They were the pioneers of psychedelic rock, with Grace
Slick one of the first female rock stars. They played Monterey Pop and
Woodstock, and as the Vietnam War dragged on, their songs grew more and more political.
Volunteers (1969) was openly against the war, and went gold within two months;
its title song was a revolutionary anthem, and "Wooden Ships," written with David Crosby
and Stephen Stills, was about the struggle to survive after an apocalyptic nuclear war. Along with
a few others, they helped turn rock into the soundtrack of the anti-war movement.
This song wasn't performed by them. But it could have been! This version is by
Jefferson Biplane. Lyrics like these—a promise to keep us out of the fray,
broken in a day; men who sign the orders and never wear the boots; a mother in her
kitchen, counting the days—are just what the Airplane might well have sung in 1969.
The sad part is that they're every bit as applicable today.
Lyrics
[Intro (riff, handclaps)]
[Verse 1]
He swore he'd keep us from the fray,
Then the doves turned hawks in a day.
Now he's drawing lines by lamplight,
Says one more summer makes it right.
[Verse 2]
Somebody's selling iron, oil and lead,
Somebody's counting money, not the dead.
Men who sign the orders never wear the boots,
Sit in leather rooms in their pinstripe suits.
[Pre-Chorus (building, drums pounding)]
Do you smell the smoke on the wind?
Do you hear the drums begin?
Tick, tick, tick goes the clock,
Who's gonna make it stop?
[Chorus]
Tomorrow is burning! (Burning!)
Tomorrow is burning! (Burning!)
They sold us the fire, now they'll sell us the hose,
Tomorrow is burning, and everybody knows!
Put the matches down! (Down!)
Put the matches down! (Down!)
[Verse 3]
A mother in a kitchen counts the days,
Her son's a number in a general's praise.
They fold the flag in a perfect square,
And hand her the silence waiting there.
[Pre-Chorus]
Do you smell the smoke on the wind?
Do you hear the drums begin?
Tick, tick, tick goes the clock,
Who's gonna make it stop?
[Chorus]
Tomorrow is burning! (Burning!)
Tomorrow is burning! (Burning!)
They sold us the fire, now they'll sell us the hose,
Tomorrow is burning, and everybody knows!
Put the matches down! (Down!)
Put the matches down! (Down!)
[Bridge (drums drop out, voices and handclaps, then rebuild)]
(female lead) They tell us it's honor, they tell us it's right,
(male lead) They tell us the dark needs a little more light.
(female lead) But the light on the hill is a flame in the town,
(male lead) One spark and the whole house comes down!
(all) Off with their heads, says the Queen, and the heads are never hers!
[Final Chorus (key lift, everyone)]
Tomorrow is burning! (Burning!)
Tomorrow is burning! (Burning!)
They sold us the fire, we'll call down the rain,
And wash every ashen street clean again!
Put the matches down! (Down!)
Put the matches down! (Down!)
[Outro (crowd vamp, fading)]
Put the matches down, down, down...