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Rating: "What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid," the debut album of Philip Donovan Leitch, was overall a fresh and pleasant product: good/great songs, albeit with a somewhat rough and derivative style from an artist still immature, and especially that blessed/cursed "Catch The Wind," which would bring good Philip immediate success, but also lead to incoherent, hasty, and indefensible comparisons invented by a music press already then in search of figures to build, presumed feuds, rivalries, and dualisms. For the mild and reserved Donovan, there was no better way to break free from uncomfortable and unpleasant labels than to evolve, to develop a precise artistic identity: albums like the eclectic "Sunshine Superman" with its oriental influences and the delicate sound watercolors of "A Gift From A Flower To A Garden," a fundamental album for pop as well as for psychedelia, would be the final destination of a path that begins immediately with the second record, "Fairytale" of 1965.
This remarkable album sees Donovan abandon the American-like ambitions of the debut to focus on a more European, more British sound: "Fairytale" is apparently a more homogeneous product than the previous one, containing more mature and personal insights. The album is almost entirely written by Donovan himself and settles on folk sounds, still strictly acoustic, with some preamble of psychedelia beginning to emerge, and a calm and meditative atmosphere, easily noticeable from the beautiful cover photo depicting the disheveled Scottish boy in a dreamy and thoughtful pose.
The showpiece of "Fairytale" is what would become the second great classic of Our Man after "Catch The Wind," that is, "Colours", a simple and crystalline acoustic folk ballad, enhanced by the artist's soft and subtle voice, which would be revisited in a duet with an ever-splendid Joan Baez; "Colours" is perhaps the song that most connects to the sounds of "What's Bin Did And What's Bin Hid," while "Summer Day Reflection Song", "Jersey Thursday", and "Belated Forgiveness Plea" manage to express, even with an absolute economy of means, practically almost only with Philip’s acoustic guitar, exotic, psychedelic, and distant atmospheres.
The short and amusing nursery rhyme "Circus Of Sour" is almost an embryo of ingenious pop refrains like "Skip-A-Long Sam" and "Little Boy In Corduroy" that would follow in a few years, the visionary "Sunny Goodge Street" is an enchanted and hallucinated urban portrait, enriched by a sibylline flute and a timid orchestral arrangement, while the ballad "To Try For The Sun", delicate and dreamy, is inspired by more intimate and personal reflections and sentiments, and stands out for the use of a sharp harmonica, which also appears in the carefree "Candy Man", a folk-pop divertissement, but more mature, more personal, and better constructed than those of the previous album.
Among so many beautiful songs, the lyrical intensity of "The Ballad Of A Crystal Man" stands out, here too a mix of folk and psychedelia, a beautiful committed and pacifist text wonderfully interpreted by a voice that, far from being amazing and equipped with some unknown range, manages, however, to always be empathetic and moving, as also demonstrated by the sparser and essential "Little Tin Soldier", pressing and ruthless. Completing the picture is the sentimental, serene female portrait of "The Ballad Of Geraldine".
"Fairytale" is certainly not the most mature album of Donovan, but in my opinion, it is perhaps the most beautiful overall because it is a product of great personality, from an artist who has finally decided what he wants to become, the level of inspiration is extremely high, almost all the songs sound like great classics, showcasing a Donovan who expresses all his abilities as an underrated genius of melody and a great sensitivity in the lyrics; an album that finds an absolutely perfect balance between simplicity and refinement; an alchemy that only artists of pure class like Phil Donovan have been able to achieve.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Colours (02:48)
Yellow is the colour of my true love's hair,
In the morning, when we rise,
In the morning, when we rise.
That's the time, that's the time,
I love the best.
Green's the colour of the sparklin' corn,
In the morning, when we rise,
In the morning, when we rise.
That's the time, that's the time,
I love the best.
Blue's the colour of the sky-y,
In the morning, when we rise,
In the morning, when we rise.
That's the time, that's the time,
I love the best.
Mellow is the feeling that I get,
When I see her, m-hmm,
When I see her, oh yeah.
That's the time, that's the time,
I love the best.
Freedom is a word I rarely use,
Without thinking, oh yeah,
Without thinking, m-hmm.
Of the time, of the time,
When I've been loved.
Yellow is the colour of my true love's hair,
In the morning, when we rise,
In the morning, when we rise.
That's the time, that's the time,
I love the best.
02 To Try For The Sun (03:39)
From the album fairytale
We stood in the windy city,
The gypsy boy and I.
We slept on the breeze in the midnight
With the rain droppin' tears in our eyes.
And who's going to be the one
To say it was no good what we done?
I dare a man to say I'm too young,
For I'm going to try for the sun.
We huddled in a derelict building
And when he thought I was asleep
He laid his poor coat round my shoulder,
And shivered there beside me in a heap.
And who's going to be the one
To say it was no good what we done?
I dare a man to say I'm too young,
For I'm going to try for the sun.
We sang and cracked the sky with laughter,
Our breath turned to mist in the cold.
Our years put together count to thirty,
But our eyes told the dawn we were old.
And who's going to be the one
To say it was no good what we done ?
I dare a man to say I'm too young,
For I'm going to try for the sun.
Mirror, mirror, hanging in the sky,
Won't you look down what's happening here below?
I stand here singing to the flowers,
So very few people really know.
And who's going to be the one
To say it was no good what we done?
I dare a man to say I'm too young,
For I'm going to try for the sun.
We stood in the windy city
The gypsy boy and I.
We slept on the breeze in the midnight,
With the rain droppin' tears in our eyes.
And who's going to be the one
To say it was no good what we done ?
I dare a man to say I'm too young,
For I'm going to try for the sun.
03 Sunny Goodge Street (02:58)
From the album fairytale
On the firefly platform on sunny Goodge Street
Violent hash-smoker shook a chocolate machine
Involved in an eating scene.
Smashing into neon streets in their stillness
Smearing their eyes on the crazy Kali goddess
Listenin' to sounds of Mingus mellow fantastic.
My, my, they sigh
My, my, they sigh
In dull house rooms with coloured lights swingin'
Strange music boxes sadly tinklin'
Drink in the sun shining all around you.
My, my, they sigh
My, my, they sigh
The magician, he sparkles in satin and velvet,
You gaze at his splendour with eyes you've not used yet.
I tell you his name is Love, Love, Love.
My, my, they sigh
My, my, they sigh
My, my, they sigh
04 Oh Deed I Do (02:09)
From the album fairytale
Now, it makes no difference what you do, I love you, babe.
Well, I need your lovin', I need it bad, oh deed I do.
Now, you don't believe me when I say I love you, babe.
I wanna know the score, all I want is more, oh deed I do.
I wanna lay you down, prove to you I love you, babe.
I wanna turn you on to my lovin', babe, Oh deed I do.
I got the blues like a Gypsy Dave never has, babe.
I got a jealous dream of losing you, oh deed I have.
Now I can never say I'd ever miss you, gal,
'Cause I'm proud as a king, I wanna hear you saying "Oh deed I do."
Won't you break my mind and take your time to love me, babe.
You've shattered my brain with a mean saying, oh deed you have.
And you've taken every thought of love I'm thinkin', babe,
you've hung them high, gonna let them dry beneath the sun.
I'm gonna bend the bones that hold my blues together, babe.
I'm gonna stretch the string that my troubles bring to me each night.
I'm gonna sing a song with words that say I love you, babe.
I say I need your lovin' and need it bad, Oh deed I do.
Now, it makes no difference what you do, I love you, babe.
Well, I need your lovin', I need it bad, oh deed I do.
05 Circus Of Sour (01:54)
From the album fairytale
Circus of Sour,
Holds shows every hour,
The lion is eating the bars, hey the bars.
I was erected,
The poor man is expected
To climb to the stars
Balanced just on one knee.
Look out your window and see,
Look out your window and see.
The clown chases spotlights,
The bear faces hot lights
Pelted with peanuts and coke, hey the coke.
And high in the tent-top
The lady just went up
To hang by a rope
From her teeth gracefully.
Look out your window and see,
Look out your window and see.
Admission is paid up
Until you are laid up,
There's only one catch to the fun, hey the fun.
To hell if you're willin',
Your name's on the billing
And it seems that you're wanted
In ring number three.
Look out your window and see,
I look out my window and see,
I look out my window and see, coa coa.
06 The Summer Day Reflection Song (02:15)
Cat's a-sleeping in the sun,
Eyes take heed the colours call.
Sunlight patterns touch the wall,
Red kerchiefs sail and fall,
Cat's a sleeping in the sun.
Dragon kite in the sky,
Wheel and turns, spin and fly,
Attacked by rooks and never fail
To cry the sound of fairy tales.
The cat is walkin' in the sun.
All the pebbles I have seen,
Precious stones for Colleen.
Every minute I pass through
With the grooves spent with you.
The cat is yawning in the sun.
Jewelled castles I have built
With freak feelings of guilt.
And the words stab to the hilt,
Pick the flower and it will wilt,
Cat's a-shifting in the sun.
Marionette dangles death
Insensitivity is fed.
By the TV wizard's wand
Once in the spell you're conned,
Cat's a-smiling in the sun.
Cat's a-smiling in the sun,
Eyes take heed the colours call.
Sunlight patterns touch the wall,
Red kerchiefs sail and fall,
Cat's a-smiling in to me.
08 Jersey Thursday (02:15)
"In a tiny piece of colored glass
My love was born
And reds and golds and yellows
Were the colors in the dawn
Night brought on its purple cloak
Of velvet to the sky
And the girls were wheeling, spinning
On jersey Thursday
In a tiny piece of colored glass
My love was born
And reds and golds and yellows
Were the colors in the dawn
Night brought on its purple cloak
Of velvet to the sky
And the girls were wheeling, spinning
On jersey Thursday"
09 Belated Forgiveness Plea (02:59)
From the album fairytale
As a pilgrim I did go
To a land that I did know,
To the shores of Trist la Cal,
To see if I still felt
The same.
And the sun blazed madly insane,
But the seagulls they have gone,
The seagulls they have gone.
I searched the sand for sound,
My eyes forced to the ground.
The wind it laughed wild and shrill,
My heart it tried to spill
Its crazy tears.
There is nothing left for me now
For the seagulls, they have gone,
The seagulls, they have gone.
I stand both young and old
But the winds of time blow cold.
This much you must believe:
It pains to see you grieve.
I pity you,
But there is nothing that I can do
For the seagulls, they have gone,
The seagulls, they have gone.
As a pilgrim I did go
To a land that I did know,
To the shores of Trist la Cal,
To see if I still felt
The same.
And the sun blazed madly insane,
But the seagulls, they have gone,
The seagulls, they have gone.
13 Universal Soldier (02:15)
He's five foot-two, and he's six feet-four,
He fights with missiles and with spears.
He's all of thirty-one, and he's only seventeen,
Been a soldier for a thousand years.
He'a a Catholic, a Hindu, an Atheist, a Jain,
A Buddhist and a Baptist and a Jew.
And he knows he shouldn't kill,
And he knows he always will,
Kill you for me my friend and me for you.
And he's fighting for Canada,
He's fighting for France,
He's fighting for the USA,
And he's fighting for the Russians,
And he's fighting for Japan,
And he thinks we'll put an end to war this way.
And he's fighting for Democracy,
He's fighting for the Reds,
He says it's for the peace of all.
He's the one who must decide,
Who's to live and who's to die,
And he never sees the writing on the wall.
But without him,
How would Hitler have condemned them at Dachau?
Without him Caesar would have stood alone,
He's the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war,
And without him all this killing can't go on.
He's the Universal Soldier and he really is to blame,
His orders come from far away no more,
They come from here and there and you and me,
And brothers can't you see,
This is not the way we put the end to war.
Chords:- F,G7,C,Am Dm,Em
15 The War Drags On (03:44)
Mick Softley
Let me tell you the story of a soldier named Dan.
Went out to fight the good fight in South Vietnam,
Went out to fight for peace, liberty and all,
Went out to fight for equality, hope, let's go,
And the war drags on.
Found himself involved in a sea of blood and bones,
Millions without faces, without hope and without homes.
And the guns they grew louder as they made dust out of bones
That the flesh had long since left just as the people left their homes,
And the war drags on.
They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
Last night poor Dan had a nightmare it seems.
One kept occurring and re-occurring in his dream:
Cities full of people burn and scream and shoutin' loud
And right over head a great orange mushroom cloud.
And there's no more war,
for there's no more world,
And the tears come streaming down.
Yes, I lie crying on the ground.
16 Do You Hear Me Now (01:50)
Freedom fighters, speak with your tongues,
Sing with the might of the wind in your lungs.
Do you hear me now ? Do you hear me now ?
Peace loving women, single or wed,
Give thanks for the mercy of a child with one head.
Do you hear me now ? Do you hear me now ?
My mama told me, papa said it, too,
Son, the world's divided and you know your cause is through.
Do you hear me now ? Do you hear me now ?
There's snow-men in the winter, blossoms in the spring.
If they drop the bomb in the summertime, it won't mean a doggone thing.
Do you hear me now ? Do you hear me now ?
Freedom fighters, speak with your tongues,
Sing with the might of the wind in your lungs.
Do you hear me now ? Do you hear me now
17 Turquoise (03:31)
Your smile beams like sunlight on a gull's wing
And the leaves dance and play after you
Take my hand and hold it as you would a flower
Take care with my heart, oh darling, she's made of glass
Your eyes feel like silence resting on me
And the birds cease to sing when you rise
Ride easy your fairy stallion you have mounted
Take care how you ride, my precious, you might fall down
In the pastel skies a sunset I have wandered
With my eyes and ears and heart stRained to the full
I know I tasted the essence in the few days
Take care who you love, my precious, he might not know
18 Hey Gyp (Dig The Slowness) (03:09)
From the album best of donovan ii
I'll buy you a Chevrolet,
Buy you a Chevrolet
I'll buy you a Chevrolet.
Just give me some of your love,
Just give me some of your love,
Just give me some of your love, gal,
Just give me some of your love.
I don't want your Chevrolet,
I don't want your Chevrolet, yeah,
I don't want your Chevrolet.
Just give me some of your love, man,
Just give me some of your love,
If you just give me some of your love, man,
Just give me some of your love.
I'll buy a Ford Mustang,
I'll buy you a Ford Mustang
I'll buy you a Ford Mustang.
Just give me some of your love now,
If you just give me some of your love, man,
Yes, just give me some of your love, man,
If you just give me some of your love.
I'll buy you a Cadillac
I'll buy you a Cadillac
I'll buy you a Cadillac.
If you just give me some of your love, gal,
If you just give me some of your love,
If you just give me some of your love, gal,
Just give me some of your love.
I don't want your Cadillac car
'Cause you're all shiny black
I don't want your Cadillac.
If you just give me some of your love, gal,
If you just give me some of your love, gal,
If you just give me some of your love, gal,
If you just give me some of your love, gal.
Well, I'll buy you sugar cube,
I'll buy you a sugar cube,
I'll buy you a sugar cube.
If you just give me some of your love, gal,
If you just give me some of your love, gal,
If you just give me some of your love, gal,
If you just give me some of your love, gal.
I don't want to go for no trip,
I don't want to go for no trip,
I don't want to go for no trip.
Just give me some of your love, gal,
Just give me some of your love,
If you just give me some of your love,
If you just give me some of your love,
If you just give me some of your love now
Just give me some of your love, hey
If you just give me some of your love,
If you just give me some of your love,
Just give me some of your love, hmm, hmm, hmm
Just give me some of your love, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm,
Just give me some of your love, hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm,
Just give me some of your love,
If you just give me some of your love,
If you just give me some of your love.
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