Grass (XTC song)

"Grass" is a song written by Colin Moulding of the English rock band XTC, released as the lead single from their 1986 album Skylarking. It reached number 100 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Grass"
Single by XTC
from the album Skylarking
B-side"Dear God"
Released16 August 1986 (1986-08-16)
Recorded1986
GenrePsychedelic rock[1]
Length3:05
LabelVirgin
Songwriter(s)Colin Moulding
Producer(s)Todd Rundgren
XTC singles chronology
"The Mole from the Ministry"
(1986)		 "Grass"
(1986)		 "The Meeting Place"
(1987)

Background

"Grass" is sometimes mistaken to be about cannabis, but was actually written about Coate Water, a parkland in Swindon. Moulding composed it on an open E-tuned guitar and found its harmonic changes by playing the chord shapes of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air" (1969). The mixing of violin and guitar was an idea lifted from John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?" (1971). Skylarking producer Todd Rundgren added a tiple to the blend. Moulding originally sang the song with a deeper voice. He said Rundgren voiced concern that the effect was too close to "a molester", and so Moulding "did the Bowie thing and added an octave above it".[2]

On Skylarking, the track bookends "Summer's Cauldron" with a reprise of its "insect chorus".[2]

Personnel

XTC

Charts
Chart (1986) Peak
position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[3] 100
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References
  1. DeRogatis, Jim (2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 346. ISBN 978-0-634-05548-5.
  2. Farmer, Neville (1998). XTC: Song Stories: The Exclusive Authorized Story Behind the Music. Hyperion. pp. 188–189. ISBN 978-0-7868-8338-7.
  3. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
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