“Black Butter, Present”

“Black Butter, Present” is the second in a trilogy of songs that closes Strawberry Alarm Clock’s 1968 LP Wake Up… It’s Tomorrow.

Self-consciously psychedelic, the song sports a prominent sitar and backwards echo. The technique involves recording something and applying echo to it as you run the tape backwards; when listened to forward the echo fades in, before the sound, rather than fading out after it. Very disorienting. Those elements, plus the loopy singing, give “Black Butter, Present” the sound of 1968.

The song concerns itself, lyrically, with some of the same things as on “Black Butter, Past”. Here, though, the desecrated object is being smashed much more violently and repeatedly, before ending again with:

“If it dies you’ll hear the cries
And know the meaning of
Black butter”

If the ‘meaning of black butter’ isn’t really any clearer after this piece in the trilogy, at least the nihilism and viciousness of the otherwise meditative track’s vocals – “Break it! Smash it! Destroy it! Ah, destroy” – are compelling enough to hold your attention. It’s all certainly within the spirit of the album’s extreme psychology.

“Black Butter, Present” sets the scene for, unsurprisingly, “Black Butter, Future”.

“Black Butter, Present” appears on…

Wake Up… It’s Tomorrow (1968)
Changes (1971 compilation)
Strawberries Mean Love (1987)
The Strawberry Alarm Clock Anthology (1993)

8 thoughts on ““Black Butter, Present”

  1. Curious sac song,unusual playing strangely only having an average effect on the listener,but extremely memorable. A commendable effort.

  2. Joey I think he means George Bunnell, the SAC bassist. He often posts to this and other SAC sites; very generous with his time for the fans 😀

  3. I asked George what the meaning of Black Butter was and he said “It was when Ed and Lee came home from a tour and there was nothing in the frdge, except Black Butter.”

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