Floating (The Moody Blues song)
Encyclopedia
"Floating" is a song on The Moody Blues
' November 1969 album To Our Children's Children's Children
, a concept album about space travel dedicated to NASA
and the Apollo 11
astronauts. Written by band flautist Ray Thomas
, "Floating" is a jaunty, semi-children's song about a future in which advances in space travel have enabled the Moon
to become a family vacation spot. The song's lyrics describe the experience of "Floating" from weightlessness
due to the microgravity experienced in space flight.
The third verse sparked some concern in the United States shortly after the album's release. The lines in question are:
Bouncing about on the Moon;
Guess you'll all be up here soon!
The candy stores will be brand new,
And you'll buy rock with the Moon right through!
Ray Thomas's previous outspoken sympathy for LSD advocate Timothy Leary
, along with coincidental drug-related slang terms current at the time involving words such as "candy" and "rock," led some Americans to see in "Floating" a coded encouragement to experiment with drugs.
The lyrics, however, have nothing to do with drugs and everything to do with typical British holiday-making. Though he took care to Americanize "sweet shops" into "candy stores," Thomas failed to realize that British-style sweet shops and souvenir candy rock
are not the seaside resort fixture in America that they are in Britain. British audiences, on the other hand, instantly understood his image of small shops offering children inexpensive mix-and-match bulk sweets and foot-long candy sticks with the words "The Moon" etched from one end "right through" to the other.
Like "Another Morning
" from Days of Future Passed
and "Nice To Be Here" from Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
, "Floating" is one of Ray Thomas's signature "child's world" songs, with simple, catchy melodies and lyrics reflecting a child's perspective.
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
' November 1969 album To Our Children's Children's Children
To Our Children's Children's Children
To Our Children's Children's Children is the fifth album by The Moody Blues, first issued in late 1969. It was the first album released on the group's newly formed Threshold Records label, which was named after the band's previous album from the same year, On the Threshold of a Dream.It was...
, a concept album about space travel dedicated to NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
and the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
astronauts. Written by band flautist Ray Thomas
Ray Thomas
Ray Thomas is an English musician, best known as the flautist and as a singer and composer in the rock band, The Moody Blues.-Career:...
, "Floating" is a jaunty, semi-children's song about a future in which advances in space travel have enabled the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
to become a family vacation spot. The song's lyrics describe the experience of "Floating" from weightlessness
Weightlessness
Weightlessness is the condition that exists for an object or person when they experience little or no acceleration except the acceleration that defines their inertial trajectory, or the trajectory of pure free-fall...
due to the microgravity experienced in space flight.
The third verse sparked some concern in the United States shortly after the album's release. The lines in question are:
Bouncing about on the Moon;
Guess you'll all be up here soon!
The candy stores will be brand new,
And you'll buy rock with the Moon right through!
Ray Thomas's previous outspoken sympathy for LSD advocate Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary was an American psychologist and writer, known for his advocacy of psychedelic drugs. During a time when drugs like LSD and psilocybin were legal, Leary conducted experiments at Harvard University under the Harvard Psilocybin Project, resulting in the Concord Prison...
, along with coincidental drug-related slang terms current at the time involving words such as "candy" and "rock," led some Americans to see in "Floating" a coded encouragement to experiment with drugs.
The lyrics, however, have nothing to do with drugs and everything to do with typical British holiday-making. Though he took care to Americanize "sweet shops" into "candy stores," Thomas failed to realize that British-style sweet shops and souvenir candy rock
Rock (confectionery)
Rock is a type of hard stick-shaped boiled sugar confectionery most usually flavoured with peppermint or spearmint. It is commonly sold at tourist resorts in the UK ; in Ireland in seaside towns such as Bray and Strandhill; in Gibraltar; in Denmark in towns such as Løkken and Ebeltoft; and in...
are not the seaside resort fixture in America that they are in Britain. British audiences, on the other hand, instantly understood his image of small shops offering children inexpensive mix-and-match bulk sweets and foot-long candy sticks with the words "The Moon" etched from one end "right through" to the other.
Like "Another Morning
Another Morning (The Moody Blues song)
"Another Morning" is a 1967 song by the symphonic rock band The Moody Blues. It was written by the band's flautist Ray Thomas, and was first released on the 1967 album Days of Future Passed...
" from Days of Future Passed
Days of Future Passed
Days of Future Passed is the second album and first concept album by The Moody Blues, released in 1967. It was also their first album to feature Justin Hayward and John Lodge, who would play a very strong role in directing the band's sound in the decades to come...
and "Nice To Be Here" from Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is a stage play by Tom Stoppard with music by André Previn. It was first performed in 1977. The play criticizes the Soviet practice of treating political dissidence as a form of mental illness. Its title derives from the popular mnemonic used by music students to...
, "Floating" is one of Ray Thomas's signature "child's world" songs, with simple, catchy melodies and lyrics reflecting a child's perspective.
Personnel
- Justin HaywardJustin HaywardJustin Hayward is an English musician, best known as singer, songwriter and guitarist in the rock band The Moody Blues.Hayward was born in Dean Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, England...
: acoustic guitar, backing vocals - John Lodge: bass guitar, backing vocals
- Mike PinderMike PinderMichael Thomas "Mike" Pinder is an English rock musician, and is a founding member or the British rock group, the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band's album, Octave, in 1978...
: mellotron, backing vocals - Ray ThomasRay ThomasRay Thomas is an English musician, best known as the flautist and as a singer and composer in the rock band, The Moody Blues.-Career:...
: vocals, flute - Graeme EdgeGraeme EdgeGraeme Charles Edge is best known as the drummer and a songwriter for the Moody Blues, but has also led his own outfit, the Graeme Edge Band.-Biography:...
: drums, percussion