Album: After Bathing at Baxter's (1967)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Paul Kantner wrote this song about a friend of his named Martha Wax, a teenage runaway who also happened to be the daughter of the mayor of Sausalito, California.
  • This was released as the B-side to "Watch Her Ride," another Kantner-penned tune that was the second single from the album and Jefferson Airplane's eighth single overall.
  • Together with "Wild Tyme (H)," this song comprises Kantner's suite "The War Is Over," the second of five mini-suites on the album. >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Mark - Desperate Hot Springs, CA, for all above

Comments: 3

  • Apsa from AfricaThe lyrics say the girl is absolutely free, but still she lovingly waits for Paul to get back home. Which is what makes him so proud, but on the whole it's pretty nostalgic. Somehow reminds me of "Come up the years", off the Takes off LP.
    The acoustic guitar is nice, the lead guitar licks are accurate as can be, the recorder is exquisite, while the bass is intriguing and the percussions are soft as a feather.
    Prettiest folk-rock song I've ever heard so far, definitely my favourite Airplane song.
  • Dartanian from EarthProsecutors, in May of 2016, dismissed an elder-abuse and embezzlement case against 66-year-old Bolinas resident Martha Wax, who was accused last year of allegedly pursing over $200,000 from her mother, Charlotte Speight, between 2009 and 2014. Ms. Wax was held for eight days in county jail following her arrest, which occurred just three weeks after her mother’s death on her 96th birthday.
  • Dartanian from EarthSixty-five-year-old Bolinas, CA resident Martha Wax was arrested at her home in May of 2015 for allegedly embezzling over $200,000 from her mother, Charlotte Speight, between 2009 and 2014. The arrest came just three weeks after Ms. Speight’s death on April 15, her 96th birthday.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real Group

Modern A Cappella with Peder Karlsson of The Real GroupSong Writing

The leader of the Modern A Cappella movement talks about the genre.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

Michael Schenker

Michael SchenkerSongwriter Interviews

The Scorpions and UFO guitarist is also a very prolific songwriter - he explains how he writes with his various groups, and why he was so keen to get out of Germany and into England.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."