A Whirlwind Cry for Freedom: The Moody Blues’ “Ride My See-Saw”
In the vibrant autumn of 1968, The Moody Blues, Britain’s psychedelic prog-rock pioneers, unleashed “Ride My See-Saw”, a single that galloped to #42 on the UK Singles Chart and #61 on the Billboard Hot 100, released on October 12 by Deram Records. Drawn from their landmark album In Search of the Lost Chord, which peaked at #23 in the U.S. and #5 in the UK, this track wasn’t their highest climber but became a live staple and FM radio darling. For those of us who drifted through the late ‘60s, when tie-dye swirled and the world teetered between chaos and dreams, this song is a weathered talisman—a call to break free, a rush of sound that still races through the veins. It’s the echo of a generation’s restless soul, a memory of starry nights and bold leaps, tugging at the heart of anyone who ever yearned to run unbound.
The genesis of “Ride My See-Saw” is a tapestry of the band’s cosmic ambition. By 1968, Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Graeme Edge, Ray Thomas, and Mike Pinder were alchemists, blending rock with orchestral sweep at Decca’s Tollington Park Studios. Lodge, the bassist with a poet’s pen, wrote it as a burst of youthful defiance—a nod to his days dodging school for music’s lure. Recorded in May amid sitars, flutes, and the Mellotron’s eerie hum, it was a late addition to In Search of the Lost Chord, nearly cut until producer Tony Clarke insisted on its raw energy. Hayward’s searing vocals and Edge’s galloping drums turned Lodge’s vision into a three-minute storm, a counterpoint to the album’s meditative sprawl. It was born in a haze of incense and revolution, as the band toured Europe, their minds alight with the era’s upheaval—’68’s riots, flower power’s peak, and a hunger for something beyond the mundane.
At its core, “Ride My See-Saw” is a frantic plea to seize life’s reins—a rebel’s anthem cloaked in joy. “Ride, ride my see-saw, take this place on this trip just for me,” Hayward belts, his voice a clarion call over Pinder’s organ swirl, while Lodge’s “I worked like a slave for years / Sweat so hard just to end my fears” spills a tale of breaking chains. It’s about a soul shaking off shackles—school, work, expectation—racing toward freedom with a lover in tow: “Run, run my last race, take my place, have this number of mine.” For older listeners, it’s a portal to those ‘60s days—protests in the streets, vinyl spinning in dorm rooms, the thrill of ditching the script for a wild unknown. It’s the rush of a VW van’s rumble, the flicker of a peace sign, the moment you felt the world could bend to your will. As the final “Ride my see-saw” crashes, you’re left with a breathless ache—a nostalgia for when every step was a leap, and freedom was a song you could almost touch.