"Stoned Soul Picnic" was a song from 1968.
The most known version of the song was recorded by The 5th Dimension,
and was the first single released from their album of the same title.
It was the most successful single from that album,
reaching #3 on the U.S. Pop chart and #2 on the Billboard R&B chart.
The song was also recorded by its composer,
Laura Nyro,
and released on her Eli and the Thirteenth Confession album in the same year.
The word surry,
used frequently in the lyric
(e.g. "Surry down to a stoned soul picnic"),
is a neologism by Nyro; its meaning is unclear.
The verb surry is spelled differently from the noun surrey
(an old-time carriage).
When asked by producer Charlie Calello what the word meant,
Nyro told him, "Oh, it's just a nice word."
The British pop group
Swing Out Sister
recorded a cover version on their 1997 album,
"Shapes and Patterns".
It was covered by Julie London on her 1969 album
"Yummy, Yummy, Yummy";
and by the New York Voices on their 2007 album
"A Day Like This".
It also appeared on the 2004 album
"Don't Talk",
recorded by British jazz singer Claire Teal.
***************************
Can
you
sur
-ry,
can
you
pic
-nic
more?
Can
you
sur
-ry,
can
you
pic
-nic?
C'
mon,
c'
mo
-n and
Sur
-rey
down
to
a
stoned
soul
pic
-nic
Sur
-rey
down
to
a
stoned
soul
pic
-nic
The
-re'll
be
lot
-s of
time
and
wi
-ne
Red,
ye
-llow,
ho
-ney,
sa
-ssa
-fra
-ss and
moon
-shine
Red, yellow, honey, sassafrass and moonshine
Stoned soul
(Stoned soul)
C'mon, c'mon and
Surrey down to a stoned soul picnic
Surrey down to a stoned soul picnic
Rain and sun come in again
And from the sky come the Lord and the lightning
And from the sky come the Lord and the lightning
Stoned soul
(Oh stoned soul)
Surry on, soul
Surry, surry, surry, surry
There'll be trains of blossom
(There'll be trains of blossom)
There'll be trains of music
(There'll be music)
There'll be trains of trust, trains of golden dust
********************************
Can
you
surry,
can
you
surry?
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
Surry down to a stoned soul picnic
There'll be lots of time and wine
Red, yellow, honey, sassafrass and moonshine
Red, yellow, honey, sassafrass and moonshine
(Moonshine)
Stoned soul, yeah
Surry on, soul
Surry, surry, surry, surry
Surry, surry, surry, surry