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Album: Crown of Creation
Avg rating:
7.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 548









Released: 1968
Length: 4:53
Plays (last 30 days): 1
You want to know how it will be
Me and him OR you and me
You both stand there your long hair flowing
Your eyes alive your mind still growing
Saying to me--"What can we do now that we both love you",
I love you too-- I don't really see
Why can't we go on as three
You are afraid--embarrassed too
No one has ever said such a thing to you
Your mother's ghost stands at your shoulder
Face like ice--a little bit colder
Saying to you--"you can not do that, it breaks
All the rules you learned in school"
I don't really see
Why can't we go on as three
We love each other--it's plain to see
There's just one answer comes to me
--Sister--lovers--water brothers
And in time--maybe others
So you see--what we can do--is to try something new--
If you're crazy too--
I don't really see
Why can't we go on as three.
Comments (111)add comment
Yes, RP is most definitely telepathically data mining my head and streaming my favorites. Thanks RP! 
She had a great voice!
 hanssachs wrote:
O Youth!  Long fled .... distant memories, so vivid ...

Yep         
reminds me of the theme from "alice"
O Youth!  Long fled .... distant memories, so vivid ...

 

Wore out a couple of cassettes and still have the LP for this album... Other songs on this are a bit more up beat... Including the title song... a real send up of the hippie people in their early flowering time.


Decades ago I snuck into Russ Meyer's "SuperVixens" and spotted that actor, Charles Napier. He is well known among Star Trek fans for appearing on the episode "The Way to Eden" as musically inclined space hippie Adam, great roster of films in his resume'

Cool song, imo

kcar wrote:
Oh HELL no. {#Hand} {#Arghhh}

After a brief absence from RP I return to a slightly modified template for song pages. No probs with that...except that there is now a wretched Facebook button staring at me. Where is the vomiting emoticon when I need it?!!?

Was there always a Facebook link on RP's pages and I just willed it out of my perception?

As for this song: JA did make some great music...and dropped some real turds. But for those snickering at the "hippie" lyrics, do give a listen to some of Lil' Wayne's stuff and ponder whether today's offerings are any better. 


Odyzzeuz wrote:
Dated. Reminds me of the old-school Star Trek episode with the space hippies.

https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSu938T2o6t4bKHQrijNhxduadbRO0RwKy2_eKacJkDJtirRqihTA

  
Star Trek went really off the rails at times in that final season. Exhibit A above. The show never sunk as low as the eventual slack-jawed pandering schlockery of "Lost in Space" though.  



 



Oh HELL no. {#Hand} {#Arghhh}

After a brief absence from RP I return to a slightly modified template for song pages. No probs with that...except that there is now a wretched Facebook button staring at me. Where is the vomiting emoticon when I need it?!!?

Was there always a Facebook link on RP's pages and I just willed it out of my perception?

As for this song: JA did make some great music...and dropped some real turds. But for those snickering at the "hippie" lyrics, do give a listen to some of Lil' Wayne's stuff and ponder whether today's offerings are any better. 


Odyzzeuz wrote:
Dated. Reminds me of the old-school Star Trek episode with the space hippies.

https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSu938T2o6t4bKHQrijNhxduadbRO0RwKy2_eKacJkDJtirRqihTA

  
Star Trek went really off the rails at times in that final season. Exhibit A above. The show never sunk as low as the eventual slack-jawed pandering schlockery of "Lost in Space" though.  


 gillespp wrote:
It's still as fresh for me as when I first heard it in 1970 or 71 (I was young; it took me a while to find it in my parents' collection). This is such an amazing album.

 
Sorry all you that don't appreciate this-but listen to the lyrics. This is about rebellion, pure and simple, but with love. A reflection on parents who don't get it-"cold as ice, only a little bit colder"-that is a pretty amazing image. And it is also confusing-triad of whom-"long hair flowing"? Two men, two women-who knew then since everyone had long hair then. For those of us questioning our sexuality, this was a stunning song that gave hope to bisexuality, or whatever. And Grace's voice and the music is as haunting as the words. 

And yes, the album is a masterpiece that needs to be heard in toto.  
 jagdriver wrote:
Topic matter completely aside, I love the way Grace interpreted this song.

 
Amen brother. And yes, at 14 I was silly enough to think that maybe, if we all had the courage and the honesty, something like this could work.  {#Crowded} 
My band in the 90s recorded a cover of this song, and at the time I'd never heard the original, so now this one always sounds a little wrong to my ear.  Gorgeous stuff.
The year I was born!

Heck, I guess back in 1968, this didn't sound cheesy or corny at all - a more innocent time, or just too many drugs? 
 haljordan wrote:
This song just begs to be made fun of.

 
It doesn't really need much outside help for that; it's pretty funny on it's own (IMO).  It does remind me of the "space hippie" episode of Star Trek that someone mentioned below.
 oldsaxon wrote:
Hippy sh*t not worth a rating. So dull, so silly and so amazingly delusional.

 
Are you looking in a mirror?
Hippy sh*t not worth a rating. So dull, so silly and so amazingly delusional.
I wonder how long these things actually last.
Written by David Crosby about a threesome... David Crosby... Threesome... Ick!
I think this is much better than the Byrds version. Its a great cover of the David Crosby original.
HUGE Airplane and Tuna fan but this one is one of their worst
 lattalo wrote:
When they were good, they were really good.
 
And when they were bad they defined awful.  Thankfully not often during that period. 

Highlow
American Net'Zen
It's still as fresh for me as when I first heard it in 1970 or 71 (I was young; it took me a while to find it in my parents' collection). This is such an amazing album.
I haven't heard this in years. Decades.  Is that Grace Slick singing? Because it sure doesn't sound like her. 
Don't be Herbert.
 Odyzzeuz wrote:
Dated. Reminds me of the old-school Star Trek episode with the space hippies.

https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSu938T2o6t4bKHQrijNhxduadbRO0RwKy2_eKacJkDJtirRqihTA
 

Scarry when I read comments that are the exact weird thoughts that I am having. ......."yeaaah Brother"
When they were good, they were really good.
 Odyzzeuz wrote:
Dated. Reminds me of the old-school Star Trek episode with the space hippies.

 

You know, just about any other JA song and I might agree with you.  But not this one.
Dated. Reminds me of the old-school Star Trek episode with the space hippies.

https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSu938T2o6t4bKHQrijNhxduadbRO0RwKy2_eKacJkDJtirRqihTA
 jmsmy wrote:
Easier Sung Then Done
 
Boy - that's the truth
Big paisley pillows...{#Hearteyes}
 lemmoth wrote:


Amen Brother — I'm six years your younger and definitely appreciated your sentiments.  It's what the new songs - from whatever era - stirred in me that never goes away.  I will always love Rock and Roll and I can't tell you how much I appreciate this station.
 
People half your age *ahem, actually a bit older, but let's pretend I am still young and fresh* also appreciate it. It's really for music lovers of all ages. A wonderful thing, and calling it 'radio' does not do it justice.
Easier Sung Then Done
 ozzie1313 wrote:
Bill,

Can't really listen to the Airplane and divorce myself from all the bittersweet emotions they and other groups from the past evoke.  Don't really care if Tommy James has 'fared better" over the years, and of course that is debateable.  I am always ecstatic about the new music you introduce me to, such as from Mumford and Sons, My Morning Jacket and others.  But what I like so much about the new is even if it is definitively different from what I liked in the past, the emotions stirred are similar.  Music has always simultaneously informed and reflected my mindset.  For me, and I imagine many other older listeners, we may have developed tolerance for Tommy James and for others who were marginal at best back in 1972, but they will never innervate my mental/emotional core.  And I am so grateful that at 60 my inner being is still alive and appreciative of music.
 

Amen Brother — I'm six years your younger and definitely appreciated your sentiments.  It's what the new songs - from whatever era - stirred in me that never goes away.  I will always love Rock and Roll and I can't tell you how much I appreciate this station.
Grace is doing Crosby some real justice here....
This song just begs to be made fun of.
Bill,

Can't really listen to the Airplane and divorce myself from all the bittersweet emotions they and other groups from the past evoke.  Don't really care if Tommy James has 'fared better" over the years, and of course that is debateable.  I am always ecstatic about the new music you introduce me to, such as from Mumford and Sons, My Morning Jacket and others.  But what I like so much about the new is even if it is definitively different from what I liked in the past, the emotions stirred are similar.  Music has always simultaneously informed and reflected my mindset.  For me, and I imagine many other older listeners, we may have developed tolerance for Tommy James and for others who were marginal at best back in 1972, but they will never innervate my mental/emotional core.  And I am so grateful that at 60 my inner being is still alive and appreciative of music.
Bill, somehow you have to get this and "Two Trains" into the same set. {#Angel}
Topic matter completely aside, I love the way Grace interpreted this song.
{#Puke}
really and truly awful...
seriously.
Song premise aside, I've always really liked Grace's performance and vocals on this track.
 alph wrote:
 
Who needs a million dollars to get that?!
Truly a song of the 60s
 alph wrote:


 
Quite possibly the most intelligent quote on this thread. 

At the very least, the best. 


Eeeow!
 fredriley wrote:
...I've never understood the monogamy thing. Or rather, I understand the societal drivers (patriarchy, religion, custom, capitalism) ...
I get the other three, but capitalism as a societal driver for monogamy? Is every problem a nail that needs a whack with that old hammer?

The urge to merge is something all ends of the political pool seek to act upon at every opportunity. Might be an excellent platform for compromise and understanding!


Bill, thanks for the story ;-))


Two versions of this song worth noting, CSN and JA, I love them both - but I always find this one slightly more pleasing to hear.
LOVE that is
You gotta live Bill playin Grace
Here's to Bill & Rebecca!  {#Cheers}
 ThePoose wrote:
Ménage à trois or alternating lovers contemporaneously? I assume the former.
 
Many triads execute the combination of these two tactics for lovemaking.


Gotta love the Grace!

9 to a 10.  Should've always been a 10.

Gracie no one like, nor ever will be again.


Magnificent.  Gave me shivers.
Legendary!
I note the age and natural value, instead of making stupid, ridiculous and degrading aesthetic operations. Grace is an emblematic character and a force of nature. Wrinkles and white hair, natural aging process of human beings, should not be ashamed to anyone, instead, should be exalted with nobility, as "marks war of life".

treatment_bound wrote:
40 years later, she's swapped her microphone for a Sharpie.
And no, she's not autographing "We Built This City" cassingles!


 

 Randomax wrote:
was always MY philosophy but I always seemed to be in the minority....never did quite fit in!
 
Same here. I've never understood the monogamy thing. Or rather, I understand the societal drivers (patriarchy, religion, custom, capitalism) behind it, but I've never understood  it as a personal choice. Put simply, the only thing that's guaranteed to be yours is your body, so you should do what the f*ck you want with it, including sharing it with as many or as few people as you want. Why folk get so hung up about 'exclusivity' is beyond me - do what you want with whom you want if they want it too. Simples, no?


Hey Water Brothers! Sister Lovers!
Love it!
 Giselle62 wrote:
Just cuz this is a great album, though this song not my fave fave i wanted to rate it.  I like the song "Lather" a lot; almost every song on the album. Nice hearing some of it on here.
 

{#High-five}
 calypsus_1 wrote:

Grace by ~photoart1
William Harris   ©2006-2010 ~photoart1

from the kodachrome archives.



40 years later, she's swapped her microphone for a Sharpie.
And no, she's not autographing "We Built This City" cassingles!




 


Grace by ~photoart1
William Harris   ©2006-2010 ~photoart1

from the kodachrome archives.



 capandjudy wrote:

"What a great voice" and what a great band. Crown of Creation was the apex of Jefferson Airplane's creativity. There was a time that I would have called it the best album by the best band ever. They are absolutely on fire on what was the second side of the LP. Just my opinion.
 

Mine too... 
bumped this to an 8 — mainly for the memory of how much i loved this album, this time and, heck, the concept!
 On_The_Beach wrote:
I prefer the CSNY version on 4-Way St.
  And this is like finding the genuine article, polished and fresh out of the box


This song is still a 10 to me. Of course pretty much every song on this LP is also a 10 {#Music}
EXCELLENT!
Just cuz this is a great album, though this song not my fave fave i wanted to rate it.  I like the song "Lather" a lot; almost every song on the album. Nice hearing some of it on here.
I prefer the CSNY version on 4-Way St.
Yuk.  Would be nice to hear 'Pictures of China' sometime though...


 plaice3 wrote:
Ahh, this topic explains the album cover ...
 


 Dave_Mack wrote:
.... though it was Crosby's version. And as for triads, I'd much rather imagine Grace and another woman in love with me, than anything involving David Crosby and another man. {#Dance}
  Good point, well made.


 oaktownfan wrote:
This album got me through a very long summer been stuck in Mobile in 69. . . .
 
Had the Memphis blues then, did you?  {#Mrgreen}

(Sorry.  Couldn't resist.)

Like the Airplane tune, BTW.

was always MY philosophy but I always seemed to be in the minority....never did quite fit in!
I first heard this version on KLRB, Carmel By The Sea just a few...er...years ago.

Ahh, this topic explains the album cover ...
This album got me through a very long summer been stuck in Mobile in 69. This song was particularly haunting Goddess indeed!
Amazingly, I was thinking of this song today, though it was Crosby's version.  That's the second time today RP has played the song in my head.  Straaaaaaange.

And as for triads, I'd much rather imagine Grace and another woman in love with me, than anything involving David Crosby and another man. {#Dance}
 JoBo wrote:
Bill, what a perfect choice; love Crosby's version as well.  Grace is a Goddess!!   {#Clap}
 

yeah, i prefer crosby's version. but...this is awesome. grace is definitely a goddess. still.
 ScopArch wrote:

That's "Sturm und Drang" you pinhead!  And WTF does this have to do with the song?
Beautiful song BTW. 10!
 
The Bhagavad Gita notwithstanding, I think he really meant "Strum and Dang" as in—strums guitar— , "Dang! I broke a string!"


 hcaudill wrote:
Yeah, let me know how that works out!
 
{#Roflol}

Ménage à trois or alternating lovers contemporaneously? I assume the former.


Probably the finest example of the power of Grace Slick's unadorned vocals. Imagine what she could have done with jazz standards! As it was, I wasn't alone in wearying of her incessant howling and moaning. Sorry, it wasn't singing, and no amount of pop popularity could straighten it out.
Wow. This is incredible. I've gotta check this out. I knew Grace was good, but THIS is fabulous.

Yeah, let me know how that works out!
 kaybee wrote:
I thought this was Grace!  What an incredible voice she had!
 
You know it!  One of the best in her day.  I knew a woman here at the U. about 20 years ago that looked very much like her picture on "Surrealistic Pillow" (the one on the back of the LP, IIRC).  The first time I saw her, I think I did a double or triple take.


 calypsus_1 wrote:


excellent cover-version of this song Triad, composed by David Crosby in 1967, enclosed later in album Four Way Street by Crosby, Stills Nash & Young;  this song caused some friction between David Crosby and Band "The Birds"  because was previously rejected for release.

** 9 **



 
I have a live version of this song performed by Crosby and the Grateful Dead. They did a set with this song, Cowboy Movie, Drop Down Mama, Deep Elem Blues and Bertha. Sublime!!!


Great song on a great album
I thought this was Grace!  What an incredible voice she had!
The atomic bomb art is perfect cover art for the "Strum and Dang" of the era. It reminded me to look up the Oppenheimer quote from the Bhagavad Gita regarding the response to the first explosion. Found quote below in Wikepedia:

"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita; Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty, and to impress him, takes on his multi-armed form and says, 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' I suppose we all thought that, one way or another."

It definitely made a whole generation sort of existential crazies. I was in third grade during Cuban missile crisis. I wrote a poem about residue of the bomb in my head:

I look for planes of bad intent
When siren's wail I hear
And childhood fears and discontent
Never failing do appear

For I was born beneath the bomb
When war was getting colder
And fears then raised I find remain
Even now that I am older.

With Pakistan and Russia  and N. Korea et al out there armed to the teeth, I somehow don't feel a hell of a lot happier.



excellent cover-version of this song Triad, composed by David Crosby in 1967, enclosed later in album Four Way Street by Crosby, Stills Nash & Young;  this song caused some friction between David Crosby and Band "The Birds"  because was previously rejected for release.

** 9 **



david crosby wrote it....funny because I was just listening to both versions of wooden ship which both groups sang...and actually jointly wrote (kantner, stills, crosby)....about 15 minutes ago......I like the airplane version of both best (I have to always go with airplane).......but they are both good.....


I like Crosby Stills Nash and  Young's version better.


Bill, what a perfect choice; love Crosby's version as well.  Grace is a Goddess!!   {#Clap}
So as a total weenie here, which came first - this or CSNY's version?  I've never heard this particular version.

(Friend of mine plays this and does a masterful job of it)
 SanFranGayMan wrote:

I second your opinion! It was just an incredible, introspective album that captured the strum und drang of that time. Grace was epic on this song, and those lyrics—positively subversive for the time. And it still sounds as dark and inviting as it did then. Makes me want to light up, so to speak...
 

Ummm, that would be "sturm und drang", but strum fits right in, in this case.
One for you - 19 for me! {#Hearteyes} {#Lol}
 capandjudy wrote:

"What a great voice" and what a great band. Crown of Creation was the apex of Jefferson Airplane's creativity. There was a time that I would have called it the best album by the best band ever. They are absolutely on fire on what was the second side of the LP. Just my opinion.
 
I second your opinion! It was just an incredible, introspective album that captured the strum und drang of that time. Grace was epic on this song, and those lyrics—positively subversive for the time. And it still sounds as dark and inviting as it did then. Makes me want to light up, so to speak...
 keller1 wrote:
I have a live recording of Crosby doing this.  In it he says that this tune got him kicked out the Byrds.
 
I've read that too, or else he quit cuz they wouldn't record it as a band.
Love the tune and that voice!

 ronniegirl wrote:
Wow, it has been decades since I last heard this, and it is still so very lovely.  What a great voice.
 
"What a great voice" and what a great band. Crown of Creation was the apex of Jefferson Airplane's creativity. There was a time that I would have called it the best album by the best band ever. They are absolutely on fire on what was the second side of the LP. Just my opinion.


Not heard this before. Bill I love you (in a non creepy way).
Wow, it has been decades since I last heard this, and it is still so very lovely.  What a great voice.
I have a live recording of Crosby doing this.  In it he says that this tune got him kicked out the Byrds.
Great!
Greatness!
songs from my youth, thanks....
Yet another worthwhile song from an earlier era that I probably have never heard on any radio station anywhere. The album was really quite good, even if I have not heard any of it for, well, decades. My appreciation of Grace Slick has always been muted, but in this case, I think this stands out from the background.
Love the voice of Grace!

Blast from the past, thanks Bill. I played this to death too. I think I still have the vinyl around here somewhere.



Me first!  Played this to death back in the day.