"Aqualung" is a song by the British progressive rock band Jethro Tull, and the title track from their Aqualung (1971) album. The song was written by the band's frontman, Ian Anderson, and his then-wife Jennie Franks.
While this track was never a single, the album, Aqualung, was Jethro Tull's first American top 10 album, reaching number seven in June 1971.Rock Movers & Shakers by Dafydd Rees & Luke Crampton, 1991 Billboard Books. After "Locomotive Breath", it is the song most often played in concert by Jethro Tull.
Recording The original recording runs for 6:34. In an interview with singer Ian Anderson in the September 1999 Guitar World, he said:
The Aqualung character is also mentioned in "Cross-Eyed Mary", the next song on the album.
In a 2015 interview, Martin Barre recounted a situation with Led Zeppelin while recording the song's solo:
An alternative mix of "Aqualung", with a very different echo effect on Anderson's vocal, appears on the compilation M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull (1976). This version also has different acoustic guitar and vocal parts during the first part of the song ("sun streaking cold"), but then reverts to the regular mix at ("Aqualung my friend..."). This is most likely because all the tracks from Aqualung on M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull were taken from the original quad-mix of the LP.
The track was not released as a single. As Ian Anderson explained during an interview with Songfacts:
Recorded appearances Aqualung (1971) M.U. – The Best of Jethro Tull (1976) Bursting Out (1978) Slipstream (1981) A Classic Case (1985) Original Masters (1985) 20 Years of Jethro Tull (1988) 20 Years of Jethro Tull: Highlights (1988) The Very Best of Jethro Tull (2001) Living with the Past (2002) A New Day Yesterday (2003) Ian Anderson Plays the Orchestral Jethro Tull (2005) Aqualung Live (2005)
Personnel Jethro Tull Ian Anderson – vocals, acoustic guitar, producer Martin Barre – electric guitar John Evan – piano, electronic organ Jeffrey Hammond – bass guitar Clive Bunker – drums, percussion
Additional Personnel Terry Ellis – producer
References
External links
Aqualung Lyrics Songfacts "Aqualung" entry