I Had Too Much To Dream
Posted in 1960s, Lyrics, Music, Nostalgia, Rock at 22:31 on 19 January 2009
I had a strange dream on Friday night/Saturday morning, during which I was crossing a road in Dunfermline and was honked at by a utility vehicle, a fire engine or some such. The weird bit about this was its horn sounded the musical phrase:- Daaah, da-da-da! dah, da-da-da! da-da, dah.
In my dream I recognised it was from a song and so while the dream was still running I kept on humming the tune until I got to the last line of the verse – when I knew what it was. And I felt great just to have worked it out. (Bear in mind I was still asleep.)
The song is The Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon, written and performed by The Nice, formed as P P Arnold’s backing group but now better known as the first rise to prominence of Keith Emerson of ELP notoriety fame. It was the B-side of America, their first (only?) hit.
It’s a fine piece of psychedelia with TARDIS-like sound effects and some great bits of mellotron work but features almost impenetrable lyrics which a quick search on the internet can not shed light on.
The nearest I can get for the first verse is:-
The ??? stroked circles from the heads of all the heroes
And confusions caused by echoes
That’s not ???? for us to see
The sound of magic carpets (cobblers?)
Suddenly be seeking for the
Here it is on You Tube.
Can anyone decipher them? The lyrics, that is.
Edit (24/4/10): I see the original clip has been taken down.
Here is a new link.
The Nice: Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon
Edit (20/7/17): I found the new link also inoperable so replaced it with the one above.
Tags: The Electric Prunes, The Nice
Friday On My Mind 1. – A Son of the Rock -- Jack Deighton
22 April 2010 at 22:35
[…] down.) Or thereâs America by The Nice, with which I started off my prog rock musings, plus their The Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon – even if it was a B-side â and The Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack, The Electric Prunesâ I […]
gareth davies
24 April 2010 at 01:28
Jack – this is very interesting – the lyrics are very hard to decypher – I’ve never been able to de-scramble them – but now i’ve stumbled upon your site – you’ve done a good job.
1st line : transcribed circles round the heads of all the heroes
2nd line : and confusion caused by echoes
3rd line : that’s not hard for us to see
4th line : the sound og magic carpets
5th line : suddenly be seeking for the …(“same as you – this bit is a mystery”)
2nd verse (my first attempt at trying to understand the lyrics)
1st line : find them in the darkroom
2nd line : from their magic carpets
3rd line : we have stretched by the blank strep
4th line : and the _____ we declare
5th line : wanna be be there
6th line : try to make a ______
I’m sure we will sort this out together .. cheers gareth.
ie. 2nd verse 3rd line … “blank strep” …. that is what it sounds like .. so we need to think of something sensible that fits the “shape” of what he says…. if you know what I mean
gareth davies
24 April 2010 at 01:42
corrections to last entry
1st verse 4th line : “of” .. not “og”
1st verse 5th line : dismiss my comment in brackets
2nd verse 2nd line : from their magic flying carpets
2nd verse 4th line : and the apples we declare
Misheard Lyrics: Angel Of The Morning – A Son of the Rock -- Jack Deighton
8 August 2013 at 20:14
[…] Soldier which I featured recently, also had a great influence on The Nice whom I mentioned several months ago now. They were formed to be her backing band. However they quickly broke off to do their own […]
Fraser Taylor
7 January 2014 at 20:22
My best effort at transcription (with the help of Refugee’s version on YouTube):
The transplant circles
‘Round the heads of all the heroes
And confusions caused by echoes
That are not for us to see
We sit on magic carpets
Its circles may be seeking for the
Diamond hard blue apples of the moon [x4]
To a blind man in a dark room
On their magic flying carpets
They must search to find a black cat
And two apples make a pair
But they are not really there,
But they’re still tryin’ a make a pair of
Diamond hard blue apples of the moon [x6]
Still not convinced of “transplant”; Jackson sings “two cats” in the Refugee version.
Fraser Taylor
Bellsmyre
Dumbarton
jackdeighton
7 January 2014 at 21:12
Thanks for taking the trouble to do this Fraser,
I couldn’t decipher much of The Nice’s original at all.
I hadn’t heard Refugee’s version before your comment. It’s different!
How is Bellsmyre these days? I’ve not ventured there for decades. Not since I lived in Whiteford Avenue.
Dave Stewart
6 September 2017 at 12:44
Hi Jack,
Myself and school pals saw The Nice at The Marquee many times, always loved this song! I think the opening lyric is ‘The transparent circles round the heads of all the heroes’ 🙂
Cheers,
Dave Stewart
jackdeighton
10 September 2017 at 19:37
Dave,
I never saw The Nice. The Marquee was a bit too far to travel!!!
Thanks for your idea of the lyric. I’ve been puzzling over it for about fifty years….
Thanks for looking in and commenting.
Dave Stewart
10 September 2017 at 23:14
Hi Jack, you’re welcome. I was fortunate to live in central London at a time when bands such as The Nice, Spooky Tooth, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac (etc.) were playing at small venues like The Marquee… The Nice’s Lee Jackson’s vocals were hard to decipher even at close quarters, but I always remembered that “transparent circles round the heads of all the heroes” line 🙂 Best, Dave.
Reelin’ In the Years 119: RIP Keith Emerson – A Son of the Rock -- Jack Deighton
28 November 2024 at 23:52
[…] and which has a good claim, in its extravagance, to be the first truly prog track, its B-side, The Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon and their first single The Thoughts Of Emerlist […]