Jefferson Airplane » Tracks » White Rabbit

Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit (2:31)

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About This Track

“White Rabbit” was written by Grace Slick, who based the lyrics on Lewis Carroll’s book Alice In Wonderland. Like many young musicians in San Francisco, Slick did a lot of drugs. She saw lots of drug references in Carroll’s book, including the pills, the smoking caterpillar, the mushroom, and lots of other images that are generally trippy. She noticed that lots of childrens stories involve a substance of some kind that alters reality, and felt it was time to write a song about it.

Slick got the idea for this after taking LSD and spending hours listening to the Miles Davis album Sketches Of Spain. The Spanish beat she came up with was also influenced by Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero.”

Slick wrote and performed this when she was in a band called The Great Society. She brought it with her, along with “Somebody To Love,” when she joined Jefferson Airplane in 1966.

This was used as the theme song for a 1973 movie called Go Ask Alice.

The UK version of the album didn’t have this on it.

This was one of the defining songs of the 1967 “Summer Of Love.” As young Americans protested the Vietnam war and took a lot of drugs, this played in the background.

On an original recording by The Great Society, the song is barely recognizable due to Grace’s higher voice before several throat operations that lowered her range after each one.
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Albums featuring this track

  • Surrealistic Pillow
    Jefferson Airplane Play
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    New

  • Hits
    Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship Play
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  • Hits
    Jefferson Airplane Play
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  • Best Of
    Jefferson Airplane Play
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See all 121 albums

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  • thekills1985

    Trippy, awesome tune! <3

    yesterday morning

  • TheDarkSide73

    Alice in Wonderland........Some kind of mushroom.....

    7 days ago

  • PattySauce

    Perfection

    8 days ago

  • Dethcroc

    does this remind anyone else of Battlefield Vietnam?

    13 days ago

  • oldiesfanjohn

    And the White Knight is talking backwards and Red Queen's off with her head...

    14 days ago

  • rockandrolljoe

    Have fallen sloppy dead.

    15 days ago

  • abunono

    With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke.

    16 days ago

  • eyeluh

    FEED YOUR HEEAAAAAADDD!!!

    18 days ago

  • metallicorphan

    Lost Odyssey Xbox360 ..still have the advert on my 360 just 'cos of this song

    22 days ago

  • antunescarlos

    A Grace Slick tinha mesmo uma excelente voz. Do Jefferson Airplane o disco que eu mais gosto é o Volunteers.

    24 days ago

  • cegutierrez73

    todo un himno................para varias generaciones............que nunca me cansaré de escuchar

    25 days ago

  • Coldfeather

    I've hear it on Supernatural and I love it :D

    26 days ago

  • Ariues

    now this...this...is psychedelia....

    last month

  • Malofyay

    this is fucking cool

    last month

  • legerer

    @hoseanna I totaly agree

    last month

  • giggleloop1

    Remember what the dormouse said!!!!!

    last month

  • oldiesfanjohn

    Still a clarion call!

    last month

  • silentheat

    feed your head !

    last month

  • hoseanna

    always listen to THE doormouse ;) this song made fear and loathing in las vegas the most psychedelic movie ever. try to question it!

    last month

  • PattySauce

    When logic and proporsion have fallen sloppy dead............... Love the lyrics

    last month
See all 1,436 shouts

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