One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small/
And the ones that mother gives you, don’t do anything at all.

Gracie Slick wrote one of the tent-poles of psychedelic rock with Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit”. The song is obviously about drug use, but also about curiosity. What is the song saying about drugs and what is the meaning of the White Rabbit? One of the main messages is that teenagers see drugs being used by their parents and see drugs being used in the fairy tales being read to them as children, so why wouldn’t they be interested in drugs?

What else would you expect? Alice in Alice in Wonderland takes a pill to make her big or make her small. Mothers are taking Valium and alcohol; it is around us our whole lives.

The production of the record is amazing. It sounds like Slick is singing down a giant hole. That fits in perfectly with the theme of the song. The rhythm section drives much of the melody. The intro bass riff is amazing. The drums sound like a marching band that the white knights on the chessboard might be marching to. But overall, this song comes down to Slick’s amazing vocal. She sings like she is delivering an urgent message…and in a sense, she is.

White Rabbit Lyrics

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don’t do anything at all

Go ask Alice, when she’s ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you’re going to fall
Tell ’em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the call

He called Alice, when she was just small

When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go
And you’ve just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving low

Go ask Alice, I think she’ll know
When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen’s off with her head
Remember what the Dormouse said
Feed your head, feed your head

Songwriters: Grace Wing Slick

‘Cause you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable/
And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table…

One-hit wonders get a bad name but think of all the bands that never even have one hit. We haven’t heard much from Anna Nalick since “Breathe (2am)”, but what a breath-taking release this first single of hers was. The song sounds like it could belong in both the rock world or the country world. That is extremely rare.

Nalick tells the story of a woman who is struggling to cope with the alcoholism of her man. She feels embarrassment as she has to help him home, stumbling out of the bar late at night, but she rejects the pious pity from the onlookers who are simply in a lesser state of drunkenness.

The best part of “Breathe” is her comments about fatalism. She knows that her and her man are on a path that does not lead to anything good; rarely to people turn around once they fall into the pit of alcoholism. They simply fall deeper and deeper; like an hourglass glued to a table.

Her only respite is to tell herself (and her man) to just breathe and try to get through today. This is of a bleak existence, but one that many that struggle with substance can relate to. And she can’t give up. Because her lover IS so beautiful when he smiles. And he is hers.

Breath 2am Lyrics

Two AM and she calls me ’cause I’m still awake,
Can you help me unravel my latest mistake?
I don’t love him, winter just wasn’t my season.
Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes.
Like they have any right at all to criticize, hypocrites;
You’re all here for the very same reason.

‘Cause you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable,
And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button girl,
So cradle your head in you hands.
And breathe, just breathe,
Whoa breathe, just breathe.

May he turn twenty one on the base at Fort Bliss,
Just today he sat down to the flask in his fist.
Ain’t been sober, since maybe October of last year.
Here in town you can tell he’s been down for a while,
But my God it’s so beautiful when the boy smiles.
Wanna hold him, maybe I’ll just sing about it.

‘Cause you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable,
And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button boys,
So cradle your head in your hands.
And breathe, just breathe,
Whoa breathe, just breathe.

“There’s a light at each end of this tunnel”, you shout.
But you’re just as far in as you’ll ever be out.
These mistakes you’ve made, you’ll just make them again,
If you only try turning around.

Two AM and I’m still awake, writing a song,
If I get it all down on paper, its no longer
Inside of me, threatening the life it belongs to.
And I feel like I’m naked in front of the crowd.
‘Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud.
And I know that you’ll use them, however you want to.

‘Cause you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable,
And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button now,
Sing it if you understand.
And breathe, just breathe,
Whoa breathe, just breathe.

written by Anna Nalick

Arms that chain/
Eyes that lie…

The Doors “Break on Through” has great lyrics. Some of the best, this side of Dylan. Morrison is telling us that there is a reality that is just beyond our grasp and we have to break through to reach it. What exactly that entails he is not clear about. Does he mean we should do drugs? Probably. Is he advocating spirituality over materialism? Probably.

There are a lot of mores that he is suggesting that we disregard if we want to break on  through to the other side. On this side there are chains and lies, on the other side is freedom. Which side would you choose? Unfortunately living this lifestyle has its consequences.

Morrison has one of the best male voices in rock. Very manly. Each of the instruments really shines in this song. The guitar has some great riffs that are iconic, as does the organ. The percussion is solid. There are a couple things you should notice. Most people only know the edited version of this song. If you’ve only heard it on the radio, you’ve never heard the regular version.

I think “Break On Through” was released on The Doors greatest hits edited as well. Why? Because it had the word “high” in it. Another cool thing to notice is the good use of stereo. At the beginning of the song each instrument is added one at a time into each side of your headphones. It is a cool effect.

Break On Through Lyrics

Every time when I look in the mirror
All these lines on my face getting clearer
The past is gone
It went by, like dusk to dawn
You know the day destroys the night
Night divides the day
Tried to run
Tried to hide
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side, yeah

We chased our pleasures here
Dug our treasures there
But can you still recall
The time we cried
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side

Yeah!
C’mon, yeah

Everybody loves my baby
Everybody loves my baby
She get(s high)
She get(s high)
She get(s high)
She get(s high)

I found an island in your arms
Country in your eyes
Arms that chained us
Eyes that lied
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through, oww!
Oh, yeah!

Made the scene
Week to week
Day to day
Hour to hour
The gate is straight
Deep and wide
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through
Break on through
Break on through
Break on through
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

written by Jim Morrison