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The 5000 Spirits or the Layers of the Onion is the second LP by The Incredible String
Band, released in 1967. Since recording their debut album the previous year, the band had been reduced to two following the
departure of Clive Palmer. The remaining members, Mike Heron and Robin Williamson, produced The 5000 Spirits in a similarly
whimsical vein, employing lyrical references to talking clouds and a magic Christmas tree, amongst other things.
The album's lyrics, and the band's various Indian instruments and the striking
cover art, lead to it being placed as a psychedelic work. The music
itself, however, draws more widely on traditional British folk music.
Rowan Williams chose the album's "The Hedgehog's Song" for his 2002 appearance on Desert Island Discs. [1]
The
Hedgehog's Song
(Mike Heron)
I'm
not the kind to complain
That I never had a girl to love.
Many a fine girl I tried hard to know,
But I think I never
tried enough.
Sitting one day by myself,
And I'm thinking, "What could be wrong?"
When this funny little Hedgehog
comes running up to me,
And it starts up to sing me this song.
Oh, you know all the words, and you sung all the
notes,
But you never quite learned the song, she sang.
I can tell by the sadness in your eyes,
That you never quite
learned the song.
Every day when the sun go down,
And the evening is so very still,
Many a fine girl I've held
in my arms,
And I hope there's many more that I will,
But just when everything is going fine,
And absolutely nothing
is wrong,
This funny little Hedgehog's always around
And every time he wants to sing me this song.
Oh, you know
all the words, and you sung all the notes,
But you never quite learned the song, she sang.
I can tell by the sadness
in your eyes,
That you never quite learned the song.
One day when the moon was full I thought I might settle down,
Found
myself a pretty little girl,
And I stopped all my running around;
But just when the preacher come along,
And he's
just gonna pop on the ring,
This funny little Hedgehog comes
running down the aisle,
And I don't have to tell you
what he did sing.
Oh, you know all the words, and you sung all the notes,
But you never quite learned the song,
she sang.
I can tell by the sadness in your eyes,
That you never quite learned the song.
I'm not the kind to
complain
That I never had a girl to love;
Many fine girls I've tried hard to know,
But I think I never tried
enough.
But now I'll be looking all my days,
And it isn't just me I got to please,
There's this funny little Hedgehog
Who's
always around,
And the only words he ever sings to me are these.
Oh, you know all the words and you sung all the notes,
But
you never quite learned the song, she sang.
I can tell by the sadness in your eyes,
That you never quite learned the
song.
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