Aqualung (6:30)
624,406 plays (153,540 listeners)
“Aqualung” is a song by English progressive rock band Jethro Tull, featured as the first track on their 1971 album Aqualung, and written by the band’s frontman, Ian Anderson, and his then-wife, Jennie Franks. The original recording runs for 6 minutes and 32 seconds. Like many of Jethro Tull’s songs, “Aqualung” tells a story —in this case, the story of a homeless man. The opening lyrics are “Sitting on a park bench / Eyeing little girls with bad intent”.
The song is the title track from Jethro Tull’s first U.S. Top 10 album, which reached #7 in June of 1971.
In an interview with Ian Anderson in the September 1999 Guitar World he said:
Aqualung wasn’t a concept album, although a lot of people thought so. The idea came about from a photograph my wife at the time took of a tramp in London. I had feelings of guilt about the homeless, as well as fear and insecurity with people like that who seem a little scary. And I suppose all of that was combined with a slightly romanticized picture of the person who is homeless but yet a free spirit, who either won’t or can’t join in society’s prescribed formats.
So from that photograph and those sentiments, I began writing the words to ‘Aqualung.’ I can remember sitting in a hotel room in L.A., working out the chord structure for the verses. It’s quite a tortured tangle of chords, but it was meant to really drag you here and there and then set you down into the more gentle acoustic section of the song.
The song is the title track from Jethro Tull’s first U.S. Top 10 album, which reached #7 in June of 1971.
In an interview with Ian Anderson in the September 1999 Guitar World he said:
Aqualung wasn’t a concept album, although a lot of people thought so. The idea came about from a photograph my wife at the time took of a tramp in London. I had feelings of guilt about the homeless, as well as fear and insecurity with people like that who seem a little scary. And I suppose all of that was combined with a slightly romanticized picture of the person who is homeless but yet a free spirit, who either won’t or can’t join in society’s prescribed formats.
So from that photograph and those sentiments, I began writing the words to ‘Aqualung.’ I can remember sitting in a hotel room in L.A., working out the chord structure for the verses. It’s quite a tortured tangle of chords, but it was meant to really drag you here and there and then set you down into the more gentle acoustic section of the song.
Video
Added by ckyosiris
Jethro Tull Aqualung Solo
Share Video
See 8 more
Related Tracks
-
Locomotive Breath
Jethro Tull -
Cheap Day Return
Jethro Tull -
Tom Sawyer
Rush -
The Trees
Rush -
Roundabout
Yes -
Highway Star
Deep Purple
Albums featuring this track
-
Aqualung
Jethro Tull Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital $7.77
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $75.98
- eBay Search
-
Live - Bursting out (CD 2)
Jethro Tull Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Original Masters
Jethro Tull Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $7.99
- 7digital $6.99
- iTunes $7.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $80.14
- eBay Search
-
M.U.: The Best of Jethro Tull
Jethro TullBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $57.21
- eBay Search
Shouts
-
keithiebabe wrote:
Massive track, awesome,
-
waterbug5331 wrote:
Tull rules!
-
IRSARGE wrote:
What an " AWESOME " Tune !
-
dorocologne wrote:
I saw them last summer live in Riolo Terme...better than ever before....
-
ringwraith10 wrote:
This song is just f-ing AMAZING.
-
DeadSue wrote:
hey aqualung!
-
artropin wrote:
unique
-
IRSARGE wrote:
First Rate Tune!
-
DJSamG wrote:
First heard this when I was 11 years old and it's always been my favourite Tull album.
-
andygore1 wrote:
one of the greatest bands of all time, absolutely awesome track :-))
-
elina360 wrote:
absolutely love it
-
ghschilder wrote:
like dis man de musiek dan
-
Mothersunn wrote:
tahas love
-
NodeusMaximus wrote:
Been a Tull fan for a very long time. My personal favorite album is "Songs from the Wood" with "Thick as a Brick" a close second. It is, of course, a matter of taste.
-
geoffofBefferly wrote:
I met Ian Anderson in the middle 1970s! Awsom!
-
kemming wrote:
their BEST song
-
traubster wrote:
FEELING LIKE A DEAD DUCK, SPITTING OUT PIECES OF HIS BROKEN LUCK
-
sionborg wrote:
SNOTS RUNNING DOWN HIS NOSE !!!!!!
-
traubster wrote:
SITTING ON THE PARK BENCH, EYING LITTLE GIRLS WITH BAD INTENT!
-
veyita_88 wrote:
December´s foggy freeze
Jethro Tull
Aqualung
full track
Listeners
-
Muumit
Listening now
-
JCaesar007
Listening now
-
Spiderzbr
Listening now
-
TheClockWork
Top Listener
-
Flavitoman
Top Listener
-
CruizinEB
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
SchumpeterFan added Aqualung to their Loved Tracks. 12 minutes ago
-
Mystikvm added Aqualung to Mystikvm’s library. 2 hours ago
-
djlilis, HeadBusta000, Hairball32 and 26 other people loved Jethro Tull – Aqualung. 5 hours ago
-
Weiermann_1 added Aqualung to Weiermann_1’s library. yesterday evening
-
Weiermann_1 added Aqualung to the playlist Hard Rock. yesterday evening
-
LordTammer added Aqualung to his Loved Tracks. yesterday evening
-
kennneee added Aqualung to kennneee’s library. yesterday evening
-
frenchtoast619, lturcotte666, larrry71183 and 1 other person loved Jethro Tull – Aqualung. yesterday evening
-
framinesi added Aqualung to the playlist. yesterday evening
-
hervey80, itskcx, HgKSyko and 1 other person loved Jethro Tull – Aqualung. yesterday evening
Related Journals
-
Last.fm Milestones
by Quique08 |
23 Nov 2009 | Add comment
-
My recommended Songs
by Chris_Gamgee |
20 Oct 2009 | Add comment
-
Ian Anderson Plays Acoustic Jethro Tull
by suzqs |
16 Oct 2009 | 3 comments
