White Rabbit ( song ) - wikipedia White Rabbit ( song ) This article is about the Jefferson Airplane song. For the Egypt Central song, see White Rabbit ( Egypt Central album ). `` White Rabbit '' Single by Jefferson Airplane from the album Surrealistic Pillow B - side `` Plastic Fantastic Lover '' Released June 24, 1967 ( 1967 - 06 - 24 ) Format 7 - inch single Recorded November 3, 1966 Studio RCA Victor 's Music Center, Hollywood, California Genre Psychedelic rock Length 2 : 31 Label RCA Victor Songwriter ( s ) Grace Slick Producer ( s ) Rick Jarrard Jefferson Airplane singles chronology `` Somebody to Love '' ( 1967 ) `` White Rabbit '' ( 1967 ) `` The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil '' ( 1967 ) `` Somebody to Love '' ( 1967 ) `` White Rabbit '' ( 1967 ) `` The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil '' ( 1967 ) Audio sample file help `` White Rabbit '' is a song written by Grace Slick and recorded by the American psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane for their 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It was released as a single and became the band 's second top - 10 success, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was ranked number 478 on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, Number 87 on Rate Your Music 's Top Singles of All Time, and appears on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Contents 1 History 2 Lyrics and composition 3 Personnel 4 Charts 5 Covers 6 In media 7 References 8 External links History `` White Rabbit '' was written and performed by Grace Slick while she was still with The Great Society. When that band broke up in 1966, Slick was invited to join Jefferson Airplane to replace their departed female singer, Signe Toly Anderson, who left the band with the birth of her child. The first album Slick recorded with Jefferson Airplane was Surrealistic Pillow, and Slick provided two songs from her previous group : her own `` White Rabbit '' and `` Somebody to Love '', written by her brother - in - law Darby Slick and recorded under the title `` Someone to Love '' by The Great Society. The Great Society 's version of `` White Rabbit '' was much longer than the more aggressive version of Jefferson Airplane. Both songs became top - 10 hits for Jefferson Airplane and have ever since been associated with that band. Lyrics and composition 1967 trade ad for the single. `` White Rabbit '' is one of Grace Slick 's earliest songs, written during either late 1965 or early 1966. It uses imagery found in the fantasy works of Lewis Carroll -- 1865 's Alice 's Adventures in Wonderland and its 1871 sequel Through the Looking - Glass -- such as changing size after taking pills or drinking an unknown liquid. Slick had stated the composition was intended to be a slap to parents who read their children such novels and then wondered why their children later used drugs. Characters Slick referenced include Alice, the White Rabbit, the hookah - smoking caterpillar, the White Knight, the Red Queen, and the Dormouse. Slick reportedly wrote the song after an acid trip. For Slick, `` White Rabbit '' `` is about following your curiosity. The White Rabbit is your curiosity ''. For her and others in the 1960s, drugs were a part of mind expansion and social experimentation. With its enigmatic lyrics, `` White Rabbit '' became one of the first songs to sneak drug references past censors on the radio. Even Marty Balin, Slick 's eventual rival in Jefferson Airplane, regarded the song as a `` masterpiece ''. In interviews, Slick has related that Alice in Wonderland was often read to her as a child and remained a vivid memory well into her adulthood. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Slick mentioned that in addition to Alice in Wonderland, her other inspiration for the song was `` the bolero used by Miles Davis and Gil Evans on their 1960 album Sketches of Spain. '' The song is essentially one long crescendo similar to that of Ravel 's famous `` Boléro ''. The music combined with the song 's lyrics strongly suggests the sensory distortions experienced with hallucinogens, and the song was later used in pop culture to imply or accompany just such a state. Personnel Grace Slick -- vocals Jorma Kaukonen -- lead guitar Paul Kantner -- rhythm guitar Jack Casady -- bass Spencer Dryden -- drums Charts Cashbox ( 11 weeks ) : 59, 45, 23, 14, 12, 11, 8, 6, 7, 22, 41 Covers Many artists have covered the song. Among the more notable examples are guitarist George Benson 's jazz version from 1971 ( featuring an electric piano solo by Herbie Hancock ), and a single released in 1980 by punk / gothic rock band the Damned. The song was covered by industrial rock group Death Method for the various artists compilation album Shut Up Kitty, released in 1993. A 1996 version by Icelandic singer - songwriter Emilíana Torrini was used in the soundtrack for the 2011 film Sucker Punch. The 2002 Do n't Know When I 'll Be Back Again : A Compilation Benefiting American Veterans of the Vietnam War contains a cover by the band Enon. Collide contributed a DnB - remix version for the soundtrack of Resident Evil : Extinction in 2007. Pop - rock singer P ! nk has covered the song in 2016 for the Disney movie Alice Through the Looking Glass without the version appearing on the soundtrack. Blue Man Group used the song for their stage production and put it into their album, The Complex. In media `` White Rabbit '' has been used in numerous films and television shows. In the `` A Head in the Polls '' episode of the television show Futurama, the character of Richard Nixon 's head, while announcing his campaign to become president of Earth and in an attempt to broaden his political appeal, sings, `` Remember what the dormouse said. Feed your head. '' Then adds, `` I 'm meeting you halfway, you stupid hippies. '' In an episode of Blossom, Blossom 's dad ( Ted Wass ) has a nightmare sequence of Blossom and Six trying pot to the song. The song is featured in the 1997 film The Game. The song is featured in the Terry Gilliam adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson 's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ( corresponding to the book 's mention of the song ). A line in the song, `` Go Ask Alice '', was used as the title of a 1971 book about drug addiction by Beatrice Sparks that was adapted two years later into an ABC Movie of the Week. The song was used in the soundtrack for the film. What the Dormouse Said : How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry, by John Markoff, is a book about the development of the personal computer in the context of the collaboration - driven, World War II - era defense research community and the cooperatives and psychedelics of the American counterculture of the 1960s. `` What the Dormouse Said '' is a reference to lines at the end of the song, `` Remember what the dormouse said. Feed your head. '' A version, sung in Arabic by Mayssa Karaa, is heard in the 2013 movie American Hustle. The song is played in The Simpsons season 10 episode 6, `` D'oh - in ' in the Wind '', season 16 episode 6, `` Midnight Rx '', and season 19 episode 19, `` Mona Leaves - a ''. The song is played in the 1986 Academy Award winner Platoon. The song is played in the Warehouse 13 season 1 episode 8 `` Duped '' when Alice ( inhabiting the body of Myka Bering ) returns to the Warehouse to destroy the mirror that would trap her. The song is played in the beginning and very ending of Season 1, Episode 7 of The Sopranos, titled `` Down Neck ''. The song is played in Supernatural season 2 episode 10 `` Hunted ''. The song is played in Episode 1 of the first season of Stranger Things, titled `` The Vanishing of Will Byers '' The song is included in the soundtrack to Mafia III The song is included in the soundtrack to Sucker Punch. A remixed version of the song was used for Battlefield Vietnam 's theme, and the original song was also available for use with the ingame radio function. The song is again featured in Battlefield : Bad Company 2 : Vietnam, again available with the ingame radio function. The song is played in Call of Duty : Black Ops III 's last campaign mission `` Life '', as the background music played in the building when the Player exited. The song is played in season 4 episode 2 of Queer as Folk. The song is played in the fourth episode of the HBO miniseries `` Big Little Lies ''. The song is played in season one, episode eight of Hulu 's adaptation of Margaret Atwood 's `` The Handmaid 's Tale ''. The song was briefly played in Kong : Skull Island. The song is played in Pawn Sacrifice. References Jump up ^ Myers, Marc ( May 31, 2016 ). `` How Jefferson Airplane 's Grace Slick Wrote ' White Rabbit ' ''. International Times. Retrieved July 21, 2016. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100 ''. Billboard.com. Retrieved July 8, 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time ''. December 9, 2004. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved August 7, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Top Singles of All - time ''. Rate Your Music. Retrieved October 30, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Darby Slick Puts Original Lyrics Up For Sale ''. jambands.com. Jump up ^ `` Billboard -- Jefferson Airplane ''. Billboard.com. Jump up ^ Tamarkin, Jeff, ed. ( 2003 ). Got a revolution ! : the turublent flight of Jefferson Airplane. Atria. p. 113. ISBN 0 - 671 - 03403 - 0. Retrieved April 30, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Biography -- Grace Slick ''. jeffersonairplane. con. Jump up ^ `` White Rabbit Lyrics ''. metrolyrics.com. Jump up ^ Hughes, Rob ( October 29, 2016 ). `` The Story Behind The Song : White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane ''. TEAMROCK.COM. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 02. Jump up ^ Myers, Marc. `` She Went Chasing Rabbits ''. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2016. Jump up ^ Berkowitz, Kenny. Got a Revolution ! : The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane. New York : Atrica Books, 2005, p. 153 ; Wall Street Journal Interview 29 April 2011 ( 1 ) Jump up ^ 1,001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die Jump up ^ Hoffmann, Frank ( 1983 ). The Cash Box Singles Charts, 1950 -- 1981. Metuchen, NJ & London : The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 303. Jump up ^ `` Filmography by year for Jefferson Airplane ''. IMDB.com. Retrieved June 14, 2011. Jump up ^ `` Go Ask Alice Soundtrack ''. IMDB.com. Retrieved July 29, 2017. Jump up ^ Lanier, Jaron ( July 2010 ). `` Early Computing 's Long, Strange Trip. What the Dormouse Said : How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry. John Markoff '' ( Book review ). American Scientist. Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. 93 ( 4 ). Scientists ' Nightstand > Bookshelf Detail. Retrieved June 26, 2015. John Markoff 's What the Dormouse Said ( the title is taken from the lyrics of the Jefferson Airplane song `` White Rabbit '' ) tells the story of the important period when the personal computer and the Internet as we know them came into being. He also describes how a new culture of drugs, sex and rock and roll was created at the same time as the computers, sometimes in the same rooms, by some of the same people. External links Song Review : White Rabbit, Allmusic. IMDB Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Reference IMDB Sucker Punch Reference Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics Jefferson Airplane ( discography, members ) Jefferson Starship ( discography, members ) Starship ( discography ) Studio albums Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane Takes Off Surrealistic Pillow After Bathing at Baxter 's Crown of Creation Volunteers Bark Long John Silver Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Starship Blows Against the Empire ( with Paul Kantner ) Dragon Fly Red Octopus Spitfire Earth Freedom at Point Zero Modern Times Winds of Change Nuclear Furniture Windows of Heaven Jefferson 's Tree of Liberty Starship Knee Deep in the Hoopla No Protection Love Among the Cannibals Loveless Fascination Live albums Bless Its Pointed Little Head Thirty Seconds Over Winterland Deep Space / Virgin Sky Greatest Hits : Live at the Fillmore Across the Sea of Suns Archival releases Live at the Monterey Festival Live at the Fillmore East At Golden Gate Park Last Flight Sweeping Up the Spotlight At the Family Dog Ballroom The Woodstock Experience Compilations The Worst of Jefferson Airplane Early Flight Flight Log Gold 2400 Fulton Street Greatest Hits ( Ten Years and Change 1979 -- 1991 ) Jefferson Airplane Loves You The Essential Jefferson Airplane Singles `` Somebody to Love '' `` White Rabbit '' `` The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil '' `` Volunteers '' `` Wooden Ships '' `` Mexico '' `` Ride the Tiger '' `` Miracles '' `` Play On Love '' `` With Your Love '' `` Count On Me '' `` Runaway '' `` Light the Sky on Fire '' `` Jane '' `` Find Your Way Back '' `` Stranger '' `` Be My Lady '' `` Winds of Change '' `` No Way Out '' `` Layin ' It on the Line '' `` We Built This City '' `` Sara '' `` Tomorrow Does n't Matter Tonight '' `` Nothing 's Gonna Stop Us Now '' `` It 's Not Over ( ' Til It 's Over ) '' `` It 's Not Enough '' `` Planes '' `` Good Heart '' `` Let Me Fly '' `` It 's Not the Same as Love '' Filmography Monterey Pop ( 1968 ) Gimme Shelter ( 1970 ) One P.M. ( 1972 ) Star Wars Holiday Special ( 1978 ) Woodstock ( 1994 director 's cut ) Related articles Grunt Records Hot Tuna KBC Band The Matrix ( club ) Planet Earth Rock and Roll Orchestra Book The Damned Dave Vanian Captain Sensible Monty Oxymoron Pinch Paul Gray Brian James Rat Scabies Lu Edmonds Dave Berk Henry Badowski Jon Moss Lemmy Algy Ward Gary Holton Roman Jugg Bryn Merrick Paul Shepley Kris Dollimore Alan Lee Shaw Moose Harris Garrie Dreadful Patricia Morrison Spike Smith Stu West Studio albums Damned Damned Damned Music for Pleasure Machine Gun Etiquette The Black Album Strawberries Phantasmagoria Anything Not of This Earth Grave Disorder So, Who 's Paranoid ? Live albums Live Shepperton 1980 Live at Newcastle The Captain 's Birthday Party Not the Captain 's Birthday Party ? 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So Far ! ! ! `` Raise Your Glass '' `` Fuckin ' Perfect '' `` Whataya Want from Me '' The Truth About Love `` Blow Me ( One Last Kiss ) '' `` Try '' `` Just Give Me a Reason '' `` True Love '' `` Walk of Shame '' Beautiful Trauma `` What About Us '' Collaborations `` Lady Marmalade '' `` We Are the World 25 for Haiti '' `` Wo n't Back Down '' `` Setting the World on Fire '' `` Waterfall '' Other songs `` Bridge of Light '' `` I Am Not My Hair '' `` Sing '' `` Today 's the Day '' `` Just Like Fire '' `` White Rabbit '' `` Hands '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Rabbit_(song)&oldid=800317240 '' Categories : 1967 singles Jefferson Airplane songs Blue Man Group songs 1980 singles 1983 singles Music based on Alice in Wonderland The Damned ( band ) songs Patti Smith songs Songs written by Grace Slick Songs about drugs Song recordings produced by Rick Jarrard Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Counterculture of the 1960s 1967 songs RCA Victor singles Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Pages using infobox song with unknown parameters Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español فارسی Français Italiano Nederlands Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Русский Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 12 September 2017, at 19 : 41. 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Question: the lyrics of white rabbit are based on what children’s book
Answer: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland