Rolling Stones songs: Gomper
*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES SONGS 1962-PRESENT

To and fro she’s gently gliding/ On the glassy lake she’s riding…

Also known as: THE LADY, THE LILLIES AND THE LAKE
Written by: Jagger/Richard
Recorded: Olympic Sound Studios, London, England, July 7-22/Aug. 5 1967
*Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012

From allmusic:
Sort of a Rolling Stones version of the Beatles’ “Within You, Without You,” this psychedelic love song celebrates an idyllic love affair in a natural setting, and possibly during and acid trip. Although the lyrics have a certain period charm, it’s the music that has aged well. Based on Moroccan rhythms and Indian melody lines, the song features one of Brian Jones’ finest performances on the album, this time on dulcimer. Tablas, oddball percussion, organ, and pan flutes create a truly trippy atmosphere, somewhat reminiscent of the side one closer, “Sing This All Together (See What Happens).”

From the The Rolling Stones – All the Songs book:
This song again shows Mick Jagger in the guise of the heroic fantasy
author. Is it a dream? Is it a fantasy? Is it the effect of a mind-altering
substance? The narrator observes a young woman by the lake with lily
flowers during the evening hours. She swims to the side and the sun sees her
dried. The man is moved to tears when she starts to moan. “Gomper” is
both the glorification of the beauty of a mysterious heroine and a manifesto
of sorts for a “return to nature,” for flower power. This is borne out by the
succession of titles (“Flowers in Your Hair,” “The Ladies, the Lilies and the
Lake”) by which the song was known before acquiring its final, enigmatic
one.