "year
One" (especially if
capitalised) is the actual year one of the
Christian era; the reference to the
protagonist as "son" (especially as
it is spoken in the studio version with a
significant pause) is his title as the Son of
God; there is a direct reference to Jesus'
trial in the wilderness when his faith was
challenged, and to his life as portrayed in
the Mediaeval Passion Plays.
Anderson seems to identify with the
disorientation of the historical Jesus
looking at his life after it has been
requisitioned to carry the weight of the
hopes and fears of generations of a whole
culture. Further, Anderson seems to be
observing that Jesus (and the rest of us?)
must just get on
with the real business of religion - personal
enlightenment (the Buddhists often use the
image of a journey to the farther shore to
portray the quest for self-realisation).
Hence the images of the ephemeral nature of
life ("rabbit on the
run", "thin ice of the New
Day") this transience being
an important part of the higher
wisdom. And is this New Day the eternal
present of mystical insight? Over all is cast
the feelings of doubt and
ambiguity ("do you ever
get the feeling...you're the only person
sitting in the audience?"). The
Sage's path must surely be one of ultimate
isolation and detachment at one level as The
Watcher, while the more human part is
overwhelmed at times by the reality of The
Story.
As with all of Anderson's work it is, I feel,
best understood in the context of the entire
corpus. The awareness of the rest of his work
leaves me in no doubt as to his mystical
proclivities and quite substantial insights
in this regard. It really is a great
piece of art. He has been touched by the
Muse, to be sure.
* Mark Enright
The
Third Hoorah
'The Third Hoorah' sort
of sounds like a pep-rally type of
inspirational speech, obviously playing to
the audience's good side ("Sweet child how do you
do today?"). It
sounds like a man trying to recruit more
soldiers ("Dance with the
WarChild, the WarChild, Hoorah! "). It's
kind of suggesting that part of us wants to
get dirty and kill some people ("In the heart of your
heart, there's the tiniest part of an urge to
live to the death"), that
life itself is a battle so why shy away ("Seek that which lies
within lies waiting to begin the fight of
your life that is everyday").
However, to let us on to his real meaning,
Ian has included several double entendres: on
inspection: "live to the death"
is a rather preposterous phrase, almost
saying we want to die. Also, "to strike life in the
inner child's breast" sounds
like you're awakening a part of yourself that
needs to be expressed, but it also can mean
to pierce a young boy's heart with your
sword. Again, like the title song, possibly
another veiled anti-war statement.
* Ian MacFarland
Two Fingers
'Two Fingers' is an
adaptation of the powerfull and imaginative 'Lick
Your Fingers Clean', that
originally was recorded during the
Aqualung-sessions (1971), but Ian decided
that 'Wind Up' was a more appropriate finale
for that album. The adaptation consists of a
different musical phrasing and choice of
instruments and a variation of time schemes.
The lyrics were changed to fit in with the
WarChild context:
"Take your mind off
your election and try to get it straight.
And don't pretend perfection: you'll be
crucified too late."
was skipped, while the
verselines:
"the hard-headed social
worker who bathes his hands in blood,
will welcome you with arms held high and
cover you with mud"
were replaced by:
"the hard-headed
miracle worker who bathes his hand in blood,
will welcome you to the final nod and cover
you with mud".
Eventually 'Lick Your Fingers
Clean' made it to the '20 Years Of Jethro
Tull' album (1988), classed among the 'Flawed
Gems And The Other Side Of Tull'.
* Jan Voorbij
This song is fairly
obviously and with tongue in cheek about
death and Judgement Day, "the
Weighing-In", but
it is also (surprise!) a criticism of the
church. The beginning of the song is about
when everybody comes together at wherever and
prepares to be judged. Then there is the "miracle worker",
Jesus, representing the church as a whole in
a rather sarcastic way. Jesus passes the hat,
and says, "better pay up." The
'parable' about the man
fallling on the train tracks is a
subtle way of saying "if you don't want
to die a horrible death and go to hell,
better give to the church". The phrase "you'd better lick two
fingers clean" is a
very, very subtle message: stay with me here.
If you want to clean your first two fingers
by licking them, you lick them and then wipe
off whatever grime with your thumb. Now,
rubbing your first two fingers with your
thumb is a sign that means "pay up"
(I don't know if it's universal, but we have
it here in America and England). So the very
last line "lick two
fingers clean before you shake his hand" means
if you want to meet God, pay up. Obviously
this is a jab at the church business: god
doesn't need money, he just wants good
people.
* Ian MacFarland
In the sense of Lloyd's quote, Ian has
truly established himself as a minstrel. His disdain
for the popular icons and his irreverent and coarse
stage presence, as well as the acoustic music that he
tends to favor, all qualify him for that image. His
acceptance of that role gives him a grounding in
English history. And with the realization of a
sympathetic grounding in English history, it was only
a short time before the music began to follow ever
closer to the themes, images, and styles of English
folk song as we will see on 'Songs From The Wood'.
* Judson C.Caswell (SCC, vol. 4,
issue 32, December 1993) ; adaptation and additional
information Jan Voorbij and John Benninghouse;
Works Cited:
1. Anderson, Ian. "Trouser Press Magazine."
Autodiscography, (Oct. 1982), 1-13.; 2. Densflow,
Robin. "Rolling Stone." Jethro Tull's Ian
Anderson Plans a Movie; He'll Play God, (11/8/73), 14
;
3. Hardy, Phil and Dave Laing Ed. Encyclopedia of
Rock, New York: Schirmer Books, 1987;
4. Lewis, Grover. "Rolling Stone." Hopping,
Grimacing, Twitching, Gasping, Lurching, Rolling,
Paradiddling, Flinging, Gnawing and Gibbering with
Jethro Tull. (7/22/71), 24-27;
5. Lipsitz, George. Time Passages. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press, 1990 ;
6. Lloyd, A.L. Folk Song in England. New York:
International Publishers, 1967 ;
7. Sims, Judith. "Rolling Stone." Tull on
Top: Ian Anderson Speaks His Mind, (3/27/75), 12;
8. Stewart, Bob. Pagan Imagery in English Folksong.
N.J.: Humanities Press Inc. 1977.
9. Torres, Ben Fong. "Rolling Stone."
Jethro Tull and His Fabulous Tool, (4/19/69);
10. Rees, David. Minstrels In The Gallery, A History
Of Jethro Tull, Firefly Publ., Wembley, 1998, 62-67.
11. Gaines, Steve. "Circus Rraves
Magazine", Nov. 1974.
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Introduction 