Yodship Suites 1 and 2

Sky Saxon recorded some music around 1973 or 1974 with some of the musicians in the Source Family; these resulted in a vinyl LP called Yodship, released rather after the fact in 1977. Companion records called In Praise Of Our Father and Lovers Cosmic Voyage were also released around the same time.

The musicians on Yodship, as reckoned by Source Family musician Djin in latter-day interviews, were Sky Saxon (aka Sunlight), Osiris, and Sirius. If this is true then there must have been overdubs (highly unlikely), or Sky must have been on bass, because sometimes even three people don’t seem to account for the different instruments. In fact, it seems that others would wander into the room periodically and pick up an instrument for a couple minutes, especially towards the middle of Side 2.

The album is thirty minutes long, fifteen minutes per side of vinyl. It consists of long, continuous performances, spliced together from three different recordings. Yodship‘s music consists of an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, a flute, occasional maracas, and a bouncy bass. (Not all are present simultaneously.) Sky Saxon, and occasionally others, talks/sings over the top of the slow, arrhythmic, aimless music. The performances are unplanned and unrehearsed. “Ya Ho Wha” is chanted over and over, while in other places Sky exhorts people not to eat animals, or offers vague criticisms-cum-warnings about modern society. Sample: “The earth is shaking ’cause you laid too much of your concrete around”.

Some resources believe the “lyrics” on Yodship to be laments about the Source Family’s leader’s death; if Djin is correct about the recording date of ca. 1973-4, this can’t be true; the group’s Father died in August 1975.

At times Sky can be heard blowing jarringly directly into the microphone, and often the voices drown out the super-minimalist instrumentation. This speaks to the spirit of the Yodship record: just do what you feel. Record it all and let God sort it out.

Yodship‘s extended, otherworldly jams and profoundly stoned ambience make for quite a transportative listening experience. Whoever the musicians were in the recording room for Yodship, they were generous enough to lay it all out there for us, with no sieve in place to censor their drifting streams of consciousness. The vibe is close and personal, and informal. (At one point on Side 2 someone else must have walked in the room because one of the musicians sings, “We’ve got about sixty seconds if you wanna grab a microphone”; an off-mike laugh is heard. At times it sounds like two or three hippie bands playing entirely different music. A girl laughs, and the performance seems to be drawing to a bleary close.)

But just then — eleven minutes into Side 2 — there is another abrupt splice (the first was on Side 1) and the music is suddenly more aggressive — there’s a real drum kit, and a very psychedelic electric guitar gives things a decidedly jagged edge. Sky sings more of his impenetrable hippie wisdom, extending every single syllable for ages. (Imagine a band of Martians on peyote covering The Seeds’ "Now A Man" in an aluminum fish tank.)

These last five chaotic minutes of Yodship sound like the first part of the album being covered by… well, The Seeds, and this section finds Sky more inspired lyrically and vocally. The man was just built for fast electric psych rock and it’s still what got his juices flowing.

Recorded just a year or two after The Seeds’ final release, Yodship is not particularly like anything Sky had ever done, and shows that he had been undergoing big changes in his musical openness and his cosmic mind expansion. It may not be possible to record music more truly out there than Yodship. Play it for someone the next time they complain that Sky Saxon only ever released variations of "Pushin' Too Hard".

Availability of Yodship

Yodship was released on CD as part of the God & Hair 13-CD Ya Ho Wha 13 box set in 1998. There are also occasional early 1990s quasi-legal vinyl reissues seen for sale, though it is rare to see 1977 originals for sale. Yodship is now available as an online download, surprisingly enough.

Lyrics

Sky’s improvised chants are cosmic, obscure, and extreme all at the same time. He is occasionally joined by another voice; words sung by someone other than Sky Saxon are in italics:

Side 1

… in the stars
And the skies have magic tonight
Get aboard the Yodship
Cause we are traveling home
Singing “Ya Ho Wha, Ya Ho Wha”
The sons of Yod are coming home
Sailing, sailing
Sailing through the Milky Way
Onward, ever onward and upward
As Yod He’s ship sails on home
Yod He Shin Vav He
Yod He Shin Vav He
Yod He Shin Vav He
The sound is so magical, it’s a lullaby
The sound is like a lullaby
Yodship, Yodship
Reach out to your brothers and sisters with love
Reach out to your brothers and your sisters with love
We are the sons of the light
We are the sons of the light
Dream your sweet dreams
Dream your sweet dreams
We are Yodship, Ya Ho Wha…
Ya Ho Wha, Ya Ho Wha
Ya Ho Wha, dear Father
Love you so
Dear Father
Ya Ho…
What have they done
Dear Father, my sweet Father
You will live in me for eternity
And I will always be your son
We are Yodship
We are Yodship
We are Yodship
And we’ve come for you
And we’re calling out, “Open up the skies and the heavens up above”
And we’ve come for you
To ease your pain
To ease your pain
Whooshhhhh…
To ease your pain
Love the animals, don’t eat them
Love the animals, don’t eat them
And your soul will be free
You will be one with the light
Ah la la la la…
In my eyes, Father you are the greatest
In my eyes, Father you’re the only one

[splice]

In Vav He Ya
Yod He Shin Vav He
One time now
Yod He Shin Vav He
We desire birth and I’m telling you we want it
We won’t do without it
We’re coming so open your arms
Ya Ho Wha
Yod He Shin Vav He
Yod He Shin Vav He
We desire birth and we ask it only in your name
Only for your children
Hear us now
Break these chains that bind us
Free us to travel
We wanna [falsetto] fly home now
We are the gods
We are the gods
And we’ve come to do our Father’s work
We are the sons of God
We are the sons of Yod
And we’ve come down to do our Father’s work
Ya Ho Wha Ho Ya Ho Wha Ho Ya…
We could be anywhere
We can penetrate your heart and your mind
We can be anywhere
Our spirit is like the wind

[splice]

[blowing directly into mic]
Come to the forest and play
Come to the forest today
And play, children of God
The forest has all green magic
The forest, the forest, the forest
What have they done to our forest?
Cut down the tree
Made all my animal friends run
Dear God what have they done to the forest?
Ya Ho Wha Ho Ya Ho Wha Ho…
Well I wanna go back home
La la la la…
Well I want to go back home
It’s called freedom
It’s called
Called freedom
It’s called freedom
We want some freedom…
Yeah we all want some freedom
Free my brothers and my sisters
Free them right now
Ahh tah! tah tah tah tah tah…
Now we want some freedom
Want some freedom right now
Tah tah…
Yes we want some freedom right now
You’re not to blame
But if you sing your Father’s name
The light will surround you tonight
Ya Ho Yod Yod Yod Yod…
Ya Ho…
Ya Ho Wha
Ya Ho Wha
What have they done?
Dear Father, ah what have they done?
I know we’re asking for a miracle right here now
Now we’re all well aware of that right now
We’re asking for a miracle right now
And Yodship
Gonna sail
Gonna carry us to the stars
And Yodship is gonna carry us to the stars
If we all listen real close now to what’s coming down
Get yourself a horse
Get yourself a horse
And ride, children, tonight
Ride through the city
Ride to the country
And ride through the sky

Side 2

…Shin Vav He
Yod He Vav He
Yod He Vav He
Yod He Vav He
Shin Vav He
Yo Vav He
Shin Vav He
Yo Vav He
Shin Vav He
Shin Vav He
Yod He Shin Vav He
Yod He Shin Vav He
Yod He Shin Vav He
Now is the hour
Now is the hour
If you can hear my voice
Sing your Father’s name
Because asking if he hears
Sing your Father’s name
Ya Ho Wha
Ya Ho Wha
Send us a miracle
Ya Ho Wha
Ya Ho Wha
Lead us back to the sun
Children of darkness and children of black darkness
Sing your Father’s name
So the light will come inside
Ya Ho Wha Ho Ya Ho Wha Ho…
Yod He Shin Vav He is the new way
It numbers five
We call upon the energy of our Father
For we must survive
Ya Ho Wha Ho Ya…
[blows into mic]
Everything wants to live
Everything wants to live
Everything wants to live
[blows into mic]
Ya Ho Ya Ho Ya Ho…
Please take over
The Earth is vibrating
The Earth is vibrating
You’ve loaded down the Earth with your cement and your concreke [sic]
And the Earth is vibrating
The Earth is vibrating
You made the rivers run red with your blindness
Killing all my animal friends
And the Earth is vibrating
The Earth is vibrating
It seems like I’m living in a play
Seems like I’m living in a play
And I’ve seen most of your faces before
And we know who you are
Yes we know who you are
You could’ve been a bright, bright star
Wake up children of the darkness
And become one with the light
Yod
Ya Ho Wha
Carry me away today, Father
You could carry me away at any time
I’m ready to go
For I’ve seen the pain and I’ve heard the cries
And dear Father I wonder how you can bear it
And the Earth is vibrating
The Earth is shaking
‘Cause you’ve laid too much of your concreke [sic] around
Fly on home to the sun
See the light and fly on home to the sun
1 2 3 we are on Venus
1 2 3 we are on Venus
Are you with us
Are you with us
We are we are we are on Venus now
We are on Venus now
We are the brotherhood
We are the brotherhood
We are the brotherhood
We are the brotherhood
We are the brotherhood
The brotherhood
[whispered] Ya Ho Wha, Ya Ho Wha
And we’re gonna listen up closer every day
And we’ve got about 60 seconds if you’d like to grab a microphone
Ha ha! Whoo! Ah Ah
Ya Ho Ya Ho
We thank you for the miracle
Golden angels
Ah hear the singing of the angels
[women singing wordless chorus]
[shouts, whoops, and women’s laughter]

[splice]

Arelich!
Ya Ho
Ya Ho
Ya Ho
Ya Ho Wha
Ahh…
[spoken] Nice material, you like it?
How much is it?
It will cost everything you have, sir
Fly my love
Fly on with me my love
Fly on with me my love
I have the strength of my Father
I have the strength of my Father
Ahh…
[female chorus] He’s the son of Yod
He’s the son of Yod
Ya Ho Wha
He’s the son of Yod
He’s the son of Yod
Ya Ho Wha
Here comes the sons of Yod
[female chorus] Ya Ho Wha
Pushing back
Pushing back
Pushing back
Let the light light up the world
Let the sunlight light up the world
God has endured just about all he can bear
Your Father has taken just about all he can bear
Put the chains around him and he could not break them
For it would show who he was…

(The track fades out here; the piece is continued from this exact point on the In Praise Of Our Father album.)

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