... from "Todd in the Shadows", a silhouetted figure who examines in detail past hits by artists who had no other hits.
Maybe I like this one so much because Todd and I reach the same conclusion - the song's lyrics make no sense. Made as the theme song for 1971's surprise hit film, "Billy Jack", it talks about how valley people demand the treasure of the mountain people who just give it up for the valley people, but then are slaughtered anyways by the valley people, who then discover the treasure is...a rock with a message on it? Todd's conclusion - "The moral of the story is to fight to the death, because the mountain people got slaughtered in spite of their passivity. Besides the mountain people had the high ground!" I laughed at this because in 1971 I was one of the few 13 year olds that listened to lyrics and I came to the same conclusion. What can I say, I am and always have been tragically weird.
Besides this, we get an analysis of the history of the band Coven. They were originally a band whose performances included Satanism and then along came Manson, so Mercury Records sent them in a new direction due to the resulting bad timing. They had one hit song and then basically Coven broke up and never really had another hit. Todd's conclusion - their original sound was just ahead of its time.
In the comment section of the youtube video there is an interesting alternative theory by someone who says she is the daughter of Coven's guitarist. She says that the reason Coven fizzled were legal issues with the band's manager over royalties. She also says that the satanism was totally theatrical for her dad and for Oz, the bassist. She said she cannot speak to the beliefs of lead singer Jinx Dawson, though.
Sometimes the best part of youtube videos are some of the comments. But this segment of One Hit Wonders is truly a jewel.
Maybe I like this one so much because Todd and I reach the same conclusion - the song's lyrics make no sense. Made as the theme song for 1971's surprise hit film, "Billy Jack", it talks about how valley people demand the treasure of the mountain people who just give it up for the valley people, but then are slaughtered anyways by the valley people, who then discover the treasure is...a rock with a message on it? Todd's conclusion - "The moral of the story is to fight to the death, because the mountain people got slaughtered in spite of their passivity. Besides the mountain people had the high ground!" I laughed at this because in 1971 I was one of the few 13 year olds that listened to lyrics and I came to the same conclusion. What can I say, I am and always have been tragically weird.
Besides this, we get an analysis of the history of the band Coven. They were originally a band whose performances included Satanism and then along came Manson, so Mercury Records sent them in a new direction due to the resulting bad timing. They had one hit song and then basically Coven broke up and never really had another hit. Todd's conclusion - their original sound was just ahead of its time.
In the comment section of the youtube video there is an interesting alternative theory by someone who says she is the daughter of Coven's guitarist. She says that the reason Coven fizzled were legal issues with the band's manager over royalties. She also says that the satanism was totally theatrical for her dad and for Oz, the bassist. She said she cannot speak to the beliefs of lead singer Jinx Dawson, though.
Sometimes the best part of youtube videos are some of the comments. But this segment of One Hit Wonders is truly a jewel.
