YUSUF Islam

Chinese Whiskers (FAQs)

What is Longer Boats About?

In the late 60s, due to the successful landing of a man on the moon (which happened coincidently on my 21st birthday) there was a lot of talk and speculation about UFOs.

I wrote the song as a plea for human unity in face of external (possibly extra-terrestrial) threats. There was also a lyrical inference to say that we should look closer at the beautiful and mystical nature of the earth, and watch out for adopting inherited wisdoms from people who claimed to be masters of the high, moral ground.
I don’t want a god (statue or false image) on my lawn
Just a flower, I can help long
For the soul of nobody knows,
How a flower grows, how does a flower grow?

True, I gave interviews sometimes and talked about UFOs with passion, but that was partly due to my wish in making the interview more interesting. My apologies.

But in another way, the image of ‘longer boats’ in my mind reminds you of the Vikings and the ships they conquered Britain with. A hint of how we perceive aliens who have different customs to us thankfully, my mother was Scandinavian, so I never really shook listening to such stories.
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