Time for another one!
Contest #11: Battle of the Bizarre Acid Trip Songs - "Tomorrow Never Knows" vs "Cabin Essence"
"Tomorrow Never Knows" - recorded April 1966
"Cabin Essence" - recorded Oct & Dec 1966
If you're unfamiliar with the song, I'll put the lyrics below the tune as I did for Surf's Up. You might want to put on headphones for the "Who ran the iron horse" section if you want to try to follow the lyrics (especially the 2nd iteration). The song is probably better on headphones anyway. The lyrics aren't as obviously an acid trip song as TNK (that said,
Tomorrow Never Knows was ostensibly a song about The Tibetian Book of the Dead, even though it really wasn't). However, it was really just as much an acid trip song as its Beatle counterpart. In fact, the song (and much of Smile, for that matter) was based on an acid trip Brian Wilson had at Lake Arrowhead in 1966, according to
this (which also puts its own Zen interpretation on things. Who knows, maybe).
And as with Surf's Up, we get another great coda.
Anyway, the lyrics:
Light the lamp and fire mellow,
Cabin essence timely hello,
Welcomes the time for a change.
Lost and found, you still remain there.
You'll find a meadow filled with grain there.
I'll give you a home on the range.
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
Who ran the iron horse?
I want to watch you windblown facing
Waves of wheat for your embracing.
Folks sing a song of the grange.
Nestle in a kiss below there.
The constellations ebb and flow there.
And witness our home on the range.
Who ran the iron horse?
(Truck driving man do what you can)
Who ran the iron horse?
(High-tail your load off the road)
Who ran the iron horse?
(Out of night-life-it's a gas man)
Who ran the iron horse?
(I don't believe I gotta grieve)
Who ran the iron horse?
(In and out of luck)
Who ran the iron horse?
(With a buck and a booth)
Who ran the iron horse?
(Catchin' on to the truth)
Who ran the iron horse?
(In the vast past, the last gasp)
Who ran the iron horse?
(In the land, in the dust, trust that you must)
Who ran the iron horse?
(Catch as catch can)
Have you seen the grand coolie workin' on the railroad?
Have you seen the grand coolie workin' on the railroad?
Have you seen the grand coolie workin' on the railroad?
Over and over,
The crow cries uncover the cornfield.
Over and over,
The thresher and hover the wheat field.
Over and over,
The crow cries uncover the cornfield.
Over and over,
The thresher and hover the wheat field.
Over and over,
The crow cries uncover the cornfield.
Over and over,
The thresher and hover the wheat field.
---------------------------------
And as an example of how much there is going on in this song ... even though I've listened to this probably 3 or 4 dozen times now, I
just "got" the "Have you seen the grand coolie workin' on the railroad?" part. I think the fact I live in Washington state automatically makes me think of Grand
Coulee, but that's not what was meant.
The song, especially the coda, is like an acid trip over America and its history, if you can imagine such a thing. If you're taking an acid trip on a mountain lake in California, and you're seeing birds and the sun rising or setting, you might end up thinking of something like that for a song.
My Verdict: TNK is definitely a weirder song, but Cabin Essence has certain musical qualities I like better, so I call it a tie.