River of Orchids
(Partridge)
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Recordings XTCfans interview with Andy Partridge Art Annotated Lyrics Chords and Tablature |
(Partridge)
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Recordings XTCfans interview with Andy Partridge Art Annotated Lyrics Chords and Tablature |
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Album version, 5'53.
Released on Apple Venus Volume 1.
Demo version.
Released on 27 September 1999 on Homespun in the U.K.
Andy: “I bought, while writing ‘Nonsuch’, a Proteus sound module and had it re-jigged to include a lot of orchestral samples. It sounds wetly hippy, but I was trying to get my head into this SPACE. More rosin-ville than plectrum place. When ‘Nonsuch’ and all its doings were well and truly done, I sat down one day and drifted off, doodling aimlessly. Before long, I started to get hot under the trouser cuff. This cyclical phone pad sketch that had wormed out note by note, over two bars of cascading pizzicato strings and an offbeat rosary of trumpet clusters. Was really making me want to dance and yell.
“I made sure my garden shed studio door was locked, and removing my shirt, shoes and socks, I proceded to fling myself around like a grinning dervish for the next couple of hours. I was so happy. Scat singing myself into a coma, I decided to turn on my cassette machine to capture the best phrases. This was all happening too quickly and too beautifully, I needed words to sing, where's my notebook? I couldn't lose this transient moment.
“Frantically I flipped through my rough book looking for words or couplets jotted down for just such an occasion, and there it was. The phrase ‘I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus’. A real dreamer's line, but one that had stuck in my head because of its rolling contradictions*. You can't hear a dandelion roar, it's a flower not an animal. Piccadilly Circus is not a circus, and doesn't have animals. But wouldn't it be wonderful if the grimey hub of London was full of flowers, etc. It seemed to chase its tail in the same way that this music did. It was perfect, so ‘just right’ - was it that this little key immediately opened up a glowing treasure chest of words and intentions enabling the optimistic floral cousin of ‘Roads Girdle The Globe’ to spring into fully formed maturity.
“I was shocked and delighted like a kid at Christmas to find something so new and modern laying in happy ambush for me. How did my clumsy spam fingers find this? One part Philip Glass, one part Gil Evans, two parts nursery rhyme with a slice of carol on the side. Although I would find nothing else so orchestrally pure, this was the biggest boldest signpost saying ‘Go down that road, don't wait any longer’. The electric guitar was getting put back in its case for a while.
“Technical note: this demo was recorded on a Tascam 238 8 track cassette Portastudio. It lacks the long drip/pluck intro of the finished version, which came to be as a better way of building this sound river, one ploop at a time, as I was convinced from its inception that it would make a great album opener. I had no way of altering or remixing this demo as I had sold the recorder to Blur's Damon Albarn. Sounds like he's used it well since then.
“*I originally wanted it as a title for the ‘Nonsuch’ album but it obviously wasn't to be.”
Instrumental version.
Released on 17 October 2002 on Instruvenus in Japan.
[Thanks to R. Stevie Moore]
Neta Dance Company performing The Orchid Show |
Andy Partridge: “The Peckham Rose is a brand of matches.”
Album version:
Heeeey!
I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus
I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus
Take a packet of seeds, take yourself out to play
I want to see a river of orchids where we had a motorway
Push your car from the road
Push your car from the road
Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle
Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle
It's all in your back yard
You've the whole world at your feet
Said the grass is always greener when it bursts up through concrete
Push your car from the road
Push your car from the road
River of orchids winding our way
Want to walk into London on my hands one day
River of orchids the road overgrows
Want to walk into London smelling like a Peckham rose
Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle
Yeah!
Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle
You know you can do it
I had a dream where the car is reduced to a fossil
I had a dream where the car is reduced to a fossil
Take a packet of seeds, take yourself out to play
I want to see a river of orchids where we had a motorway
It's all in your back yard
Push your car from the road
You've the whole world at your feet
Said the grass is always greener when it bursts up through concrete
Take a packet of seeds
Push your car from the road
Take yourself out to play
I want to see a river of orchids where we had a motorway
River of orchids winding my way
Want to walk into London on my hands one day
River of orchids the road overgrows
Want to walk into London smelling like a Peckham rose
I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus
River of orchids winding my way
I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus
Want to walk into London on my hands one day
Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle
River of orchids the road overgrows
Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle
Want to walk into London smelling like a Peckham rose
I had a dream where the car is reduced to a fossil
River of orchids winding my way
I had a dream where the car is reduced to a fossil
Want to walk into London on my hands one day
I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus
River of orchids the road overgrows
I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus
Want to walk into London smelling like a Peckham rose
© 1998 Copyright Control
Demo version:
Hey!
I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus
I heard the dandelions roar in Piccadilly Circus
Take a packet of seeds
Take yourself out to play
I want to see River of Orchids where we had a motorway
Push your car from the road
Push your car from the road
Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle
Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle
It's all in your back yard
You've the whole world at your feet
I said the grass is always greener when it bursts up through
concrete
Push your car from the road
Push your car from the road
River of Orchids winding our way
Want to walk into London on my hands one day
River of Orchids the road overgrows
Want to walk into London smelling like a beggar rose
Just like a mad dog ... | Yeah! You know you can do it
Just like a mad dog...
I had a dream where the car is reduced to a fossil
I had a dream where the car is reduced to a fossil
Take a packet of seeds
Get yourself out to play
I want to see River of Orchids where we had a motorway
Push your car... | It's all in your back yard...
Push your car... | Take a packet of seeds...
River of Orchids winding my way
Want to walk into London on my hands one day
River of Orchids the road overgrows
Want to walk into London smelling like a Peckham rose
River of Orchids... | I heard the Dandelions...
River of Orchids... | Just like a mad dog...
River of Orchids... | I had a dream...
River of Orchids... | I heard the Dandelions...
[transcribed by Steve Schiavo and Joshua Hall-Bachner]
Date: Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:18:38 -0700 From: "Darrell C. Harvey" <Darrell (at) TheHarveys dot net> Subject: River Of Orchids - from Jeff Truzzi Message-ID: <20070614101838.6gznexwryts8c08o (at) webmail dot theharveys dot net> RIVER OF ORCHIDS by Andy Partridge © 1994 EMI Virgin Music Ltd, London WC2H 0QY. Transcribed for the XTC Forum by Jeff Truzzi Each superimposed part is a repeating two bar phrase. Beat - Note BASS 1 A & 2 & B 3 & 4 & C 1 & 2 G & 3 & C 4 & LOW PITZ STRING 1 F# & E 2 G & F# 3 E & C 4 D & 1 F# & 2 B & 3 & 4 A & G HIGH PITZ STRING 1 C D & 2 & 3 D E & 4 & 1 D F# & 2 D G & 3 & D F# 4 & D G TRUMPETS (1 bar repeating phrase) 1 B & B E a A 2 & B F# 3 B & B E 4 e A & C E a VOCAL Beat - Lyric (note) [harmony vocal note] 1 Hey (E-F#) 2 3 4 I heard the (F# G A) 1 dandelions (G F# E) 2 roar in Picc- (F# F# G) 3 -adilly (F# E D) 4 Circus (E F#) 1 2 3 4 I heard the (F# G A) 1 dandelions (G F# E) 2 roar in Picc- (F# F# G) 3 -adilly (F# E D) 4 Circus (E F#) 1 2 3 Take a (A C) 4 packet (E E) 1 of (E) 2 seeds (F#) 3 Take your-self (A C E) 4 out (E) 1 to play(E F#) 2 I (A) 3 wanna see a (A A C C) 4 river (E E) 1 of or- (E F#) 2 -chids (F#) 3 where we (F# F#) 4 had a mo- (A A F#) 1 o-tor- (E) 2 -r way (E E) 3 4 Push (E) 1 2 your (F#) 3 4 car (A) 1 2 from the (F# D) 3 ro- (E) 4 -ad (F#) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Push (E) 1 2 your (F#) 3 4 car (A) 1 2 from the (F# D) 3 ro- (E) 4 -ad (F#) 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Just like a (F# G A) [A A G] 1 mad dog you're (G F# E) [C A G] 2 chasing your (F# F# G) [A A G] 3 tail in a (F# E D) [C A G] 4 circle (E F#) [A C] 1 2 "Mmmmmm" 3 4 Just like a (F# G A) [A A G] 1 mad dog you're (G F# E) [C A G] 2 chasing your (F# F# G) [A A G] 3 tail in a (F# E D) [C A G] 4 circle (E F#) [A G] 1 2 "Mmmmmm" 3 It's all (A C) 4 in your (E E) 1 back (E) 2 yard (F#) 3 You've the (A C) 4 whole world (E E) 1 at your feet (E E F#) 2 3 'cept the (A C) 4 grass is (E E) 1 always green- (E E F#) 2 -ner (F#) 3 when it bursts (F# F# A) 4 up ( A) 1 through con- (F# D) 2 -crete (E E) 3 4 Push (E) 1 push [G] 2 your (F#) [E] 3 [C] 4 car (A) [E] 1 2 from the (F# D) [C A] 3 ro- (E) [C] 4 -ad (F#) [D] 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Push (E) 1 push [G] 2 your (F#) [E] 3 [C] 4 car (A) [E] 1 2 from the (F# D) [C A] 3 ro- (E) [C] 4 -ad (F#) [D] 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 Ri- (A) 1 -ver of (B C) 2 or- (A) 3 -chids (E) 4 win- 1 ding our 2 way 3 Want to 4 walk 1 into 2 London 3 on my 4 hands 1 one 2 day 3 4 Ri- 1 ver of 2 or- 3 chids the 4 road 1 over 2 grows 3 Want to 4 walk 1 into 2 London 3 smelling 4 like a 1 Peckham 2 rose 3 4 Just like a 1 mad dog you're 2 chasing your 3 tail in a 4 circle Yeah! Just like a mad dog you're chasing your tail in a circle You know you can do it I had a dream where the car is re- duced to a fossil "Mmmmmmmm!" I had a dream where the car is re- duced to a fossil "Mmmmmm!"
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