We’ve got to get together sooner or later/
Because the revolution’s here, and you know it’s right.

What happened to all the great protest music? Thunderclap Newman was a one-hit wonder, but what a hit they had in “Something in the Air”! In 1969, there was something in the air, and they were feeling revolution. The impetus behind the protest at the time was the Vietnam war. This song is a little more insidious than other protest songs. It talks about handing out ammo to all the instigators because the revolution is here. You know it’s right, the time is now; it is in the air. The lyrics are actually quite radical.

The music is great. The verse and chorus have a great melody. Following the trend of many of the songs of the psychedelic movement, the bridge seems like it could stand alone as a different song. It doesn’t have much similarity with the rest of the song, but it works. (Also see Tuesday Afternoon, Live for Today, A Day in The Life). The bridge has piano and hand-clapping and the rest of the song has a full symphony. It is an interesting juxtaposition.

Something in the Air Lyrics

Call out the instigators,
Because there’s something in the air,
We’ve got to get together sooner or later.
Because the revolution’s here, and you know it’s right!
And you know that it’s right.

We have got to get it together,
We have got to get it together, now.

Lock up the streets and houses,
Because there’s something in the air.
We’ve got to get together sooner or later,
Because the revolution’s here, and you know it’s right!
And you know that it’s right.

We have got to get it together,
We have got to get it together now.

Hand out the arms and ammo,
We’re going to blast our way through here.
We’ve got to get together sooner or later,
Because the revolution’s here, and you know it’s right!
And you know that it’s right.

We have got to get it together,
We have got to get it together now.

Songwriters: John Keen