The Mythological Cream Lyric With a Poet’s Touch

When Cream arrived on the scene, the trio conjured up such an instrumental maelstrom that any lyrics that they sang seemed beside the point. What words could possibly match the dynamism of the sounds that they were making?

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On their 1967 song “Tales Of Brave Ulysses”, a poet offered up some words that actually forced the band to step up their musical game. The combination of the elements made for one of the headiest songs of the decade.

A Neighborly Favor

Eric Clapton hadn’t really done much songwriting by the time Cream, the band he formed with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, was preparing the music for its second album. He began that creative journey with a chord progression that recalled The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer In The City”, a favorite song of his at the time.

Around that same time, Martin Sharp, an Australian poet and artist, had written some lines that borrowed their cadence from the Leonard Cohen song “Suzanne”. He handed them off to Clapton, who happened to be a neighbor of his, and “Tales Of Brave Ulysses” was born.

Cream struggled at first to get a recording of the song that they liked. That all changed when Clapton decided to experiment with wah-wah pedals. “Tales Of Brave Ulysses” was first released as the B-side of a single before appearing on the album Disraeli Gears.

Sharp’s didn’t spend too much time in the world of rock music. Other than a few Cream songs, as well as designing a few of their album covers, he moved on to other endeavors. As for Clapton, it wasn’t long before he was composing his own songs with regularity, eventually building up one of the most imposing catalogs of any artist of his era.

Examining the Lyrics of “Tales Of Brave Ulysses”

Sharp’s lyrics emanated from his frustration with a frigid winter, as he wished for warmer climates. For those who might not be up to speed on their mythology, Ulysses is the ancient Greek hero whose return home after years at war was imperiled by all kinds of otherworldly obstacles.

Sharp’s song uses the hero as a kind of spiritual passport that allows the narrator to travel to the destinations of his deepest desires. “You thought the leaden winter / Would bring you down forever,” Cream singer Jack Bruce begins. “But you rode upon a steamer / To the violence of the sun.

Perhaps the reading of “Tales Of Brave Ulysses” that makes the most sense is as a metaphor for the psychedelic experience. Sharp’s descriptions mimic the watercolor explosions of a drug trip. For example: “And the colours of the sea / Bind your eyes with trembling mermaids.” Also: “She drowns you in her body / Carving deep blue ripples / In the tissues of your mind.”

Now and again, Ulysses, in all his torment, enters the picture. “How his naked ears were tortured,” Bruce sings. “By the sirens sweetly singing.” For the most part, the protagonist’s quest to bring something of the spiritual and supernatural back to his mundane existence takes center stage: “And you want to take her with you / To the hard land of the winter.”

Since Cream only released it as a B-side, “Tales Of Brave Ulysses” didn’t become a big hit. But it represents the special chemistry of Cream better than perhaps any song in their catalog. And that’s a surprising twist, considering they took advantage of a special guest’s contributions to create it in the first place.

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