On-Form Eileen features promently on the back page of the St. Cleve Chronicle (Friday, January 7th, 1972)
This accomplishment was archived by Jethro Tull on the album “Thick as a Brick.”
A little background…..
Thick as a Brick is the fifth studio album by the British rock band Jethro Tull, released on 3 March 1972. The album contains one continuous piece of music, split over two sides of an LP record, and is intended as a parody of the concept album genre. The original packaging, designed as a 12-page newspaper, claims the album to be a musical adaptation of an epic poem by fictional eight-year-old genius Gerald Bostock, though the lyrics were actually written by the band’s frontman, Ian Anderson.
[Ian] Anderson has also said that “the album was a spoof to the albums of Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, much like what the movie Airplane! had been to Airport”[5] and later remarked that it was a “bit of a satire about the whole concept of grand rock-based concept albums”.[6] Although Anderson wrote all the music and lyrics, he co-credited the writing to a fictional schoolboy named Gerald Bostock. The humour was subtle enough that some fans believed that Bostock was real.
The group remembered the recording being a happy process, with a strong feeling of camaraderie and fun, with numerous practical jokes. They were fans of Monty Python, and this style of humour influenced the lyrics and overall concept. Guitarist Martin Barre recalls the whole band coming up with various ideas for the music. Some parts were recorded in a single take with every member having an input, including significant contributions from keyboardist John Evan.
Cover The original LP cover was designed as a spoof of a 12-by-16-inch (300 mm × 410 mm) 12-page small-town English newspaper, entitled The St. Cleve Chronicle and Linwell Advertiser, with articles, competitions and advertisements lampooning the typical parochial and amateurish journalism of the local English press. The band’s record company, Chrysalis Records, complained that the sleeve would be too expensive to produce, but Anderson countered that if a real newspaper could be produced, a parody of one was also practicable.
The mock newspaper, dated 7 January 1972, also includes the entire lyrics to “Thick as a Brick” (printed on page 7), which is presented as a poem written by Bostock,[18] whose disqualification from a poetry contest is the focus of the front-page story. This article claims that although Bostock initially won the contest, the judges’ decision was repealed after protests and threats concerning the offensive nature of the poem, along with the boy’s suspected psychological instability. The front cover includes a piece where Bostock is accused without foundation of being the father of his 14-year-old friend Julia’s child. The inside of the paper features a mock review by “Julian Stone-Mason BA”, a pseudonym of Anderson.
World Enlightenment does a great job preserving the newspaper. You can view each page (and each article) on their web site.
Jethro Tull / The Origin Story
Jethro Tull (baptised 30 March 1674 – 21 February 1741, New Style) was an English agriculturist
from Berkshire who helped to bring about the British Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century. He perfected a horse-drawn seed drill in 1701 that economically sowed the seeds in neat rows, and later developed a horse-drawn hoe. Tull’s methods were adopted by many landowners and helped to provide the basis for modern agriculture.
Tull made early advances in planting crops with his invention of the seed drill (1701) – a mechanical seeder that sowed efficiently at the correct depth and spacing and then covered the seed so that it could grow. Before the introduction of the seed drill, the common practice was to plant seeds by broadcasting (evenly throwing) them across the ground by hand on the prepared soil and then lightly harrowing the soil to bury the seeds to the correct depth.
And your wise men don't know how it feels To be thick as a brick
Plečka – Jakub Schikaneder
Spin me back down the years And the days of my youth Draw the lace and black curtains And shut out, the whole truth Spin me down the long ages Let them sing the song
AI Eileen
Thick as a Brick, Part I by Ian Anderson
[I. Really Don't Mind / See There a Son Is Born 00:00-05:00]
[Verse 1] Really don't mind if you sit this one out My word's but a whisper, your deafness a shout I may make you feel but I can't make you think Your sperm's in the gutter, your love's in the sink So you ride yourselves over the fields And you make all your animal deals And your wise men don't know how it feels
[Chorus] To be thick as a brick
[Verse 2] And the sand-castle virtues are all swept away In the tidal destruction, the moral melee The elastic retreat rings the close of play As the last wave uncovers the newfangled way But your new shoes are worn at the heels And your suntan does rapidly peel And your wise men don't know how it feels
[Chorus] To be thick as a brick
[Verse 3] And the love that I feel Is so far away I'm a bad dream That I just had today And you shake your head And say it's a shame
[Verse 4] Spin me back down the years And the days of my youth Draw the lace and black curtains And shut out, the whole truth Spin me down the long ages Let them sing the song
[Verse 5] See there! A son is born And we pronounce him fit to fight There are black-heads on his shoulders And he pees himself in the night We'll make a man of him Put him to a trade Teach him to play Monopoly And how to sing in the rain [Instrumental Break] [Organ Solo] [Guitar Solo]
[II. The Poet and the Painter 05:00-10:32]
[Flute Solo]
[Verse 6] The Poet and the Painter Casting shadows on the water As the sun plays on the infantry Returning from the sea The do-er and the thinker No allowance for the other As the failing light illuminates The mercenary's creed
[Verse 2] The home fire burning The kettle almost boiling But the master of the house is far away The horses stamping Their warm breath clouding In the sharp and frosty morning of the day And the poet lifts his pen While the soldier sheaths his sword [Chorus] And the youngest of the family Is moving with authority Building castles by the sea He dares the tardy tide To wash them all aside, oh
[Instrumental Break 07:21-09:22] [Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3] The cattle quietly grazing At the grass down by the river Where the swelling mountain water Moves onward to the sea The builder of the castles Renews the age-old purpose And contemplates the milking girl Whose offer is his need
[Verse 4] The young men of the household Have all gone into service And are not to be expected for a year The innocent young master Thoughts moving ever faster Has formed the plan to change the man he seems And the poet sheaths his pen While the soldier lifts his sword
[Chorus] And the oldest of the family Is moving with authority Coming from across the sea He challenges the son Who puts him to the run
[III. What Do You Do When the Old Man's Gone? / From the Upper Class 10:32-15:55]
[Verse 1] What do you do when the old man's gone? Do you want to be him? And your real self sings the song Do you want to free him? No one to help you get up steam And the whirlpool turns you way off-beam
[Instrumental Break 11:53-13:18] [Organ Solo]
[Verse 2] I've come down from the upper class To mend your rotten ways My father was a man-of-power Whom everyone obeyed
[Verse 3] So come on all you criminals! I've got to put you straight Just like I did with my old man Twenty years too late
[Instrumental Break 13:59-15:27] [Flute Solo]
[Verse 4] Your bread and water's going cold Your hair is too short and neat I'll judge you all and make damn sure That no-one judges me
[IV. You Curl Your Toes in Fun / Childhood Heroes / Stabs Instrumental 15:55-22:40]
[Verse 1] You curl your toes in fun As you smile at everyone You meet the stares You're unaware that your doings aren't done And you laugh most ruthlessly As you tell us what not to be But how are we supposed To see where we should run?
[Verse 2] I see you shuffle in the courtroom With your rings upon your fingers And your downy little sidies And your silver-buckle shoes Playing at the hard case You follow the example Of the comic-paper idol Who lets you bend the rules
[Verse 3] So come on ye childhood heroes Won't you rise up from the pages Of your comic-books, your super crooks And show us all the way Well! Make your will and testament Won't you join your local government? We'll have Superman for president Let Robin save the day
[Bridge] You put your bet on number one And it comes up every time The other kids have all backed down And they put you first in line And so you finally ask yourself Just how big you are And you take your place in a wiser world Of bigger motor cars And you wonder who to call on
[Verse 4] So where the hell was Biggles When you needed him last Saturday? And where were all the sportsmen Who always pulled you through? They're all resting down in Cornwall Writing up their memoirs For a paper-back edition Of the Boy Scout manual
[Instrumental Outro] [Organ Solo]
Thick as a Brick, Part II by Ian Anderson
[I. See There a Man Is Born / Clear White Circles 00:00-06:00]
[Verse 1] See there, a man is born And we pronounce him fit for peace There's a load lifted from his shoulders With the discovery of his disease We'll take a child from him Put it to the test Teach it to be a wise man And how to fool the rest
[Spoken Interlude] We will be geared to the average, rather than the exceptional God is an overwhelming responsibility We walked through the maternity ward And saw 218 babies wearing nylons It says here that cats are on the upgrade Upgrade? Hipgrave Oh, Mac
[Verse 2] In the clear white circles of morning wonder I take my place with the lord of the hills And the blue-eyed soldiers stand slightly discoloured In neat little rows sporting canvas frills With their jock-straps pinching, they slouch to attention While queuing for sarnies at the office canteen Saying: "How's your granny?" and good old Ernie He coughed up a tenner on a premium bond win
[II. Legends and Believe in the Day 06:00-12:38]
[Verse 1] The legends worded in the ancient tribal hymn Lie cradled in the seagull's call And all the promises they made Are ground beneath the sadist's fall
[Verse 2] The poet and the wise man stand Behind the gun, behind the gun And signal for the crack of dawn Light the sun, light the sun
[Chorus] Do you believe in the day? Do you believe in the day?
[Instrumental Break 07:56-08:42]
[Verse 3] The Dawn Creation of the Kings Has begun, has begun Soft Venus, lonely maiden brings The ageless one, the ageless one [Chorus] Do you believe in the day? Do you believe in the day?
[Verse 4] The fading hero has returned To the night, to the night And fully pregnant with the day Wise men endorse the poet's sight
[Chorus] Do you believe in the day? Do you believe in the day?
[III. Tales of Your Life 12:38-18:06]
[Verse 1] Let me tell you the tales of your life Of your love and the cut of the knife The tireless oppression, the wisdom instilled The desire to kill or be killed Well, let me sing of the losers who lie In the street as the last bus goes by The pavements are empty: the gutters run red While the fool toasts his god in the sky [Instrumental Break 13:51-14:55]
[Chorus] So come all ye young men who are building castles! Kindly state the time of the year And join your voices in a hellish chorus Mark the precise nature of your fear
[Instrumental Break 15:09-16:15]
[Verse 2] Let me help you pick up your dead As the sins of the fathers are fed With the blood of the fools and the thoughts of the wise And from the pan under your bed Well, let me make you a present of song As the wise man breaks wind and is gone While the fool with the hour-glass is cooking his goose And the nursery rhyme winds along
[Chorus] So come all ye young men who are building castles! Kindly state the time of the year And join your voices in the hellish chorus Mark the precise nature of your fear See the summer lightning casts its bolts upon you And the hour of judgement draweth near Would you be the fool stood in his suit of armour Or the wiser man who rushes clear?
[IV. Childhood Heroes Reprise 18:06-21:10]
[Verse 1] So, come on ye childhood heroes Won't you rise up from the pages Of your comic-books, your super crooks And show us all the way Well! Make your will and testament Won't you join your local government? We'll have Superman for president Let Robin save the day
[Verse 2] So where the hell was Biggles When you needed him last Saturday? And where were all the sportsmen Who always pulled you though? They're all resting down in Cornwall Writing up their memoirs For a paper-back edition Of the Boy Scout manual
[Instrumental Break 19:23-20:43] [Organ Solo]
[Verse 3] So you ride yourselves over the fields And you make all your animal deals And your wise men don't know how it feels
