Jethro Tull- Sossity You're A Woman

[AllycatLeo]

I got my hands on Benefit when I was 10. Hasn't let it go ever since!

[CoelacanthRuss]

Possibly my favorite Tull song ever. Stand Up and Benefit are the ultimate Tull albums.

[37rajah]

@CoelacanthRuss Dude I'm with you there!

[hocus2011]

EXCELENTE!!!!!!!!!! LAS FOTOS ALUCINANTES !!!!! JETHRO TULL FOREVER!!!!

[dnamir]

Extraordinary masterpiece.

[zkarenna]

I read here that there are those who have been deeply touched by the meaning of these lyrics...I love this band for many reasons, but the meaning to this song has eluded me-can someone help?

[MrIrishBri]

Another incredible haunting melody, ingenuis

[00RoninSamurai00]

This song is highly symbolic, and a masterpiece in my opinion. Sossity = Society. Think about the lyrics from that perspective and the song becomes even more amazing...

[gigsing]

I wonder. Did Ian sing a version of this song to David/ Dee Palmer after the op?

[jbharuch]

Y'all were just kids. Damn! You were smart farty kids! Damn! I bow my head in thanks

[garrington120]

This song reminds me of my first wife who didnt like Jethro Tull . She was 9 years older than me .

The line "Woman , you are too old for me " is so poingnant .

J.T are the best and most consistent band ever . Long may they continue to make wonderful music

[marylita69]

awesome song and fantastic footage!!!!!!!!!!!

kundos!!!!!!!!

[miep0202]

I love that song so much for 40 years now, and I will love it for the rest of my days.

[GasparVirto]

Here is a tribute to this song:

Myspace, then gasparvirto, and then the song

"Roben el Otoño"

[MountainGyspy]

He's a pretty cool guy as well. I ran into him at a grocery store in northern scotland back in '01. He was in front of me at the queue, and he smiled at me and said, "it's a nice day for ducks". It was raining. All I could get out was, "indeed" and a smile. Wish I would've said something cleaver. LOL

[aeroforce14]

0:20 hair win

[MountainGyspy]

@aeroforce14 I love his hair and beard from the early days. :) He looked so "wild". lol

[TheNigelr]

What a monster of an album, unsurpassed to this day...........

[lilibon]

...and those ARE some great photos!

[lilibon]

Damn, I miss this era of Jethro Tull.

[vampyros1]

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Jethro Tull ..... Will Ian go punk?

LOL

[musicfreak1967]

Martin Lancelot Barre is for me a guitarist who controls the rockin' tones as well as gentle plucking of his strings as it is a rarity also in guitarist's circles. A disgrace that he is undervalued as a guitarist so. He and Ian form the scaffolding of Jethro Tull for me. For the rest, is "Sossity: you're a woman" one of my favorite ballads of this endowed band. Rockin' greetings from Germany.

[Talleyrandful]

Would anyone today dare to compose a song a beautiful as this one?

I don't think so.

[kyuss4me]

I never got into Jethro Tull until about 1980 or so. I had heard some of their stuff but never had listened to any one album in its entirety. Had a coworker who continued to play Benefit over and over. I shortly after owned every back catalog lp and kept up the collection ever since. Pure brilliance that has never been equaled in the world of rock.

[atthehops]

One of his best!

And I've heard them all

[1mredneckmother]

Song from a man, sung in the age of men, for the love of a woman. Ian Anderson, brilliant!

[Shoudraescumalha]

Lugar garantido e inquestionável como uma das bandas melhores de rock. abraços honestos.

[wiligelmo]

all time favorite, has been haunting me for years

[M147GTA]

@wiligelmo ... Sossity has been haunting me also (for 40 years now!)

[bloozemc]

very very nice...thanks for all the great tull stuff...and especially the sound..sometimes ill see a post and want to listen...but sadly...it sounds like crap...your posts are not crap

[chicagograce111]

Just love listening to these videos...takes me back to such a great time in music and here is was in my life ... loved the 70's even though we were out of our minds... it was all fun then..... The pictures of Ian are such a treat !! Still lovin it today ... clean & sober

[dezdimona84]

tull rocks...none better!

[telemacherT2]

Another song that warns us of "Aqualung"

[sixtiesbooks]

im just another old timer loving it, with youtube I can hear again nearly all the music of my flaming youth

[Noelegy]

Can't get over how much Chris Martin of Coldplay looks like the really young Ian Anderson.

[sphinxcol]

I was 17 yrs old when this album came out. It sure brings back some great memories. Thanks for posting.

[manoftheworld1000]

@sphinxcol Well, so was i - 17 & i just HAD to have that album! Generally speaking, those times were great - maybe the best this planet has ever seen. I wouldn't like to be a year younger! With every song from that era, i can trigger a different memory.

[hillbillyvol]

A wonderful time to be alive. Thank you, guys for taking the courage to step up at the right time. The world has had opportunity see perfection, as close at it gets.

[dmoniak]

Favorite of the Tull.

Please we need more of this...

we will always need..

[ohmyholycheescake]

oh my good !!! what a beautiful song - it makes me float away and dreaming!!!!!! Who can compare with this? - just asking. I love it!!!!!!

[1KOOLROCKNDAN]

this is a good example of alternative music sounded in its early stages thanx for posting

[langer215]

Sossity.... you're a woman

society .... you're woman

[Dunkleosteus9]

Will Ian go punk? That's what the magazine said.

[Underbarmusik]

Thankyou for this!!

And very fine photos!

[texasjohnnyboy]

First time I saw Tull (4 piece band), Sacramento Memorial Auditorium about 1970 promoting BENIFIT. They did earlier stuff first, during their intermission they wheeled out a grand piano and a Hammond B-3, came back on and introduced "for our benifit" a 5th man John Evans. Tull is still great but, even Tull will have a hard time outdoing what they did in these days..young hungry guys who proved that they were men. I will never forget that show as long as i live.. Charles Lloyd opened too!

[spweather]

@texasjohnnyboy...extremely envious you saw Tull in 1970. That's impressive! I didn't catch them until 1976! Great concert knowledge.

[texasjohnnyboy]

well, i'm gracefully settling into middle age at 56. The music of early Jethro Tull is something that is deep in my heart. It's something I grew up with. I am sure that, even, the members of Tull look back and they know what a magical moment they experienced. Look up my own band on youtube: Texas Johnny Boy , and see what I do... I hope you like it. The early Tull stuff is very deep, painful that those days, of long ago, are gone. I saw them in '76 too.. Anderson and his red vest!

[thermosoverfil]

I always think Benefit was an unjustly overlooked album. It was sandwiched between Stand Up and Aqualung and has a more subdued mood and occurred just before personnel changes. Has some great songs though.

[dandeexxxx]

@thermosoverfil the whole band was way way way overlooked. we can fix thayt

[sekhmetraptah]

aaah...the grande masters

[zanamivir]

WOW!

[orangesunshine69]

1969 70, and 71

at madison square garden, Central Park, Nassau Collesium, Cape May N.J., and places I can't remember. 8 or 10 shows.

Each one as good or better than the last. Will never forget those days or them. Back when you didn't need to smoke to get high! Just breathe!! Ian one of the all time great on stage performers.

[gwhdayanks]

The first time I saw Tull was at the Fillmore. The second was at Shea. Since then I have seen them about 7 more times. The last was about 2 years ago at the Garden State Arts Center. They still Rock!!! and...So do I.!!

[gwhdayanks]

The first time I saw Tull was at the Fillmore in the City. Second time was at Shea. They had a big screen. The first of its kind. At the end of the show they announced that the screen was brought to you by>>> Tullevision. I have since seen Ian and the boys about 7 times. The last 2 years ago at the GS Arts Center in NJ. THEY STILL ROCK!! ( and so do I !!)

[vinto34]

I grew up listening to tull albums,my old man had some of the earlier ones....stand up ,benefit, aqualung,thick as a brick,from what i remember. great times.

[samsombersimba]

Anyone notice the preposterous magazine cover at about 2:30? "Will Ian go punk?" HA

are you out of your F#$king mind?

[Querencias]

Nice JT song. Thanks Aqualung89. // Vinny, yes, I'm pretty sure Evan plays the organ here.

[GreenyMcFleetwood]

where did you find all these great pics?

[Aqualung1989]

mainly googling jethro tull and looking for images. i think i also entered a website or two, but i didn't take many pics from there

[33COOLMAN33]

Best song from J.T.

[JimmyBoneJakon]

You are wise beyond your years.

[cttxlv]

The perfect artist for understanding the gap between an emerging generation approaching adulthood in a world of change, in an Asian war, while still trying to respect the past, but emerging from the cocoon of childhood with no help from those that came before. The ultimate story teller, the consumate performer.

[definemaybe]

brings back the days of my youth sitting in the woods with a joint.

[vinnypimentel]

John Evan?? David Palmer???

[mithras718]

Many performers are athletic - Anderson was the most *acrobatic* I've seen. Phoenix, 1970: amazing show.

[SIMONP1965]

not that there piates, there staight up 60's hippys

[utahn3752]

I've always thought of Jethro Tull's great music as ' pirate' rock- maybe it's their outfits

[dandeexxxx]

I dont wanna be a pirate!!!

[sprygeoffreya17]

In all of Rock'N-Roll, this is the most brilliantly concieved and played acoustic guitar of all - no exception.

[dandeexxxx]

i before e -except after c or sounding like A in neighbor or weigh. Welcome to the fourth grade

[heehawluck1]

@sprygeoffreya17 I totally agree. In fact I said that when I first heard it back in the early 70s. I'm 56 now and still trying to perfect the fingering.......but am I running out of time? LOL We used to know.

[katharina19560]

Mein Gott, er war sooo genial. Schade, dass er diese Art Musik nicht mehr macht.

[hillfolkes]

Ich zustimme e. Dieses WAR wirklich große Musik. Wenn nur mehr Leute diese Qualität von Musik verlangten, möglicherweise könnten wir mehr von ihr heute genießen.

[Hawkdd]

Saw them live in 1970 New Orleans.We played "Teacher" in my band "Fresh Garbage" a very very long time ago.Had more hair then lol.

[clevercecil]

Benefit is one my my favorite albumns and this song in particular, one of my favorites. Thanks for posting it.

[PhiZappaCrappa]

Yeah, 'Once-a month' comments. Lemme guess? = we're all deep in our 6th decade and remember this tune in moods of reminiscence/reverie?

;-)

[ianf1479]

I have to say that "Heavy Horses" is my favorite. I love One Brown Mouse and Moths!

[bcdalessio]

I really love this song...

Great musicians!

Ian Anderson is a INFUCKINCREDIBLE artist!

[Lory1954able]

@bcdalessio

Ian Anderson is really a great musician, but I dont' know why he writes a bad lyric like this! Very good music but discusable contents.

[boundless1986]

one of my fave songs to scream in the car

[melosc]

I love this song!

[ScooterNerd]

I consider virtually all of their recordings to be of very high standards and I'm not forgetting Thick as a Brick or Aqualung or the other very good albums....it's just that the first three were even better to my way of thinking than the rest and I consider those three to be the quintessential Tull recordings. I think many artists write their seminal works early on...they've been considering these recordings their whole lives...without pressure from the label or project time constraints.

[billgr0248]

The music that got me through the late 60's & early 70's...but alas..I wax nostalgic. Many nights f____ up with Ian  I wouldn't trade them for anything

[ScooterNerd]

Benefit, Stand Up and This Was were the three greatest albums the band ever released.

[UC7media]

Seriously? How would you rate their 2 following albums then?

[maida1982a]

Totally agree, and I'd put Stand Up and Benefit as the 2 best-

[ModGirl1967]

And let's not forget This Was.

[GestureStew]

And pretty much all their albums up to 1980 :P

[TULLYNOL]

I am with you on that .... after 1980..... things were not ever the same. Creativity and new material... death of Glascock and subsequent departure of Evans and Barlow. 1980 is truly the line in the sand for TULL. I am not saying any of this to insult the effort , passion and desire of the "Replacements" ...they were very GOOD. I am just very fortunate to have seen them in 1978 at thier BEST.

[carrietide]

"sossity" is in fact "society"

[Ash1955]

Sossity was the name of a boat once owned by Martin Barre and the song was Ian's little joke on Martin.

The lyrics are:

Sossity you're a woman

Society you're a woman.

[BILLPERKS5]

IT IS Always a "Challenge" When JETHRO TULL Release an Acoustical Song (for radio play) or a Acoustical C.D . Marvelously,as in every thing ELSE they do- as Minstrels,They ALWAYS ..meet the Challenge & often'Eclipse IT'!! A Truly Wonderful,gifted POSTING! "Sosity, Your're A WOMAN!"  Thanks!

[objectionalcontent]

The though content of your posts is admirable, their formatting makes it a headache to extract the information from them.

The biggest benefit for effort of any change you might make, would be to keep words in a single case. When you capitalize only the first letter of a word it forces me to read it as a proper noun or start of a new sentence shattering my train of though and sense of continuity.

[BILLPERKS5]

SORRY Mate! ---I'll choose to watch my "ps'&qs' in future posts! Although, the posted lyrics of "My God" are considered to be objectionable from a theological viewpoint-entirely! Many would agree that the ensembles' lyrics teeter on the edge of "blastphemy!"

[objectionalcontent]

thank you. ^_^

[swans1997]

Because the people that refer to My God as blasphemous miss the point that the song is pointing fingers at their hypocrisy and THEIR idea of god and how religion should be. Screw em'.

[jmharrison51]

Crikey, Bill, I would say that the lyrics of My God don't get anywhere near blasphemy, depending on how you define it - I would call it a deist song, pro-God but anti-church, in particular the lack of spiritualism in traditional Anglicanism and the venality of Roman Catholicism. It's worth comparing this song with 'Roots to Branches', which is lyrically a more mature voicing of similar questions about man's relationship with God, and less specifically Christian in context. That's my take anyway.

[BILLPERKS5]

Some People, Feel it - Nessary, Others..Can't Stop @ "Being Drunk. Somethings are considered for some as Pastime(S),others view them as Addiction. I Prefer being "Clean & Sober" Ifeel I'll Live longer!

[Aqualung1989]

BILLPERKS5, I agree with you, in fact, i don't drink, i don't smoke, i don't take any drugs.

[BILLPERKS5]

Seemingly, When an Individual Discovers that they are Given to "Excessiveness" in harmful behaviours, One Takes time out to "Stop& Get Some Help"! I Fully Admire Mssr. ERIC CLAPTON for being so open about destructive behaviours that MAY have robbed the Music World of the "Greatest 'White' Blues Guitarist" that has come along in THIS 100 Years!! If You Get a Chance,read ERIC CLAPTONs' Autobiography "CLAPTON". Its' a Great READ!!

[maida1982a]

Benefit is consistently great-what a masterwork by arguably one of the most intelligent men in rock. Hi Ian!

[JethroTull4you]

You´re completely right, but my mum says it´s annoying, but I say it´s a masterpiece!

[ksxroads]

Sossity was the name of Martin Barre's boat...

[swans1997]

Right, but I read that Martin thought Sossity which was written beforehand was a pretty feminine name so he named his boat that.

[ksxroads]

When my daughter Sossity and I met Ian Anderson in 1996, he shared that the origin of the song came to him while spending time on Barre's boat which was named Sossity.  So I think I'll go with Anderson's version.

[nicysman]

How you doin ksxroads. Sossity, Society, Ian loves a pun. Never believe an artists explanation. Personally I think that he means only women stop anarchy destroying society. Love your daughters name.

[swans1997]

I just read that in one of the Tull bios one day. I thought it was just a funny anecdote.I would've liked to see Martin's face when Ian told him what he was getting at.

[yasin1963]

nosotras somosn las mujeres gracias IAN ANDERSON por cantarnos a nosotras ha y tambien nos gusta el Rock de JETHRO TULL.YASMIN

[mihaireal]

excellent, i translated this exceptional song in romanian and I posted on youtube. thank you for posting this film, too.

[Jeszenszkyzoltan]

When I was ten years ago in Balánbánya(Mine Balan, judetul Hargita), this song was always in my mind.

[nolandata]

Excellent. This is the only performance of this song I have seen. I saw Jetro Tull in Colorado Springs a few years ago hoping to hear this song but maybe the audience wasn't right(Ian yelled at someone smoking by the stage). I love this song so much that subtle mistakes do not stop the song. Excellent job.

[hillbillyvol]

Martin is a much under-rated guitar player when one looks at the entire scope of rock guitarists.

[sullyb23511]

Actually, I believe that Ian played this guitar figure. I could be wrong...

[hillbillyvol]

No, it was Buford P. Breedlove. The mysterious one who was there with Fidel Castro as HE led the band.

[mingeral]

Lol, will Ian go punk?

[samsombersimba]

haha, i saw that as well. what a silly idea!

[nishemi]

Yessssss!!!! finaly I found it, one of the best early Jethro Tull songs.. Brings me back to a time of love vibes, beyond comparison..

[DISMISSED375]

In my opinion, one of the most underrated TULL songs ever...Perfect, perfect, perfect...I once remember myself listening to this song 10 or 15 times a day ( I was drunk ) :-)