# 1960's Pop Donovan Tune: What Is It About? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 14, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683 "2013-04-14T15:16:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/1 "2013-04-14T15:16:19Z")
This rather odd lyric: Looking through crystal spectacles I can see I had your fun. Looking through crystal spectacles I can see I had your fun. Rebelling against society, Such a tiny speculating whether to be a hip or Skip along quite merrily. Through all levels you’ve been changing Elevator in the brain hotel Broken down a-just as well-a Sounds drug-indced? anybody know what he was talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/2 "2013-04-14T15:33:40Z")
Wikipedia not good enough for you? > **[Epistle to Dippy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistle_to_Dippy)** > > Epistle to Dippy is a song and single by Donovan, released in 1967 outside the United Kingdom only. > Musicians featured are Donovan on vocals and acoustic guitar, Jimmy Page on electric guitar, John Cameron on keyboards and arrangement, Danny Thompson on bass, and Tony Carr on drums. Strings were provided by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. > Written in the form of an open letter to an old school friend, the song had a strong pacifist message in addition to its florid psychedelic imagery. The r... I’ve never heard the song and it took me about 15 seconds to track that down. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/3 "2013-04-15T01:27:53Z")
Oh, maaaan, you don’t understand _thaaaat_, maaan? I mean, if you can’t grok it, I can’t really, like, put it into _words_, maaaan, but I think you don’t take enough _acid_, brother… Peace! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/4 "2013-04-15T04:35:31Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Oh, maaaan, you don’t understand _thaaaat_, maaan? I mean, if you can’t grok it, I can’t really, like, put it into _words_, maaaan, but I think you don’t take enough _acid_, brother… > Peace! This. Like everything else Donovan wrote. Some of them were ok tunes, though, but don’t take them as seriously as Donovan himself took them. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/5 "2013-04-15T04:52:40Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Wikipedia not good enough for you? Well, if the OP is hoping for a breakdown of the specific quoted lyrics, rather than a two sentence summary of what the song is broadly about then I suppose Wikipedia is in fact not good enough. I am however very impressed that you took the time to knock the OP’s luch tray out of his hands and I certainly hope to get to sit at your lunch table with the cool kids. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/6 "2013-04-15T05:22:02Z")
In fact, that Wiki article doesn’t really say very much. The song is Donovan talking to his friend about the friend’s personal development and how he relates to the cultural changes that were happening in the '60s. Note the line about choosing “whether to be hip or skip along quite merrily.” Donovan sometimes displayed a surprisingly jaundiced view of the hippie movement–another song of the same era has Donovan addressing a friend with “Hi, it’s been a long time/You’re looking down/Dragged as any hippie should be/In old hippie town.” And yes, “Looking through crystal spectacles/I can see I had your fun” certainly sounds like he’s talking about dropping acid. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/7 "2013-04-15T10:01:22Z")
My god, but he did get the hippy thing spectacularly right sometimes: Sunny Goodge St \*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\* ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/8 "2013-04-15T13:02:23Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Oh, maaaan, you don’t understand _thaaaat_, maaan? I mean, if you can’t grok it, I can’t really, like, put it into _words_, maaaan, but I think you don’t take enough _acid_, brother… > Peace! Dave’s not here! ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/9 "2013-04-17T23:38:46Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Dave’s not here! Dave is _everywhere_, man… ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/10 "2013-04-17T23:47:08Z")
I love Donovan’s popular tunes, hadn’t heard of this one, looked it up, hated it and was surprised that Jimmy Page had anything to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1960s-pop-donovan-tune-what-is-it-about/655683/11 "2013-04-18T03:36:09Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > was surprised that Jimmy Page had anything to do with it. He was a hired gun back in those days, so it need not have had anything to do with an appreciation for Donovan’s oeuvre ( though I have no idea - he might have been a fan, many were ). Donovan actually had a number of ace session players on his 1960’s stuff.