Moving on from Johnny Cash's Hurt, we return to an upbeat, colourful song about mental health problems, penned by the eccentric Roy Wood, who later of course, became a hirsute star of Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. Recorded in 1967 for the The Move's first album in 1968, and very much at the height of psychedelic rock, the scene is described by someone confined to hospital with fantastic hallucinations, and includes reference to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. It's a catchy number, but of course has a darker edge where reality is blurred and shrouded in paranoia. Produced by Tony Visconti, with brass arrangements on the album. The version below is from a BBC session, and the B-side of The Girl Outside. The band also did a 'Revisited version in 1970.
Discovered that the papers have been signed
To my bed I am confined
Owing to my state of mind
Special food for thought I must be fed
The authorities have said I'm going off my head.
Suddenly from flowered skies
Twenty thousand butterflies
Glorify my bed and leave the room,
Turn from hot to very cool
Though it seems incredible
I could ride a bike around the moon.
Cherry blossom clinic
Is there any truth in what they say.
Cherry blossom clinic
Lock me in and throw the key away.
In this sad position where I lie
From the corner of my eye
Callous friends just pass me by.
Doctor pays a visit
Everyday I keep asking for my dad
They must think I'm going mad.
Lift the blankets off my face
Quick before I suffocate
Trying hard to meditate.
Tell the people, "what a scene"
Write a letter to the queen
Asking her if she can come to tea.
Cherry blossom clinic
Is there any truth in what they say.
Cherry blossom clinic
Lock me in and throw the key away.
Up above the sun is high
Like a tea tray in the sky
Helicopter lands upon my bed.
Phantom horses quickly fade
Turning into lemonade
Probably feel better when I'm dead.
Cherry blossom clinic
Is there any truth in what they say.
Cherry blossom clinic
Lock me in and throw the key away.
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