Aqualung

"Aqualung" is a song by English progressive rock band Jethro Tull, featured as the first track on their 1971 album Aqualung, and written by the band's frontman, Ian Anderson, and his then-wife, Jennie Franks. The original recording runs for 6 minutes and 32 seconds. Like many of Jethro Tull's songs, "Aqualung" tells a story —in this case, the story of a homeless man. The opening lyrics are "Sitting on a park bench / Eyeing little girls with bad intent". The song is the title track from Jethro Tull's first U.S. Top 10 album, which reached #7 in June of 1971. In an interview with Ian Anderson in the September 1999 Guitar World he said: Aqualung wasn't a concept album, although a lot of people thought so. The idea came about from a photograph my wife at the time took of a tramp in London. I had feelings of guilt about the homeless, as well as fear and insecurity with people like that who seem a little scary. And I suppose all of that was combined with a slightly romanticized picture of the person who is homeless but yet a free spirit, who either won't or can't join in society's prescribed formats. So from that photograph and those sentiments, I began writing the words to 'Aqualung.' I can remember sitting in a hotel room in L.A., working out the chord structure for the verses. It's quite a tortured tangle of chords, but it was meant to really drag you here and there and then set you down into the more gentle acoustic section of the song. Reportedly, Jimmy Page entered the studio, while Martin Barre was recording the guitar solo. It was during the first take, Martin didn't know Jimmy much, and was a little ashamed. Jimmy waved to Martin from the control room while he was playing, and Martin stopped playing for a short second, and waved with his right hand, while still sustaining the sound with the left hand. The solo on the record is actually this first take. Indeed, there is a short sustain with feedback during the solo. Anderson once joked that if you turn up the volume you can even hear Martin waving. The Aqualung character is later mentioned in "Cross-Eyed Mary", which follows this song on the album.

[Hook] Sitting on a park bench Eyeing little girls with bad intent Snot running down his nose Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes Hey, Aqualung Drying in the cold sun Watching as the frilly panties run Hey, Aqualung Feeling like a dead duck Spitting out pieces of his broken luck Whoa, Aqualung [Chorus] 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 [Verse] Do you still remember December's foggy freeze? When the ice that Clings on to your beard was Screaming agony (Hey!) And you snatch your rattling last breaths With deep-sea-diver sounds And the flowers bloom like Madness in the spring [Chorus] 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 Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh 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 Me-me-me-me-me Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh [Guitar Solo] [Bridge] Dee-dee-dee-dee Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee Dee-dee-dee-dee-dee-dee Dee-dee-dee-dee Aqualung, my friend, don't you start away uneasy You poor old sod, you see, it's only me [Hook] Sitting on a park bench Eyeing little girls with bad intent Snot running down his nose Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes Hey, Aqualung Drying in the cold sun Watching as the frilly panties run Hey, Aqualung Feeling like a dead duck Spitting out pieces of his broken luck Hey, Aqualung [Outro] Whoa, Aqualung