What 'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane is Really About

Written by Grace Slick, the "Acid Queen," and recorded by the American rock band Jefferson Airplane for their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow, "White Rabbit" is the quintessential psychedelic anthem of the Summer of Love, an LSD trip of a song that draws on imagery from Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking-Glass.

It was released as a single and became the band's second top-10 success, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, and appears on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

Let us take time to appreciate this masterpiece by examining its message and history through its lyrics, and delve into its hidden meanings together as we go through line by line with a fine toothed comb to answer the question as to what White Rabbit is truly all about.

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[JammyGit]

I don't think there was ever any confusion about the real meaning of White Rabbit ✌👍

[deborahtomasi]

Although the war in Vietnam was tragic and many of us suffered through it with tears and loss, the song White Rabbit was a symbol of a counterculture that yet gave us hope to persevere. Even the drugs at that time were available to help us get through it all. Then we matured, some married, raised families, and led semi normal lives. But the Zeitgeist of the time was never really lost in our minds and hearts. We believed in peace and love, and the strangeness of a culture that embraced war was something foreign to our hearts and minds, and this continues to this day.

[lynnrinaldo]

I was just going into HIGH SCHOOL, and I always played that song. I love it.I had a poster on my wall of white rabbit I was so cool.

[denniswinters]

The power of Grace Slick's vocal on this track suggests something a bit darker going on than just standard Sixties psychedelia. As it builds to its climax there is something almost psychotic in its accusatory tone, that foreshadows punk era singers like Siouxsie Sioux and Patti Smith. While it certainly encapsulate the harder edge of the Sixties zeitgeist, it also, for me, seems to transcend the rather naive idealism of that time. An "All-Time" classic, I'd say.

[pommelhorsepommelhorse]

'I never thought there were corners in time til I was told to stand in one" - Grace Slick - Hyperdrive

[davehooper]

One of my all-time favourite songs ever, and I think you hit It on the nail of what this song Is about, cuz I always thought the same way for the last 50 years

[terrencelynch]

Nicely done. I don't regret a single trip I took.
As it happened, I became a soldier after I'd taken a...few trips. As as it happened, I never had to kill anybody. I've known a bunch, a bunch of guys who did, who--who...had. Psychedelics, today, are saving are saving people's lives whose memories are otherwise unbearable.
Bless you, Gracie.

[stevesmith]

The Jefferson Airplane was not the first band to record "White Rabbit."

Before she joined the Airplane, Grace Slick was lead singer for a San Francisco band called The Great Society, where she sang two songs that would later appear on the Airplane's second album, and the first on which Grace appeared, "Surrealistic Pillow." Live versions of the songs appeared on the album, "Conspicuous Only in its Absence." It was released after "Surrealistic Pillow" to cash in on Grace's popularity.

Anybody curious can find these versions on YouTube with a simple search.

[jatco]

Classic, ...and love the history behind this vid..

[ronalderb]

That was a time when protesters wanted to end the Vietnam war and bring our troops home, but spit on them when they did.

[monicatemple]

Thank you I really did enjoy that and looking forward to more of your content❤

[doubledrats]

When I was in elementary school in the late 1960s the “drug lady” played this song for our class and told us it was about taking drugs. She then passed around a board with samples of drugs attached. By the time she got it back several of the drug samples were missing.

[davebrewer]

“Far East Goods” was one of the euphemisms used by British merchants to describe the opium trade. Silk, tea and spices were commodities that merchants were claiming to import but they weren’t too keen on admitting that those ships holds were full of opiates as well. Lots of artists in particular were using drugs to help them create their art. Louis Carroll as mentioned in this video, Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes), Van Gogh, Jackson Pollack, Andy Warhol, even Thomas Kincade………Salvador Dali would use psychoactive drugs before bedtime and hold a spoon in his hand as he drifted off to sleep. The idea was that he would drop the spoon and wake up allowing himself then to immediately paint what he had been dreaming about. We think about drugs and music as an invention of the 1960’s but yeah, that practice dates back hundreds of years.

[iwanbottos]

Fantastic story, my friend, And WR is the anthem of my youth . I was 13 when it came out and fell madly in love with this girl and her magical journey. All way stayed one of my most favorite songs. It's absolutely perfect and a masterpiece. Being 500+ if Rolling Stone's Top 1000 most iconic (rock)songs is an insult. Should be at least in first 10 places,

[Marktheshark-ef]

As a 54 year old man, always loved the song and everything about it. Since 1991 have taken LSD twice a year. It keeps your mind open. It keeps my cravings for alcohol under control.😊

[bevklayman]

An excellent exposition! And I learned a lot I didn't know before. Thank you.

[PattiJorgensen]

Don't forget the "follow the White Rabbit" instruction at the beginning of the Matrix

[aisforapple]

'White Rabbit' has always been about Lewis Carroll and LSD.

[judycolson]

I just started listening to your videos. They are all fantastic and in-depth to these classic rock songs I grew up with. I so appreciate your insight and it really gets you to thinking about the songs, the lyrics and what all went on during that time of our lives. It's amazing but Grace Slick was probably right on when referring to all those Mother Goose rhymes we grew up with. I always thought many of them were strange. Rock a Bye Baby in the Treetop was kinda morbid. Thank you for these. I'll continue to listen to others and subscribe.

[WarDog]

Thank you! That was very revealing. Also, your theory coming after all what was said from Grace's explanations, sounds pretty plausible. IF she were tripping while writing this, I can see how she was able to bring it all together so fantastically well. Can't quite agree with her view of the authors' intentions though; they may have meant to convey something more profound. But it makes for good fantasy and pithy self-examination.