Here's the previous poll if it still should have some interest:  https://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=133387" rel="nofollow - Thinking politically / socially-engaged songs (2)  

   And then, even it is about an "old pig", I think that the social content of this song is intended to be much more than just that.

Well, I look at it in the way of a Marxist interpretation, according to which this song tries to show how social conditions, due to the way a society is organized and functioning, have very much influence on people's life and social behaviour.

Actually, as I see it, "Aqualong" is about a big tragedy, and the lyrics can make me rather sad.

A very good point, and I'll include "Dogs" in the next poll in this series.

Here's a suggestion for a rather detailed interpretation of "Aqualung" by Al Melchior:

Compassion and Fear About the Homeless

In listening to “Aqualung,” you’ve likely sensed that Anderson has a variety of emotional responses to the song’s character. That’s because “Aqualung”’s story is a reflection of Anderson’s response to a photo of a homeless man taken by Franks. He told Guitar World in a 1999 interview that he “had feelings of guilt about the homeless, as well as fear and insecurity with people like that who seem a little scary.” This combination of emotions informed Anderson’s perspective as the narrator of his story of Aqualung, a character based on the man in Franks’ photo.

In the first section of “Aqualung,” Anderson and Franks begin to sketch the character, initially leaning on Anderson’s more fearful feelings.

Sitting on a park bench
Eyeing little girls with bad intent
Snot is running down his nose
Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes
Hey, Aqualung
Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly panties run
Hey, Aqualung

Then we see the compassionate side of Anderson’s reaction in the remainder of this section.

Feeling like a dead duck
Spitting out pieces of his broken luck
Whoa, Aqualung

As Anderson and Franks move into the song’s quieter, slower second section, they maintain their focus on Aqualung’s poor condition. They also bring attention to the small ways Aqualung shows resilience.

Sun streaking cold, an old man wandering lonely
Taking time the only way he knows
Leg hurting bad as he bends to pick a dog-end
He goes down to the bog and warms his feet

Towards the end of this section, Anderson and Franks go a step beyond recognizing Aqualung’s humanity from a distance. Anderson breaks from his role as narrator, approaching Aqualung and letting him know he is a friend.

Aqualung my friend, don’t you start away uneasy
You poor old sot, you see, it’s only me

As the tempo picks up for the third section, Anderson progresses towards an increased familiarity with Aqualung. He reminisces with him about a difficult winter.

Do you still remember December’s foggy freeze
When the ice that clings on to your beard
Was screaming agony?

Anderson and Franks do a wonderful job of fleshing out the range of emotional responses we can have when encountering someone who is homeless. In transitioning gradually from a more distant appraisal of Aqualung to a familiar and friendly one makes it easy for us to follow their story.

(from the site https://americansongwriter.com/the-meaning-of-aqualung-by-jethro-tull/ )

Sorry, Grumpy, but this song doesn't fulfill my criteria for which songs to include.

As generous as I am, all these songs except one get my votes. 

Aqualung

I can tell that on basis of Al Melchior's referring to Ian Anderson's thoughts about "Aqualung" and Melchior's suggestion for an interpretation of it, I'm not so sure anymore about the correctnes of my suggestion for a Marxist interpretation of this song.

Yes, I'm suprised myself, and I reckon that it's the social content of "Aqualung" that is thought of as of a better value than the one of "Supper's Ready", but if that's the case, it doesn't make me less suprised.

TBH, I've been wondering why Tull's three tracks in those three polls are from Aqualung, and not at least one being Thick As A Brick (which epitomizes Anderson's political thoughts, IMHO)

Not sure I would find Supper's Ready political, though - contrary to some (most?) of Selling England's tracks

I'll include "The Battle of Epping Forest" in the next poll, and I'll get back with regard to Supper's Ready.

About Thick as a Brick, let it be no secret that this poll series reflects my familiarity with albums and musical tastes, sorry.

But Sean, I wouldn't mind to hear some more about your interpretation of Thick as a Brick. 

Well, that's no suprise to me. 

Very fine, let it be that instead. 

here is what you can read about TAAB

https://thickasabrick.net/" rel="nofollow - Thick as a Brick – Jethro Tull Site Dedicated to Understanding Thick as a Brick

I don't necessarily agree with all of this guy's interpretations, but close enough for comfort. 

Also my sig (below) is quoting and highjacking some of IA's text in that epic poem.

Before I forget, here is a site dedicated to A Passion Play (to me, APP is much harder to grasp)

http://www.ministry-of-information.co.uk/app/index.htm" rel="nofollow - Jethro Tull's album 'A Passion Play' annotated at the Ministry Of Information (ministry-of-information.co.uk)

.

thanks

....and that might require some personal consideration. 

You've got me convinced, Sean, and I'll include TaaB in the next poll in this series. Even more important, to me, after new listenings to this album, I can tell that I like it today, maybe even much after some more listenings, and I'll add it to my collection. This makes me rather happy, as TaaB is one of the small number of the very most appreciated Prog albums which I haven't got in my collection, so the hole gets smaller.  

I can still understand, though, why Ian Anderson meant this album to be an over-the-top concept album, and it's surely a dense affair.

Try to get the original vinyl, because the full St Cleves Chronicles spoof is absolutely essential and hilarious and adds very much to the music...

The text is supposedly written by a pre-teen child that has won a poetry contest, but once the jury discovers the age of the author, they disqualify him for being insane. Gerald Bostock (the spoof author) is presumed to be the lover of a 17 y.o. teen (whose panties are visible under her dress on the front cover)

Almost every article  in the newspaper makes fun of the English society, pokes fun at the album's concept...

Even the small adds answer each other (depicting adultery) and the Sports section is Monty Python-esque.

Don't forget to look at A Passion Play's either (see the link I gave you to decipher that much-more complicated concept). Anderson was out to outdo TAAB, but stumbled spectacularly. 

.

May be, I was thinking about the musical side of it.

Yessss, but TAAB is bigger than music. 

Because the sleeve enhances the music into something more.

It's definitely worth making the effort to buy the whole thing. 

twosteves wrote: suppers Ready is my favorite work of prog - powerful stuff about politics and religion- and we are just the human bacon controlled by it all.

But still, we also have something to say, even it ain't easy - and I'd say, we're mostly controlled by economy. 

I still may doubt though that I'll argue TaaB to be an expression of THE most exquisite musical taste. 

I've been thinking that these parts might be about Western imperialism, if not to call it something worse?

The Serbian Kornelyans, aka Korni Grupa, are quite appreciated internationally, but I still find their album Not an Ordinary Life (1974) to be underrated. Anyway, I don't think of the song included in this poll as one of the best from this album, but here it is with the cool coverart:

                         

I've began with my first serious listening to this album, and my first impressions are rather positive, some of it being even really great and looks to me inspired by VdGG. With TaaB and A Passion Play, Tull became not only genuinly Progressive but also very much so.

When talking about A Passion Play and musically speaking, I might actually find it to be not less good than TaaB, or at least, I quite like it so far in my listening to it.

^  While TaaB, even it was not meant so seriously by Ian Anderson - which I think is best illustrated by the first line of the lyrics: "Really don't mind if you sit this one out.", and as mentioned earlier, showed to be a significant turn in Tull's musical direction. Even more, it's maybe today the most appreciated Tull album - at least surely by the proggers, albeit Aqualung is quite as surely most liked by non-proggers. 

- I find all this quite interesting.

Anyway, I've got again a LP copy of TaaB (I had one at earlier point of time, but didn't like it enough to keep it), and it's a fine reissue manufactured by Island, but the gatefold cover is made of rather heavy cardboard. Usually I definitely prefer heavy cardboard, but this time, I now think that I would better like it made of thin cardboard, so it could more remind of a newspaper.  It could maybe also give the music an impression of less heaviness and larger refinement, which I would like best. I didn't choose a release like the original newspaper edition, as with my minimalistic aestethics, it's not my cup of tea, and I don't like it to be so fragile.

Again about A Passion Play, it's going to be interesting to see what I'll think of it further on.

If wanting to prevent possible more of my posts in the thread  https://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=133643" rel="nofollow - Thinking politically / socially-engaged songs (4)  related to the subject which I wrote about in my last posts, it was good to lock it, as I might have been very tempted to add that the point of view, I wrote about in my very last post, makes me kind of less worried about the future of the mankind.

But that was definitely heavy mix, I was talking about. 

Except from that my last post in that locked thread, which stated  "Besides that, what have Jesus and Marx in common? As I see it, nothing less than the two most influential social figures/thinkers in the history of the mankind up till now.", was not not political but historical. Also, there was no heated discussion.

(  https://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=133643" rel="nofollow - Thinking politically / socially-engaged songs (4)  )

Maybe do not misquote people, that would be great. 

Logan explained to you thoroughly and politely why that thread was closed. 

I don't misquote. I quote what I see to be the central arguments which I relate to in my respond - it's about precision.

Maybe you think you're doing that, but you're doing the contrary. 

No, I don't think I'm doing the contrary, and I have years of experience doing it in relation to my former work. Besides that, I'm convinced that it makes it easier for the readers, saves space, energy and other things - in short, it has a lot of advantages. 

It seems you have created the perfect excuse for taking words out of context. Good for you... 

No, I find it very important to think about getting all the context in one's quotation, and if the author of a post finds that it's not the case, it's very important to point it.