Jefferson Airplane was the first of the San Francisco psychedelic rockgroups of the 1960s, primarily the vehicle of guitarist Jorma Kaukonenand vocalist Grace Slick. Initially, the female vocalist for the group was , but due to a strong family commitment she was replaced by Grace Slick in 1966, originally from The Great Society. They then took a rather controversial path, adopting both the drug-taking hippie ethos and the left-wing, antiwar political movement of "hippie" counterculture. Grace was a big part of the band's commercial success, "White Rabbit" (written by her) and "Somebody to Love" (written by Grace's brother-in-law, Great Society guitarist Darby Slick) being the two most recognized tunes. Rock historians have suggested that Grace Slick helped to break the mold of the typical female musician.
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Wooden Ships Lyrics
Jefferson Airplane
Wooden Ships
by the Jefferson Airplane
If you smile at me, I will understand
'Cause that is something
everybody everywhere does in the same language.
I can see by your coat, my friend,
you're from the other side,
There's just one thing I got to know,
Can you tell me please, why?
Say, can I have some of your purple berries?
Yes, I've been eating them for six or seven weeks now,
haven't got sick once.
Probably keep us both alive.
Wooden ships on the water, very free and easy,
Easy, you know the way it's supposed to be,
Silver people on the shoreline, let us be,
Talkin' 'bout very free and easy...
Horror grips us as we watch you die,
All we can do is echo your anguished cries,
Stare as all human feelings die,
We are leaving - you don't need us.
Go, take your sister then, by the hand,
lead her away from this foreign land,
Far away, where we might laugh again,
We are leaving - you don't need us.
And it's a fair wind, blowin' warm,
Out t'south off my shoulder,
Guess I'll set a course and go...
Transcribed by Rich Kulawiec, rsk@ecn.purdue.edu