Actually, this song was originally written and performed by a band called "The Great Society", which was the band that was started by Grace Slick, Jerry Slick (her 1st husband), and his brother, Darby Slick.
Grace talks about the song and it's meaning in her autobiography, "Somebody to Love". The song was written by Darby and is about a more grown up version of love... She says they were tired of all of the "Why don't you love me?" songs that were typical of love songs of the era.
The song means, if you're feeling down and out, and life is handing you a bunch of shit for whatever reason, find somebody to love... To Love in the human sense, not the sexual or romantic sense. To give love, rather than bemoaning not receiving love.
In her words:
"Rather than the loving you're whining about getting or not getting, a more satisfying state of heart might be the loving you're 'giving'. Suggesting that adhering to the old Puritan cliche, 'It's better to give than to receive', might actually make you a happier person. The idea of service and selflessness may sound like a tedious task reserved for bald monks, but the way Darby wrote the lyrics, altruism didn't seem like such a lofty and unattainable state. He gave the impression that giving could even be an enjoyable adventure."
Yes, I think you about nailed it. BTW, Jerry Garcia is listed as the "spiritual advisor" for the album "Surrealistic Pillow" as he said the album sounded "as Surrealistic as a pillow is soft." and The Grateful Dead have a great set of lyrics in "Truckin'" that cover the subject as well (IMHO):
Yes, I think you about nailed it. BTW, Jerry Garcia is listed as the "spiritual advisor" for the album "Surrealistic Pillow" as he said the album sounded "as Surrealistic as a pillow is soft." and The Grateful Dead have a great set of lyrics in "Truckin'" that cover the subject as well (IMHO):
"Most of the cats that you meet on the streets speak of true love,
Most of the time they're sittin' and cryin' at home.
One of these days they know they gotta get goin'
Out of the door and down on the streets all alone."
Actually, this song was originally written and performed by a band called "The Great Society", which was the band that was started by Grace Slick, Jerry Slick (her 1st husband), and his brother, Darby Slick.
Grace talks about the song and it's meaning in her autobiography, "Somebody to Love". The song was written by Darby and is about a more grown up version of love... She says they were tired of all of the "Why don't you love me?" songs that were typical of love songs of the era.
The song means, if you're feeling down and out, and life is handing you a bunch of shit for whatever reason, find somebody to love... To Love in the human sense, not the sexual or romantic sense. To give love, rather than bemoaning not receiving love.
In her words: "Rather than the loving you're whining about getting or not getting, a more satisfying state of heart might be the loving you're 'giving'. Suggesting that adhering to the old Puritan cliche, 'It's better to give than to receive', might actually make you a happier person. The idea of service and selflessness may sound like a tedious task reserved for bald monks, but the way Darby wrote the lyrics, altruism didn't seem like such a lofty and unattainable state. He gave the impression that giving could even be an enjoyable adventure."
Yes, I think you about nailed it. BTW, Jerry Garcia is listed as the "spiritual advisor" for the album "Surrealistic Pillow" as he said the album sounded "as Surrealistic as a pillow is soft." and The Grateful Dead have a great set of lyrics in "Truckin'" that cover the subject as well (IMHO):
Yes, I think you about nailed it. BTW, Jerry Garcia is listed as the "spiritual advisor" for the album "Surrealistic Pillow" as he said the album sounded "as Surrealistic as a pillow is soft." and The Grateful Dead have a great set of lyrics in "Truckin'" that cover the subject as well (IMHO):
"Most of the cats that you meet on the streets speak of true love, Most of the time they're sittin' and cryin' at home. One of these days they know they gotta get goin' Out of the door and down on the streets all alone."