White Rabbit is one of the quintessential songs of the 1960s.
I actually heard it for the first time in the 1990s, in the movie Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.
I was instantly captivated by the unique structure and Grace Slick’s incredible voice.
But I had no idea as to the White Rabbit lyrics meaning.
At least not at first. Once you listen to it a few times, you can get a decent idea.
It obviously refers to Alice in Wonderland quite heavily.
But what was Slick trying to say with the song? Keep reading to learn exactly what the lyrics are about.
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White Rabbit Lyrics And Meaning
White Rabbit is a song first performed by Jefferson Airplane in 1967. It was released as the second single from the band’s album, Surrealist Pillow. The song was written by Grace Slick, who drew inspiration from Alice in Wonderland to create the song.
White Rabbit was a commercial success and became a huge anthem of the psychedelic rock era of the 1960s. The song peaked at number six in the States and topped the charts in Canada. The release date was a few years later for the U.K. and Netherlands, but the song still performed well in both countries.
The song played a part in cultural moments of the ’60s, such as its performance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. The band played it as the last song on their setlist and it really captured the mood of the era by reflecting the angsty and drug-fueled youth of the 1960s.
Grace Slick wrote the song before joining Jefferson Airplane and was still with her previous band, The Great Society. She brought the song over when she joined the band. Due to its success, I’m sure Jefferson Airplane were very grateful the song didn’t go to The Great Society.
It’s thought that Slick was high when she wrote the song and that she was listening to Miles Davis’s album Sketches of Pain. It’s also Additional inspiration likely came from the 1928 orchestral piece Bolero, which was written by the French composer, Maurice Ravel.
It was these inspirations that gave the song such a unique sound helped it stand out in the rock music genre of the ‘60s.
Every since its release, White Rabbit has been considered a timeless piece of music that leads us to question reality. The song was received well critically at the time of release and is still received well to this day.
For example, it features on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll. But what are those bizarre lyrics actually about? Let’s find out.
White Rabbit Lyrics
Verse 1
One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don’t do anything at all
Go ask Alice
When she’s ten feet tall
Verse 2
And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you’re going to fall
Tell ’em a hookah smoking caterpillar
Has given you the call
He called Alice
When she was just small
Verse 3
When the men on the chessboard
Get up and tell you where to go
And you’ve just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving low
Go ask Alice
I think she’ll know
Verse 4
When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the White Knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen’s off with her head
Remember what the Dormouse said
Feed your head
Feed your head
White Rabbit Meaning
The song starts off by referring to pills that alter the size of a person, which is where the reference to Alice in Wonderland comes in. It’s thought that the start of the song symbolizes the era’s experimentation with drugs.
The line goes, “One pill makes you larger, one pill makes you small.” It reflects the psychedelic experience that comes with drugs and the unpredictability of what your trip will be like.
The narrative of the song then follows a landscape that’s populated with characters from Alice in Wonderland.
Another interpretation of the song, and one more of what Slick intended, was to highlight the hypocrisy she saw in the adult world. This is especially apparent in the tales we tell children, with the story of Alice and Wonderland being so heavily related to drug use.
The song uses Lewis Carroll’s characters and their narratives as metaphors for the psychedelic experience. However, it is worth noting that while the song is called White Rabbit and is about the characters of the story, the White Rabbit is never actually mentioned at all in the song.
The climax of the song asks listeners to “feed your head.” This serves as a call to feed yourself with intellectual and spiritual nourishment.
Slick wants you to focus on enlightening yourself and having a sense of self-discovery when it comes to pushing boundaries beyond the conventional boundaries set by society.
This line sums up the entire essence of the song: it is about expanding the mind and rejecting the mundane.
White Rabbit Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts
Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit is deeply rooted in the spirit of the 1960s, blending references to Alice in Wonderland with themes of psychedelic exploration and societal critique. Grace Slick’s lyrics invite us to question the established norms and to seek enlightenment through intellectual and spiritual growth.
The song’s call to “feed your head” is a plea for self-discovery and mind expansion, urging an awakening beyond the conventional expectations of the time. The White Rabbit lyrics meaning made it a powerful anthem for countercultural movement and personal liberation.
Drugs are not the only way to expand your mind. Lucid dreaming can accomplish something similar, if you are able to do it. Learn about the meaning of the Silent Lucidity lyrics for more. This song by Queensrÿche tries to teach us how to control our dreams.
Another great song with a mystical theme comes from Van Morrison, who wrote the song while at Woodstock. Read our discussion of the lyrics and meaning of Into The Mystic.
A modern singer whose voice somewhat reminds me of Grace Slick is Florence Welch. Read our breakdown of the Dog Days Are Over lyrics and their meaning to see if you agree.
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