Song about Aleister Crowley

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 15 Jan 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

wavebreaker	15 Jan 2003
Over lunch, I heard a colleague mention a song by Ozzy Osbourne on a "scary English guy called Aleister Crowley". Now I don't know anything about Aleister Crowley (yet; his deck is still on my wish list), but obviously I wanted to know more about this song and thought some of you might be interested (in case you didn't know about it already). I found the song on an album called Tribute (this link points to Amazon, where you can listen to a sample of the song). I also found the lyrics of the song: Mr. Crowley, what went on in your head Ohhhh...Mr. Crowley, did you talk with the dead Your life style to me seemed so tragic With the thrill of it all You fooled all the people with magic Yeah you waited on Satan's call Mr. Charming, did you think you were pure Mr. Alarming, in nocturnal rapport Uncovering things that were sacred manifest on this Earth Conceived in the eye of a secret And they scattered the afterbirth (solo) Mr. Crowley, won't you ride my white horse Mr. Crowley, it's symbolic of course Approaching a time that is classic I hear that mating call Approaching a time that is drastic Standing with their backs to the wall Was it polemically sent l wanna know what you meant I wanna know I wanna know what you meant yeahhhh.... Does anyone else know any "tarot-related" songs?

Jewel	15 Jan 2003
Interesting ... ohhhh Tarotlady, if you are intersted in learning more about Alister Crowley just go to the Tarot Deck Forum and search for Thoth ... every discussion on that deck ends up also being about good ole' Alister. There are also some great links.

Khatruman	15 Jan 2003
Must have heard that song a hundred times or more in my old teenage headbanger days and I just never connected it... what a silly bunt!!! Probably saw good ole Ozzy perform it in concert, and No, he didn't bite the head off a bat in that show! Poor ole Ozzy. I read those lyrics and wonder if he could write something so deep these days (not that it is too incredibly deep). Poor guy can't figure out his own remote these days... and he is more popular than EVER!!!! Ahh, rock and rollers never die... When the nuclear holocaust comes, Ozzy and Keith Richards will live on with the cockroaches! Peace!

wavebreaker	15 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Jewel ohhhh Tarotlady, if you are intersted in learning more about Alister Crowley just go to the Tarot Deck Forum and search for Thoth ... every discussion on that deck ends up also being about good ole' Alister. There are also some great links. I know, I know, when I get the deck, ok?? ;) I've still got some faeries to get to know as well, remember... :) So much to learn, so little time... *sigh*

Macavity	15 Jan 2003
Well, it references Tarot anyway :) At the risk of severely dating myself, there's the album cover from "Taro Rota" by legendary keyboard player Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster fame. This also featured the inimitable Arthur Brown, known for ditties such as FIRE (Dah Dah Daaaah!) Remember the Hammond organ bit? And the gasoline/petrol fueled headgear? ;) Then there were VC's works with band Atomic Rooster, including '67 top twenty hit "Devil's Answer" and the cheery "Death Walks Behind You"? Songs of the day did make vague occult references 'n' stuff - Things were uhm... LIKE that then! Heheh }) See: http://website.lineone.net/~jean.cheesman/notatomicrooster.htm (Cover includes a picture of RW Tarot - About half way down) For us oldun's, this Website is maintained by Jeannie Crane in memory of her late husband Vince - Do Visit, Jean is always glad to meet fans! I don't get the chance to name-drop often, but VC is one (only?) famous person I ever met :D Fwiw, he was then with Dexy's Midnight runners... or sessioning for a certain Mr. Bowie? - All way back in 1983? An amazing talent indeed. R.I.P Vincent. Macavity

wavebreaker	15 Jan 2003
I remember another one (because I keep seeing it on eBay whenever I search for "tarot"): the CD Tarot Suite by Mike Batt. The only song I know of him is Lady of the Dawn, which turns out to be on this CD and which is about the High Priestess. I never knew that!! All the songs on this CD are about tarot cards. There's a review on the Art of Tarot website.

HudsonGray	15 Jan 2003
I only know of one tarot filksong--called the Gypsy tarot song, Over here http://www.ladybridget.com/music.html

dangerdork	15 Jan 2003
but at the time, he was about as misunderstood as old Mr. C. (and probably found it just as funny) ...me, I always loved that song for Randy Rhoads' guitar solo. ;)

Laurel	16 Jan 2003
Here's an odd but interesting song cycle created for the tarot to add to the growing list: http://www.sonic.net/~ric/music/tpathx.htm ~LAS

The Song about Aleister Crowley thread was originally posted on 15 Jan 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.