“My Queen”
by King Arthur's Court
2005 song
"My Queen" is arguably the centerpiece of King Arthur’s Court’s 2005 CD A Spring Honeymoon With God & Family. It’s 23 minutes (!) of repetitive acoustic guitar chords, all shimmeringly echoed. On top of this musical pillow Sky Saxon yearns for pure water for himself and the animals (and “the dogs”). "My Queen" (not to be confused with the the 1970s track "The Queen") sounds at times like a more-together version of Yodship, Sky free-forming his performance and Djin contributing background vocals of a more committed and “present” nature than on those infamous far-out recordings.
Under the acoustic guitar of "My Queen" are various subtle and not-so-subtle psych effects, especially a loopy bass guitar and some swooshing nature sounds. The track morphs into a somewhat darker and more urgent section around the 7:00 mark, by which time Sky is musing that any day could be your last so always put a smile on your face – interesting missive from a guy who was raraly photographed smiling himself. Some frightening high wind sounds join the watery effects at this point; both Sky and his backing singer are noticeably tenser.
The gang eventually surrenders to the scary vibe, embracing it and thus finally overcoming it. Now King Arthur’s Court is locked into an instrumental groove enlivened by some forceful and rhythmic guitar plus dramatic moments of explosion. Bongos and keyboard add subtle touches. Sky, having floated temporarily off to the ionosphere, rejoins the proceedings around 13:00 and urging listeners to “take the flight of the honeybee”. Appropriate sound effects illustrate his pleas. A bizarre animalistic sex scene ensues when Sky notes the arrival of the queen honeybee and dares you to try to satisfy her. “A lot have tried, a lot have failed,” he taunts, before asking the queen to “sting me, I want a dose of the pain, I want a dose of the joy”. He equates his experience with this would-be apian lover with being nailed to a cross.
Even Sky Saxon, for all the druggy and improvised jams he recorded in his lifetime, was rarely this inspired and dynamic a lyricist.
"My Queen" ends with several minutes of orgasmic finale, the acoustic guitars and bongos continuing their increasingly dramatic jamming while spacey psychedelic electronic effects shoot back and forth and Sky prays to and cries for his new lyrical focus: the sunrise. There’s a lengthy descent into an enveloping afterglow and crashing thunderstorms boom in the distance and fade out.
Wow. And amen.
