Incense and Peppermints - Strawberry Alarm Clock (cover-live by Bill Sharkey)

Incense and Peppermints (Strawberry Alarm Clock, 1967). Live cover performance by Bill Sharkey, Home Studio, Hawaii Kai, HI. 202209-16. "Keeping the Oldies & Classics Alive"eyShow more

"Incense and Peppermints," written by John Carter and Tim Gilbert (uncredited: Mark Weitz, Ed King), was Strawberry Alarm Clock's first entry onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart and their only top 10 hit; it rose to the top position in 1967 (songfacts, 2022; Whitburn, 2013). Interesting that the lead vocalist was not even in the band, a 16 year old Greg Munford, who was visiting the studio at the time was asked to provide the lead vocal (s. Childed, musictales.club, Dec. 20, 2020). Keyboardist Mark Weitz told songfacts (2022) how the song was written. "I came up with the idea and actual music to the [song] . . . I wrote the intro . . . , the verses, and the ending . . . while Ed King . . . co-wrote the bridge . . . and of course the lead guitar parts. . . . Our producer Frank Slay decided to send the fully mixed music track . . . to John Carter; a member of the band The Rainy Daze, who Slay also produced at the time. John Carter was solely responsible for conjuring up the lyrics and the controversial melody line extracted out of the finished musical track. Frank Slay ultimately credited that melody line solely to the writing team of John Carter and Tim Gilbert. To this day, they have received 100% of the royalties." Weitz and King were not credited with writing any of the part of the song and hence did not receive writer royalties; Weitz considered suing for writing credit but decided to not pursue the lawsuit due to the cost (songfacts, 2022).

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Lyrics:

Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
Dead kings, many things I can't define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time

Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin' to lose

Incense and peppermints, meaningless nouns
Turn on, tune in, turn your eyes around

Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah
Look at yourself, look at yourself, yeah, yeah, yeah!

To divide this cockeyed world in two
Throw your pride to one side, it's the least you can do
Beatniks and politics, nothing is new
A yardstick for lunatics, one point of view

Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin' to lose

Good sense, innocence, cripplin' mankind
Dead kings, many things I can't define
Occasions, persuasions clutter your mind
Incense and peppermints, the color of time

Who cares what games we choose?
Little to win but nothin' to lose

Incense and peppermints
Incense and peppermints

Sha la la