De tekst van deze psychedelische bluesrockklassieker is afkomstig van de dichter Martin Sharp, de muziek van Eric Clapton. Sharp zou later ook de hoezen van Disraei Gears en Wheels of Fire ontwerpen voor Cream. De tekst verwijst naar de avonturen van de Griekse held Odysseus, die na de val van Troje nog tien jaar rondzwerft voordat de goden hem eindelijk toestaan naar huis en haard terug te keren. Odysseus’ avonturen werden vereeuwigd in Homerus’ Odyssee, een na 28 eeuwen nog steeds zéér lezenswaardig epos. Tales of Brave Ulysses is muzikaal vooral opmerkenswaard omdat het één van de eerste songs is waarop de wah-wah pedaal gebruikt wordt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8hLc_nqx8g
[Intro]
You thought the leaden winter
Would bring you down forever
But you rode upon a steamer
To the violence of the sun
[Verse 1]
And the colors of the sea
Bind your eyes with trembling mermaids
And you touch the distant beaches
With tales of brave Ulysses
How his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing
For the sparkling waves are calling you
To kiss their white laced lips
And you see a girl’s brown body
Dancing through the turquoise
And her footprints make you follow
Where the sky loves the sea
And when your fingers find her
She drowns you in her body
Carving deep blue ripples
In the tissues of your mind
[Chorus]
The tiny purple fishes
Run laughing through your fingers
And you want to take her with you
To the hard land of the winter
[Verse 2]
Her name is Aphrodite
And she rides a crimson shell
And you know you cannot leave her
For you touched the distant sands
With tales of brave Ulysses
How his naked ears were tortured
By the sirens sweetly singing
[Chorus]
The tiny purple fishes
Run lauging through your fingers
And you want to take her with you
To the hard land of the winter
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By General Artists Corporation (management) /Atco Records (the band’s record label at one time). – eBay itemphoto, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16515213
