When I was young, there was a cafe in town named Tull. Everything on the menu was named after a Jethro Tull song. You could order a Locomotive Breath. Good times.
7 years ago, I was in Dominican Republic , and on a off-the-beaten-path corner of the Island, there were some old English hippies in a cafe, that had been sailing for 20 years all over the Caribbean and that's how they lived their life. They had an acoustic guitar and they were playing this song and drinking Presidente. It was awesome.
The first time I saw Jethro Tull ('73? '74?) Ian Anderson was wearing a long trench coat - looking just like Aqualung on the album cover. Watching him jump around frenetically, playing his flute, gesticulating with his wild dancing - possessed... was an amazing spectacle. What an animal! Looking back, I don't know how he handled it under the hot lights. He must've been roasting. Jethro Tull, with it's complete lineup of incredible musicians, had the well-earned reputation of being the best live act of any rock band - both musically and visually. So glad I caught them a couple of times in "the old days."
I saw my first naked man while listening to this song! I was 17 and he had a big red motorcycle. He came to my house to help me fix my dirt bike and while he was in my room I was putting this album on the record player. He called me to the room, and when I got to the doorway he was standing by my bed naked as a jay bird!!! He flexed a little and said, "Wha'da ya think about this?" I had never seen a naked man before, and it was the funniest moment in my life to date! So what could I do? I busted out laughing so hard I almost peed my pants!! He was very upset, and stormed out of the house never to be seen again!! So I have Jethro Tull to thank for not loosing my virginity that day!!!
I was a child in the 70's, with a new guitar my folks just got me. At 11 yeas old it was a stretch to play the full size instrument. I remember spending a whole week sounding out the lead solo, and being completely engrossed in the effort. My parents were aghast at the type of music I wanted to listen to and play - in retrospect it was quite comical. 40 years later I still have that guitar, although not my folks anymore. This one's for you mom and dad. I will play this song again tonite, on the first guitar I ever got, and remember you fondly - as I always do.
Sitting on the park bench --
eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot is running down his nose --
greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Aqualung
Drying in the cold sun --
Watching as the frilly panties run.
Aqualung
Feeling like a dead duck --
spitting out pieces of his broken luck.
Whoa, aqualung
Sun streaking cold --
an old man wandering lonely.
Taking time
the only way he knows.
Leg hurting bad,
as he bends to pick a dog-end --
he goes down to the bog
and warms his feet.
Feeling alone --
the army's up the road
salvation a la mode and
a cup of tea.
Aqualung my friend --
don't you start away uneasy
you poor old sod, you see, it's only me.
Do you still remember
The December's foggy freeze --
when the ice that
clings on to your beard was
screaming agony.
And you snatch your rattling last breaths
with deep-sea-diver sounds,
and the flowers bloom like
madness in the spring.
Today, my dad would have been 66. He's missed 16 birthdays here on this planet. He loved this song and I came here today to walk down memory lane with him in spirit.