Another Time by Pearls Before Swine

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By greenpagan

Sat Jan 5, 2013 7:15 PM

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Pearls Before Swine was an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rapp in 1965 in Eau Gallie, now part of Melbourne, Florida. They released six albums between 1967 and 1971, before Rapp launched a solo career.

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Pearls Before Swine is mentioned in Thomas Pynchon's 2009 novel Inherent Vice (pg. 121).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearls_Before_Swine_%28band%29

Another Time is a song from One Nation Underground the debut album by American psychedelic folk group Pearls Before Swine. It was released on the ESP-Disk label in October 1967.

It was recorded at Impact Sound in New York City, between May 6-9, 1967, by the Florida-based group, which at that point comprised main songwriter and singer Tom Rapp, Wayne Harley, Lane Lederer, and Roger Crissinger. Percussion was by session musician Warren Smith.

The album presents a mixture of styles - "psychedelic folk reminiscent of Donovan collides with Farfisa-driven punk and hard-to-categorize repetitive minimalism, all thrown together with the undisciplined, creative exuberance of youth".^[3]

"Another Time" is an acoustic song, the first that Rapp ever wrote, based on his experience in a car crash where he walked away unscathed, and, with "Morning Song", represents the most characteristic example of Rapp's later writing style. In contrast, "Drop Out!" and "Uncle John" are youthful protest songs. "(Oh Dear) Miss Morse" spells out in Morse code the word F-U-C-K, accompanied by banjo and organ.

The album became the most successful ESP release ever, estimated to have sold between 100,000 and 250,000 copies. Early vinyl copies came with a small poster of the Hell panel from Hieronymus Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, a detail of which was used on the front of the album sleeve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Nation_Underground_%28Pearls_Before_Swine_album%29

Comment: I'm just realizing now how really outstanding Tom Rapp & his group were. Time for rediscovery.

This song could be about Christ coming by again to die again. Like Faulkner figured in A Fable.

Who knows who is buried in the Tomb of the Unknowns...? Recall the times. The Vietnam War was raging & country (the USA) & it appeared sometimes the world was coming apart at the seams.

Love was/is the only answer to such terrible periods. Too bad too many who should know better have forgotten that. Others born too late are blinded by ignorance & cynicism. They're victims of their own will to violence & greed. Of course they don't see it that way. But its not inconceivable that there are at least two separate & distinct "psychologically different species" of humanity. Just a speculative hypothesis...

Of course maybe the implication is that we're all sons of some god or other. The lyrics connote reincarnation. Also the"you" in question might be viewed as either a failed suicide or some very very lucky survivor. Death is deferred. & the god &/or gods of our fathers & mothers is gently reprimanded for indifference, perhaps?

Another Time

Where have you been to?
Where did you go?
Did you follow the summer out
When the winter pushed its face in the snow?