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Post by TM on Dec 1, 2009 13:55:41 GMT -5
Anyone want to take a stab at this one?
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Cup of Wondering
Claghornist
Teacher
"I tried to catch my eye but I looked the other way"
Posts: 48
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Post by Cup of Wondering on Dec 1, 2009 16:40:11 GMT -5
Pibroch is Scottish slang for pee brake. It refers to Ian leaving the stage to Martin to do his guitar solo part.
Cheers,
jan
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Post by TM on Dec 1, 2009 17:29:35 GMT -5
Pibroch is Scottish slang for pee brake. It refers to Ian leaving the stage to Martin to do his guitar solo part. Cheers, jan Interesting. I know Ian mentioned that...probably on the 20th anniversary issue, but I thought that was just in jest. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Dec 1, 2009 18:44:08 GMT -5
Pibroch is Scottish slang for pee brake. It refers to Ian leaving the stage to Martin to do his guitar solo part. Cheers, jan Interesting. I know Ian mentioned that...probably on the 20th anniversary issue, but I thought that was just in jest. may be wrong but isn't a pibroch, a short piece of music for bagpipes |
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Post by Nonfatman on Dec 1, 2009 21:31:29 GMT -5
Anyone want to take a stab at this one? Okay, so I guess Pibroch is our featured song of the week, and, I might add, a fine choice. Very interesting song. But before we move on completely from Orion the question that I still have is, are the strings/orchestration on that song (and on that album) real or are they synthesizers? David Palmer is given credit for "orchestral arrangements" but nothing is said about who played those parts, which leads me to believe that they are synths. (They sound real to me though.) Jeff |
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Post by Lordiffyboatrace on Dec 3, 2009 21:23:22 GMT -5
I have to add my 2 cents worth on this as it is one of my fave songs of perhaps my fave tull album. Im scottish and ive never heard that pibroch is slang for pee break. as far as i know ian made that comment as a play on words due to the upcoming instrumental passage on that show. A pibroch is a piece of traditional scottish bagpipe music, usually in the form of a lament. in my view perhaps the lament in question in the song is the depression felt by the character that the woman he has gone to visit is being "visited" by another man!  |
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Post by Nonfatman on Dec 3, 2009 21:34:01 GMT -5
I have to add my 2 cents worth on this as it is one of my fave songs of perhaps my fave tull album. Im scottish and ive never heard that pibroch is slang for pee break. as far as i know ian made that comment as a play on words due to the upcoming instrumental passage on that show. A pibroch is a piece of traditional scottish bagpipe music, usually in the form of a lament. in my view perhaps the lament in question in the song is the depression felt by the character that the woman he has gone to visit is being "visited" by another man! I believe you're correct in saying that Pee-break is a play on words rather than a slang expression. Jeff |
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Post by Lordiffyboatrace on Dec 3, 2009 21:54:44 GMT -5
I really love the instrumental section in the middle of this song as well with the acoustic guitar and flute and whistle
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Post by Nonfatman on Dec 3, 2009 22:05:01 GMT -5
I really love the instrumental section in the middle of this song as well with the acoustic guitar and flute and whistle Yes, Dave, I love the baroque feel of that instrumental passage, the harpsichord and pipe organ, and the great flute/whistle solo. It's a beautiful song, so melancholy which fits the sadness of the lyrics so well. I think on that song, perhaps above all others, the influence of David Palmer is felt. Recently, I had an opportunity to listen to Stormwatch, which also contains wonderful orchestration, followed directly by Broadsword and then Rock Island. I think you might guess which album got the better of the three....by far. And then it hit me. After Stormwatch and A, there were no more strings in Tull (except for the Sanders bit in Budapest)! I think that is one of many reasons I prefer A over Broadsword, because on A at least you had a lot of excellent violin playing by Eddie Jobson. I think that if Tull ever do resume their recording career, it should with a permanent violinist or violaist, as Ian has been doing on the last few solo tours. Jeff |
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Post by Lordiffyboatrace on Dec 3, 2009 22:10:04 GMT -5
I think you have a point there Jeff, I had never really considered that angle before. I personally feel Tull became too synthesized in the 1980s and tinkered with electronics too much.
But that may be an opinion not shared by the majority of board members here of course.
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Post by Nonfatman on Dec 3, 2009 22:22:50 GMT -5
I think you have a point there Jeff, I had never really considered that angle before. I personally feel Tull became too synthesized in the 1980s and tinkered with electronics too much. But that may be an opinion not shared by the majority of board members here of course. I think the electronics worked on A, which was a very effective album in achieving what it set out to do. The music creates a scary, chilling atmosphere, and it's a much more serious progressive rock album than Broadsword, which was so slick and commercial in its radio-friendly approach. I did not care for the Broadsword album very much....I think it's Tull's worst....although like any Tull album it has great moments too, and some pretty good lyrics in places (along with some bad ones in other places.) The other electronic album, UW, has some excellent material, and I prefer it over Broadsword, except I hate the excessive use of drum machines. Jeff |
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Cup of Wondering
Claghornist
Teacher
"I tried to catch my eye but I looked the other way"
Posts: 48
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Post by Cup of Wondering on Dec 4, 2009 10:39:22 GMT -5
I have to add my 2 cents worth on this as it is one of my fave songs of perhaps my fave tull album. Im scottish and ive never heard that pibroch is slang for pee break. as far as i know ian made that comment as a play on words due to the upcoming instrumental passage on that show. A pibroch is a piece of traditional scottish bagpipe music, usually in the form of a lament. in my view perhaps the lament in question in the song is the depression felt by the character that the woman he has gone to visit is being "visited" by another man! Thanks for the correction. jan |
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Post by Nonfatman on Jan 6, 2010 10:54:18 GMT -5
When SFTW first came out, Pibroch was probably my least favorite song on the album, but it has grown on me over the years, to the point where it's my second or third favorite on this album.
I like the idea of the poor and unsophisticated country bumpkin, who speaks some kind of unrecognizable Celtic dialect, who falls in love, from afar, with a woman from another class of society. He trudges to her house, with each step seemingly taking half of a lifetime, presumably to ask her on a date. But when he gets there he looks into the dining room window and sees that she's obviously involved with another man, and is heartbroken, but then in the final lines, Ian envisages himself as that country man, where he sings "I turn and walk away."
The theme of the simple country man who falls in love and/or lust with the aristocratic young woman is repeated in different ways on SFTW in Hunting Girl, where the country bumpkin is seduced by the equestrian female, and also on Velvet Green, where the country man successfully seduces the naive upper class girl even after warning her that her reputation and "all that she's worth" is at stake.
Ian often writes songs about unrequited love. Pibroch is one example, but there are many others including Witch's Promise, Singing All Day, Said She Was a Dancer, Teacher, A Hand of Thumbs, etc. I also found it interesting that more recently, on First Snow in Brooklyn, there is an echo of the Pibroch theme of going to the woman's house and looking through her window, only to leave in despair when he sees that she's with someone else.
I always had the feeling from Ian's unrequited love songs that when he was younger he was sensitive and shy with women, and that he had some painful break-ups. I could be totally off base with that because I have found that Ian does not necessarily have to personally experience certain feelings in order to be able to write about those feelings. A perfect example of this is A Time for Everything, when a 23 year-old Ian wrote a terrific song about a 50 year-old man who looks back on his life with sorrow and regret.
Jeff
P.S. Next up here on Look Into the Song: Baker Street Muse, as requested by Dave a/k/a our very own Lordiffyboatrace!
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Post by TM on Jan 8, 2010 15:21:59 GMT -5
So few lyrics for this one. But it's a pretty amazing song musically with its amalgam of styles and influences.
As for the message - I get the impression the relationship may have advanced a bit beyond the dating stage simply because of the reference to the 'strange' boots and slippers, and also because of the mood and complexity of the music. But of course you never know.
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Post by macdaigh on Dec 25, 2011 17:16:26 GMT -5
The linguistic moment : it seems to me the word pibroch comes from gaelic Piobaireachd meaning both the art and the act of playing bagpipe, the occupation of a piper, a pipe tune and, finally, music peculiar to the bagpipe. nothing to do with a pee break then. ;D that was the unnecessary one year late 2 cents reply. ;D Thanks for your attention. |
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Post by Morthoron on Dec 25, 2011 20:55:26 GMT -5
When SFTW first came out, Pibroch was probably my least favorite song on the album, but it has grown on me over the years, to the point where it's my second or third favorite on this album. I like the idea of the poor and unsophisticated country bumpkin, who speaks some kind of unrecognizable Celtic dialect, who falls in love, from afar, with a woman from another class of society. He trudges to her house, with each step seemingly taking half of a lifetime, presumably to ask her on a date. But when he gets there he looks into the dining room window and sees that she's obviously involved with another man, and is heartbroken, but then in the final lines, Ian envisages himself as that country man, where he sings "I turn and walk away." I'll have to disagree with your assessment of the song, Jeff. The man in question (with cap in hand) is not a "lover from afar"; on the contrary, based on the lyrics it seems to me that he was once the woman's lover or husband, but left for some untold reason, and is returning after a long time gone. The specific lyric: So he bundles his regrets
Into a gesture of sorrowis the most important aspect of my line of thought, Indicating that he messed up somewhere down the line and is seeking to amend the love that once was. A man who has an unrequited love for someone above his station would not have regrets, only hopes. I think you are referring to the lines: And each step he takes
Is like one half of a lifetime
No word he can say
That you'll understand"One half of a lifetime" could well indicate the space of time he's been away, and "No word he can say/That you'll understand" may refer to the fact that no explanation he can give will make any sense for his departure and the length of time he was gone. He comes to the realization that he cannot pick up the relationship that he once had when he sees "Strange slippers by the fire/Strange boots in the hallway" (they can only be "strange" if they don't belong and are not his), and knowing that the woman is married or remarried (I would assume that the antique style of the story does not lend itself to the more modern idea of a couple just shacking up), he leaves sadly without intruding further - his second chance gone. That's my interpretation anyways. And I'm sticking to it.  |
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Oldghost
Ethnic Piano Accordian-ist
Posts: 114
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Post by Oldghost on Feb 10, 2012 15:18:38 GMT -5
Whatever it means and whatever might be behind the lyrics, Pibroch is in some inexplicable way my favourite Tull piece....amen!
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Post by My God on Feb 11, 2012 11:43:31 GMT -5
Whatever it means and whatever might be behind the lyrics, Pibroch is in some inexplicable way my favourite Tull piece....amen! Loved Martin's guitar on that one.  And every breath he takes, is one half of a lifetime. |
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Post by egrorian on Feb 11, 2012 14:25:45 GMT -5
Funny how we all see things differently - personallly, Pibroch is easily my least favourite on Songs from the Wood. I like it okay but it is the only track that I don't think is outstanding - heresy perhaps but I've always felt it seemed too heavy and a little out of place on the album.
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Oldghost
Ethnic Piano Accordian-ist
Posts: 114
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Post by Oldghost on Feb 11, 2012 18:49:54 GMT -5
Funny how we all see things differently - personallly, Pibroch is easily my least favourite on Songs from the Wood. I like it okay but it is the only track that I don't think is outstanding - heresy perhaps but I've always felt it seemed too heavy and a little out of place on the album. Exactly....it sounds incredibly heavy within the main theme, and yet still preserves that rustic, rural feel of the album which is an inexplicable magic of this antithesis work, so at least to me it`s miles away from seeing it as out of place. |
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Sparty
One of the Youngest of the Family
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Post by Sparty on Mar 20, 2015 7:45:26 GMT -5
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Sparty
One of the Youngest of the Family
Posts: 73
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Post by Sparty on Mar 20, 2015 7:48:35 GMT -5
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Post by Biggles on Mar 20, 2015 20:44:06 GMT -5
Oops! An old woman, no particularly adept in Tull Board technologies. Let's try this again. Pibroch (Shower Cap in Hand): staceyclarksoprano.wordpress.com/2014/01/25/pibroch-cap-in-hand/.
Voyeuristically speaking, I enjoyed that! Excuse me.. I need to take a shower now.
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Post by Biggles on Mar 20, 2015 20:45:55 GMT -5
Pibroch is Scottish slang for pee brake. It refers to Ian leaving the stage to Martin to do his guitar solo part. Cheers, jan Interesting. I know Ian mentioned that...probably on the 20th anniversary issue, but I thought that was just in jest. Yeah, me too! |
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Post by Geoff CB on Mar 21, 2015 18:47:46 GMT -5
Wow!
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