Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane of Small Faces wrote this song, which is about skipping school to hang out at a park. Of course, with the lyrics, "What did you do there? I got high," it was fairly obvious that they were doing in the park, although the band denied that it was about drugs, kind of like John Lennon did with "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," which was released the same year. Marriott told Creem in 1975: "The thing about 'Itchycoo Park' was that the era was wrong, and the word 'high' freaked everybody out. All the radio stations. But that song was real. Ronnie Lane and I used to go to a park called Itchycoo Park. I swear to God. We used to bunk off school and groove there. We got high, but we didn't smoke. We just got high from not going to school."
Lyrics
Over Bridges of Sighs
To rest my eyes in shades of green
Under Dreaming Spires
To Itchycoo Park, that's where I've been
What did you do there? - I got high
What did you feel there? - Well I cried
But why the tears there? - I'll tell you why - yyyyy
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
I feel inclined to blow my mind
Get hung up, feed the ducks with a bun
They all come out to groove about
Be nice and have fun in the sun
I'll tell you what I'll do - What will you do?
I'd like to go there now with you
You can miss out school - Won't that be cool
Why go to learn the words of fools?
What will we do there? - We'll get high
What will we touch there? - We'll touch the sky
But why the tears there? I'll tell you why
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
I feel inclined to blow my mind
Get hung up, feed the ducks with a bun
They all come out to groove about
Be nice and have fun in the sun
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
It's all too beautiful, It's all too beautiful
Songwriters: Ronnie Lane / Steve Marriott
Itchycoo Park lyrics © EMI Music Publishing