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Post by 2bosse on Nov 21, 2009 21:46:45 GMT -5
Back in 1969, while Bruce Stephens was affiliated with Blue Cheer, he wrote a song called Fillmore Shuffle. For the last 30 years I've been trying to figure out exact what is the "Fillmore Shuffle"??
Does anyone know? Is it some sort of LSD trip people took in the Fillmore area of San Francisco in the 60? Or, is it when your girlfriend dumps you because you won’t quit trippin’ on LSD? Or, is it something else all together?
Fillmore Shuffle Lyrics:
I often wonder how the Fillmore Shuffle
caught us both in the very same year.
I guess we were foolish, but so glad to do it
face down in the hallway, but never any tears.
The first one to go was sweet William.
I guess we should, we should have been warned
but it felt so good to be quittin'
We thought we were causing nobody any harm
So we kept lying to each other saying
"I'm gonna quit it tomorrow," but tomorrow never comes
"I'll quit it tomorrow," but tomorrow never comes
Tomorrow never comes
and I guess our life reads just a novel
though we both keep hoping for so much more.
We keep on tryin' to understand
why we keep on livin', livin' this way.
Tryin' to keep thinks together is the reason I stay.
And she says to me, "Baby, honey, I feel so bad."
Then she goes out walkin' and she stays out so late
And I know where she's goin', to myself, I say...
Call it the Fillmore Shuffle
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Post by rowenafair on Nov 21, 2009 22:27:25 GMT -5
put it this way, 2bosse, by 69 most of us had moved on from acid...those that were onto it in the early days anyways. and the fillmore district which was torn up and "renovated" long ago now, was largely a "black" neighbourhood.
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Post by frankenpint on Nov 21, 2009 23:05:36 GMT -5
Oh, so you're some kinda racist then, Rowenafaire? I guess I'm not surprised.....
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Post by ericalbronda on Nov 22, 2009 1:22:40 GMT -5
Some of the Blue Cheer family as it widely known were not saints---I would never wish the tragedy of severe hard drug addiction on anybody---That being said --Bruce's ex girlfriend Sandy unfortunately OD'd and sadly died lesving Bruce hart broken and alone at the time. There was this this old black man named "Specks " that could cop dope any hour and anytime usually as he was black and trusted by that very exclusive "Club" if you will, that existed in the Fllmore district of San Francisco---"Specks was older and walked or "Shuffled " along with the use of a cane.---therefore the title of the Song----Sweet William was another of Bruce's friends that left the world by an OD-
very sad and tragic
"I'm gonna quit it tomorrow," but tomorrow never comes
"I'll quit it tomorrow," but tomorrow never comes
Tomorrow never comes""
THE ABOVE LINES ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE LONG AND TERRIBLE BATTLE OF SERIOUS ADDICTION OR DEPENDENCE IF YOU WILL WITH THE REPEATED ATTEMPTS AND PROMISES TO ONESELF THAT THEY WILL QUIT IT TOMORROW BUT SADLY "TOMORROW NEVER COMES."
ESSENTIALLY "FILLMORE SHUFFLE" IS THE HEAVIEST DOPE SONG EVER RECORDED IN MY SAD AND CRYING EYES.
ERIC
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Post by FeedbackLourde on Nov 22, 2009 11:36:02 GMT -5
When I interviewed Dickie back in 2005, we discussed the tune Doctor Please, which I mentioned appeared to be the antithesis of White Rabbit: the dark side of drug use as opposed to the happy hippie trip of chasing little pink bunnies down the looking glass. Dickie responded that Doctor Please was about the dark side of drugs and that at the time he wrote it, he was so into smack that he didn't realize that he had a monster growing inside him, that at the time it was a romantic drug anthem (which is a great portrayal of the reality of early addiction). For a time afterwards, when he cleaned up, he wouldn't play the tune until he realized that it was still a part of him but with a new meaning---it became an anti-drug song. Throughout his life, the song stood strong and rather than get dated it grew with him. He was particularly proud of this tune and to me, this song musically & lyrically is the epitome of what Blue Cheer was all about, good & bad!
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Post by 2bosse on Nov 22, 2009 13:51:44 GMT -5
Thank you ericalbronda and FeedbackLourde. Your responses are very informative and helpful. I was always confused by this song because Sammy Hagar's cover is is quite an upbeat and catchy tune. Yet, the lyrics seemed to imply something much deeper and darker. I personally have only know only one person in my life who has OD'd... it was really hard to accept and deal with. I can't imagine the grief of multiple friends leaving the world in this way.
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Post by rowenafair on Nov 22, 2009 17:50:53 GMT -5
okay frankenpint, not that it is any of your business, but the mention of the "colour" of the fillmore district was a clue for 2bosse. in the olden days you didn't find smack in the local starbucks with the middle class users. you had to go where it was. and though there were white and other colours there too, the fillmore was a rundown, mainly black neighbourhood. my grandson's OTHER grandmother was evacuated out of there when they tore it down. just talking facts.
but somehow i'm not surprised that you would take it that way.
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Post by rowenafair on Nov 22, 2009 18:30:19 GMT -5
and eio, yes, it was fun in the looking glass, and a lot of other things too!!
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Post by featheredfish on Nov 22, 2009 19:14:09 GMT -5
I never saw any pink bunnies, but I had SCREAMING TREES chasing me.
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Post by rowenafair on Nov 22, 2009 19:52:05 GMT -5
lol, FF, that would be one of the other things! mind you i never thought "feed your head" was all about fun, and the looking glass could be pretty deforming too at times...
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dc45
New Member
Posts: 1
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Post by dc45 on Sept 23, 2012 12:33:53 GMT -5
I stumbled on this while looking for the same reason everyone else was; The meaning behind the song "Fillmore Shuffle". Before I knew any of this information I listened to this song over and over back in the early 80's. I never knew exactly what it meant, but I had a good idea. At that time in my young life, I was dating a girl, and we were both heading down a very very wrong road doing meth and smoking pot. The words to this song had a direct reflection to the situation I was in at the time. We even had a friend who OD'd on meth at the time. I bet I said these words a million times: "We thought we were causing nobody any harm So we kept lying to each other saying;
"I'm gonna quit it tomorrow," but tomorrow never comes
"I'll quit it tomorrow," but tomorrow never comes Tomorrow never comes" After about 5 years of that lifestyle, I finally quit the drugs, I joined the military, I did 7 overseas tours (4 combat) and then retired after 25 years of service. I have no idea what happened to the girl. I will NEVER forget how good those drugs made me feel ..... I have found many other things in life that can get you you just as high. My Tomorrow finally came !! Thanks to all for helping clear up the meaning of this song. |
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