Tag: Season of the Witch

I’ve always liked the groove of this song. Season of the Witch was released in 1966 on the Sunshine Superman Album but not as a single. It remains one of Donovan’s (Donovan Leitch) most well-known songs. The song has been covered many times and often bands start the song and draw it out to a jam.

In 1966 bands were releasing songs about drugs at this time. The Beatles had Dr. Robert and The Stones released Mother’s Little Helper. Season Of The Witch was recorded in Hollywood and clocked in at 5 minutes. He played it with Bobby Ray (bass) and “Fast” Eddy Hoh, although the electric guitar work has been credited by fans to Jimmy Page, who worked on the album. (The Hollywood session notes do not indicate Jimmy Page or John Paul Jones were present.) The organist is unidentified.

It has a spooky feeling to it. The repetition works nicely and that small riff is driven into your head. I rediscovered the song in 2012 when it was in the animated movie “Paranorman.” The song was written by Donovan and Shawn Phillips.

The song was written in an evening at folk music notable Bert Jansch’s house in north London. John Renbourn showed Donovan a D ninth chord. From that, Donovan built up a riff that, according to the memories of those present, he then played solidly for the next seven hours.

During Led Zeppelin’s soundchecks, they often warmed up by playing this. The song allows for lots of jamming when played live, which makes it a popular cover for many bands.

Donovan: I played a white Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar on “Witch,” chunking down on the chord pattern, wailing a chilling chorus. A major seventh with an open G, to D 9th with a G-flat bass (Bert Jansch chord). The riff is pure feel.

Donovan: “I remember the bass line going down and Mickie saying, ‘We’ve got a problem. The engineers are saying that they can’t turn the bass up.’ I said, Why? They said, ‘Well, it’s going into the red.’ And so he said to the engineers, ‘Look, you go into the red, I’m giving you permission. Go in the red! That’s the bass sound I want. Very, very loud.’ And they said, ‘Well, we’ll have to have a meeting.’ So they went upstairs and had a meeting about whether the bass should go into the red. And they came down, they said, ‘No, I’m sorry, the equipment can’t stand it.’ So Mickie Most said, ‘Look, I’ve just made a record deal with your boss Clive Davis for $5 million and seven bands. And he’s given me $1m right now. So do you think if I phone him up, you’d give me a little bit more bass?’ And they looked at each other, and immediately realized that their jobs were on the line. They said, ‘OK, you’ve got more bass.’ We got more bass the needle went into the red, the equipment didn’t blow up. I guess next time they made that needle, they did that thing by just moving the red bit a bit farther to the right, like in Spinal Tap: ‘My amp goes up to 11!'”

Season of the Witch

When I look out my window,
Many sights to see.
And when I look in my window,
So many different people to be
That it’s strange, so strange.

You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
Mmm, must be the season of the witch,
Must be the season of the witch, yeah,
Must be the season of the witch.

When I look over my shoulder,
What do you think I see?
Some other cat looking over
His shoulder at me
And he’s strange, sure he’s strange.

You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
Beatniks are out to make it rich,
Oh no, must be the season of the witch,
Must be the season of the witch, yeah,
Must be the season of the witch.

You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
The rabbits running in the ditch,
Beatniks are out to make it rich,
Oh no, must be the season of the witch,
Must be the season of the witch,
Must be the season of the witch.

When I look out my window,
What do you think I see?
And when I look in my window,
So many different people to be
It’s strange, sure is strange.
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
You’ve got to pick up every stitch,
The rabbits running in the ditch,
Oh no, must be the season of the witch,
Must be the season of the witch, yeah,
Must be the season of the witch.
When I look, when I look.