Cup Of Wonder
The Annotated Jethro Tull Lyrics Page

~ Acknowledgements
& Resources ~

"... and me, I'm here to sing along,
and I'm not concerned with righting wrongs,
just asking questions that belong
without an answer ..."

Introduction / Jethro Tull Song List / Jethro Tull Album List / Selected Links On Jethro Tull

For this compilation including the annotations I made use of the following resources:

  • Most of the lyrics were downloaded from The Jethro Tull Website, owned by Dave Steiner. I would like to thank Dave for making this possible.
  • The lyrics were carefully compared to the album covers of the official released JT-albums and to the Jethro Tull Songbook (1981) and reordered to the way Ian sings them on record.
  • Sources for additional information on the lyrics were the respective album covers and booklets. Many comments were sent to me by email. Thanks, guys, and please go on doing so!
  • I would like to thank Kyle Barnett and Mieke van der Greft for their help on reconstructing c.q. deciphering the lyrics of 'So Much Trouble', 'To Be Sad Is A Mad Way To Be' and 'John Barleycorn'. This three song texts, that by my knowledge never have appeared in print before, were added to this page. Special, posthumous thanks go out to Kyle for his encouragement to achieve this work. We intended to do this together and made plans for it last year, but his passing away in June 1998 obstructed our cordial coöperation.
  • As it is my policy to credit every one who in what ever way contributes to this site, it is "with a heavy heart" (no, not horse), that I 'borrowed' photographs from several Tull-sites, as I cannot trace the fan who put them on the web in the first place. If anyone among you owns the original rights and feels I violated them, please email me. The Tull-tree image and button I made myself; they were adapted from the 20 Years Of Jethro Tull - book, that came with the album (Zarkowski-designs).
  • My special thanks go out to Neil R. Thomason, a British fan who constantly comes up with new information and corrections. He helps me out especcially when typical British elements in Ian's lyrics need to be elucidated.
  • The same goes for the information I used from a paper concerning Tull's development, written by Judson C. Caswell. He wrote the astute paper "Minstrel in the gallery, history in the music of Jethro Tull" (1993), published in the SCC. I tried to track him in vain up to now. I took the liberty of using information from his paper without being able to ask his formal permission. So, Jud, if you read this, please contact me.
  • Finally I would like to thank John Benninghouse, the author of the second paper who allowed me to use information from his paper "Songs from the wood, the music and lyrics of Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull". His astute observations provided me with new insights.

~ Awards & About~

'Cup Of Wonder' was selected for the:

CM 
award

This site is my personal tribute to Jethro Tull, the band that in their 31-year existence turned out to be a musical love for life and to their music and lyrics that got so intensely intertwined with my personal history. Back in 1968 I was a 16 year old youngster who in those days could not foresee, that this band would have such an impact. Well, I'm glad it happened.

Ever since I bought Aqualung in 1971 I toyed with the idea to "do something" with these captivating lyrics. I started studying them, making notes, treating these songs like the poetry I had to study for the French, English and Dutch classes I took at that time and that I loved so much.

When I got access to the internet six years ago I noticed to my astonishment that I wasn't the only one who studied Ian's lyrics, for they were discussed there by people from all continents. All these comments and information in newsgroups, forums, websites and by email shouldn't be lost in my opinion. So I started gathering them and while corresponding with my dear Tull-friend Kyle Barnett, who sadly passed away in June 1998, the idea rose to start a project.

The decisive motive for designing my own website however sprang directly from my profession. I work at a teachers' trainings college and therefore am interested in how the internet can contribute to education. So, just to fathom the character of this relatively new medium, I decided to learn myself how to develop an informative website on one subject. Maybe the new acquired skills and experiences could help me when training students in applying the internet for educational purposes in primary education?

The author's identity revealed, while hiking in Cornwall, looking for Heavy Horses and Jack-In-The-Green.

So here it is. "Cup Of Wonder" was designed to offer a possibility to study Ian Anderson's lyrics. Apart from all the songs written between 1968 and 1999 you will find all kinds of background information and comments on the contents of the lyrics, references made in the texts, additional information such as maps, pictures, relevant links to other websites, etc. The site is primary text-based and I added only illustrations where I thought them functional and supporting the annotations.

I want to state that I do not have the pretention to know or understand it all and if I am to be considered an expert on Tull lyrics, remember that I would only be so because of the help of fans from all over the globe. Apart from the factual information presented here, I added many of my personal interpretations. An important feature of Ian's art is that it can be interpreted in many ways. To put it more strongly: there are as many Jethro Tulls as there are Tull-fans.

This site will be permanently under construction, as long as the discussions continue and Jethro Tull keeps on going. Every week new information is added and I have some new features in store for you. If you have any comments, information or remarks, that may lead to appreciate Ian Anderson's lyrics even more than they already do now, please feel free to email me. Once I have found them serious I will add them to the song(s) in question, crediting 'the informer'. I thus hope to create a platform for studying, discussing and most of all enjoying the lyrics of our songsmith and "singer of these ageless times", Ian Anderson.
Enjoy!

JV

Email: Jan Voorbij

10-9-1999