The song in question has extremely distorted lyrics. I can only make out the word “tear” or “tears” in the chorus (“tear” as in “teardrop”, not “tear in half”).
Also, the song is punctuated throughout with brief finger-picked electric guitar interludes. Almost certainly played on one string.
99.99% sure that this song came out between 1966 and 1973. It’s straight out of the psychedelic music scene. Oldies stations around here play it fairly often, so I assume it was a good-sized hit. Any ideas?
**The Sonics **- Have Love Will Travel? (link to YouTube)
I know it’s not right because you can make out the lyrics, but they are totally distorted, it has a cool single-string-type riff, is very 60’s and the song totally rocks. I love this tune.
“96 Tears” by ? and the Mysterians?
A long shot… Lies by the Knickerbockers
(scroll down and listen to the first song sample)
The 2nd verse says “Tears” in place of “Lies”
:smack: I don’t know what I was thinking…doesn’t fit your description at all.
Yeah, different tune. The one I have in mind rocks WAY less. It’s kind of dreamy and ethereal. Also, the guitar part is very much buried in the mix except for the one-string plucking interludes.
Great link, though … thanks 
Here it is on youtube in all it’s majesty. I think it is all chorus no verse. Great song though.
Not “96 Tears”.
…
I should be more direct – to me, the lyrics in the song I’m thinking about are more than just distorted. They are all but inaudible. I can tell that there are lyrics, but about the best I can do is make out the one word “tear”.
Additional descriptive info – the rest of the music stops abruptly when the plucking guitar interludes kicks in, and then restarts abruptly when the guitar interludes are finished. The guitar interludes are very brief … they do not carry the song or anything, but are very notable.
Wild guess, but how about Hurdy-Gurdy Man.
Not that one. Plenty of distortion there, but the one I have in mind has much more distorted lyrics.
Just a wild guess, but are you sure it’s “tear” and not “dear” as in Dear Prudence by the Beatles? That’s got a kind of dreamy, trancey vibe with a twangy one-note guitar pluck.
Definitely not “Dear Prudence”. DP’s lyrics are way too distinct, and the guitar part is audible throughout the track. Also, the song I’m thinking of is *a lot *dreamier/trancier.
As far as I can make out, the main tune (as opposed to the plucking guitar interludes) of the song I’m thinking about doesn’t even have a guitar part. There’s probably guitar mixed in there somewhere, but if so, it’s very much buried in the mix.
Maybe it was Status Quo’s “Pictures of Matchstick Men”, released in 1968?
This is it! Although in this live version, I can make out the lyrics fairly well. On the radio, I can’t understand any of them And I can hear the rhythm guitar part much better, too.
(Maybe my car speakers suck? 
Seriously, I can’t distinguish the rhythm guitar parts on the radio at all)
To those upthread – did I describe this song poorly?
OK, so some general questions might narrow it down a bit:
Singer’s voice - male or female?
Does it have more like a California (Grateful Dead) or London (Beatles) psychedelic vibe?
How long is it? Typical AM radio length (about 3 minutes) or extended jam length (full side of an Lp)?
Is it something that casual listeners might recognize, or do you think it’s fairly obscure?
Cool, happy to help.
I think you described the song well enough. It was the part about finger-picked interludes played on one string that made me think of the Quo.
Check out “Ice In The Sun” by the Quo on YouTube…awesome rocking psychpop (co-written by Marty Wilde, ex-teen idol and father of Kim Wylde).
“Pictures of Matchstick Men” was a #12 hit on the U.S. Billboard singles chart (and #7 in Britain). The station I hear it on pretty much sticks with Top-40 singles from the 60s & 70s.
Yeah, the live version on YouTube sounds worlds more distinct than whatver I’m hearing over the car radio. But I can tell it’s the same song.
I note also that the word “tear” does not appear in the lyrics of “Pictures Of Matchstickmen” :shrug: I think I was picking up the second syllable of “pictures”.