Basil
Here are 3 tunes about our dear departed dog Basil, who'd always leave the room as soon as he saw me pick up my banjo:
1) Seed Head
This is a song recorded by the pre-LC Pumpkin band Les Cactus & the Rumpy Pumpkins.
As an ever-enthusiastic Spring time hedgerow rummager, Basil would often emerge from various shrubbery covered with plant seeds stuck all over his face. This song was written from the point of view of a plant who, while miffed at his insensitive heavy-handed trampling all over them, appreciates his usefulness as a spreader of their seed.
Seed Head, Seed Head
Seed Head go head-to-head with me.
Such a rude, smelly creature
with only one redeeming feature:
I can reap what you sow
so I'll load your face with seed
'cos it sticks like Velcro
sticks like Velcro
Help me escape this patch of bindweed
Just you make sure it don't end up birdfeed
Ultimately I'm just tryon
to get myself some space from all this dandelion.
Seed Head, Seed Head
Seed Head go head-to-head with me.
Such a rude, smelly creature
with only one redeeming feature:
I can reap what you sow
so I'll load your face with seed
'cos it sticks like Velcro
sticks like Velcro
2) Fuzzy Trashman
This is a demo of another Les Cactus & the Rumpy Pumpkins number which we played live but never properly recorded, featuring the love of his life Kate on accompanying vocals.
This one's pretty self explanatory. Basil ate a lot of plastic after picking it out the bin, and when young loved rolling in fox shit.
(Thankfully he gave up on that in later years and just ate it instead)
Hairy little trash man,
what you holding in your fuzzy hands?
Your mouth's full of plastic
If you know you can't have it,
we know you're going to have it
Lean little furry bones,
puffing out a sigh and moan
when I'm wolfing a sandwich
you can't stand it
you can't stand it
Don't you roll roll roll, no
Don't you roll roll roll, no
Don't you roll roll roll,
Don't you roll roll roll.
Tail like Gonzo's nose
Shedding your hair everywhere
You're a jaunty mover
when I'm revving up the Hoover
Don't you roll roll roll, no
Don't you roll roll roll, no
Don't you roll roll roll,
Don't you roll roll roll.
3) Where's the Buzz?
This is a Pumpkin tune from EP5 which features Basil’s golden vocal tones.
The sound of Kate calling his name is from a recording we have of Basil eating her MP3 recorder.
His teeth pressed the record button as he started chomping on it, so he actually documented himself destroying the thing in full close-mic'd stereo, along with Kate’s shock reaction when she walked in and discovered what it was he was doing.
Such a clever boy!
Where's the next buzz coming from?
It's all that's in your mind and in this song
Don't you worry, there's no need to fear
Follow this advice and it'll soon be here
This world is full of excitements!
If you entertain the right delightments!
No need to keep your profile low
Throw all caution out your double-glazed window
Follow these steps and do it right
and no more suffer any tedious nights
Just ignore all the usual dross
and cultivate a level of constant chaos
Don't reconsider any consequence
don't think, just make a move and stay off the fence
Normality can mean an even keel
but that's the complete opposite of how it is I want to feel
Adrenaline glands are your friend
Fry your nerves to the point where they can never mend
Working brain cells are not required
when your sole aim's to be totally wired.
* * *
* * * * * * * *