One of the more understated tracks on Jethro Tull’s 1971 LP Aqualung was this acoustic ditty, Wond’ring Aloud.
Jethro Tull: Wond’ring Aloud
On the compilation album Living in the Past, was a reworking/extension, Wond’ring Again, which may be Ian Anderson’s masterpiece. A meditation on humanity’s propensity to mess things – especially the planet – up. From forty years ago!
It’s also a perfect example of Anderson’s lyricism, moving from the poetic to the mundane within a sentence.
This partly breaks the rules I set myself for this category in that I’ve already featured Tull.
But it’s that time of year isn’t it?
It’s also by way of responding to Big Rab’s comment on my festive posting last year – Tull’s 1970s seasonal opus Ring Out Solstice Bells.
Jethro Tull: Christmas Song. Original version: a single in 1968.
“Hey. Santa. Pass us that bottle, will ya?”
I like the adaptation of the Aqualung cover, with the tramp being dressed as Father Christmas, on the still for the video.
While browsing You Tube I came across this variorum version of Christmas Song which features only guitar, mandolin and Ian Anderson’s voice. No strings and no request to Santa at the end.*
Merry Christmas one and all.
*22/12/17 Edited to add:- Sadly that version seems to be no longer available.
