The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil
| "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Jefferson Airplane | ||||
| from the album After Bathing at Baxter's | ||||
| B-side | "Two Heads" | |||
| Released | August 1967 | |||
| Format | Vinyl record (7") 45 RPM | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 4:29 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Writer(s) | Paul Kantner | |||
| Producer(s) | Al Schmitt | |||
| Jefferson Airplane singles chronology | ||||
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"The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" is a song by American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane. Written by Paul Kantner, the song initially appeared as an RCA single, and then subsequently as the first track of their third album, After Bathing at Baxter's in a substantially remixed version.
The title of the song refers to Winnie the Pooh as well as folk singer Fred Neil: parts of the lyric are taken from A. A. Milne's first book of children's poetry When We Were Very Young. The first four lines of both the first and last verses are taken almost word-for-word from the poem "Spring Morning" in the book. Another source was the Milne's poem "Halfway Down," the source of the third verse's lines "Halfway down the stair / Is a stair where I sit." Folksinger Neil was a big influence on Paul Kantner as were A.A. Milne's books.
Mojo described "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil" as a "robust harmony-drenched anthem" that was central to After Bathing at Baxter's.[1] Live versions of the song typically began with an extended feedback segment by guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and included a bass solo by Jack Casady after the second verse, often lasting several minutes. Both features are included in very abbreviated form on the studio recording.
References
- ↑ The Mojo Collection (4th ed.). Canongate. 2007. p. 108. ISBN 9781847676436.