Feed your head.' Although commonly interpreted as quoting the Dormouse, the lines may instead refer to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter XI: 'Who Stole the Tarts', wherein a very nervous Mad Hatter is called to testify: The last lines of the song are: 'Remember what the Dormouse said. While the Red Queen and the White Knight are both mentioned in the song, the references differ from Lewis Carroll's original text, wherein the White Knight does not talk backwards and it is the Queen of Hearts, not the Red Queen, who says 'Off with her head!' The music combined with the song's lyrics strongly suggests the sensory distortions experienced with hallucinogens, and the song was later used in pop culture to imply or accompany just such a state. However, Bolero is not on the Sketches of Spain album. N an interview with The Wall Street Journal Slick mentioned that in addition to Alice in Wonderland her other inspiration for the song was 'the bolero used by Miles Davis and Gil Evans on their 1960 album Sketches of Spain.' The song is essentially one long crescendo similar to that of Ravel's famous BolÃ©ro. In interviews, Slick has related that Alice in Wonderland was often read to her as a child and remained a vivid memory into her adult years. Even Marty Balin, Slick's eventual rival in Jefferson Airplane, regarded the song as a 'masterpiece'. With its enigmatic lyrics, 'White Rabbit' became one of the first songs to sneak drug references past censors on the radio. Characters referenced include Alice, the hookah-smoking caterpillar, the White Knight, the Red Queen, and the Dormouse.įor Slick and others in the 1960s, drugs were a part of mind-expanding and social experimentation. It is commonly thought that these are also references to the hallucinatory effects of psychedelic drugs, such as LSD and psilocybin mushrooms. Song MeaningOne of Grace Slick's earliest songs, written during either late 1965 or early 1966, uses imagery found in the fantasy works of Lewis Carroll: 1865's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass, such as changing size after taking pills or drinking an unknown liquid. This song had to be written with symbolism, as it was telling people to dodge the draft. The last line is pleading with the listener to LEARN!LEARN!! The Mad Hatter is on the witness stand and faces execution if he can't 'remember what the dormouse said' As a result he runs away before the queen of Hearts, ie the red queen has a chance to chop of his head.įeed your head is not what the dormouse said. This is confusing because it is referencing the Mad Hatter. This next line is a little confusing until you read the 'who stole the tarts chapter' the line IS remember what the dormouse said. refering to the large amount of men killed in the war (sloppy swamp setting) the white knight talking backwards (he doesn't talk backwards in the book) refers the United states army stating that it's coming to the rescue not making sense, ie talking backwards, and the red queen refers to the communist who are killing all our men (off there heads) this set of lyrics is specifically about the vietnam war. are military pieces) tells you to go to vietnam (where to go at the time) and your mind is moving low refers to not knowing what to do.Ĭall Alice I think she'll know: When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead. this set of lyrics refers to when the military (chess pieces, ie knights, pawns etc. When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go. Go ask alice when she was just small refers to the small pill choice and how much danger alice was in when she was small. The caterpiller, ie tank has given you THE call not a call, and at the time THE call most definitely refers to getting drafted. this set of lyrics refers to getting drafted 'a hookah-smoking caterpiller refers to a tank. 'Go ask alice when she's ten feet tall' refers to not fitting in and being disruptive as alice does when she grows large in the book. This set of lyrics refers to the choice between protesting (making you a big person) versus joining the war (making you a small, ie insignificant person), and adding that your parents can do nothing to help you make the choice. This song is about the Vietnam War/protest. General CommentAlthough this song refers to Drugs many many times, it is not, for the most part about drugs.

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