Ride My See-Saw
"Ride My See-Saw" is a hit 1968 single by the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was written by the band's bassist John Lodge, and was first released on the Moody Blues' 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord. It was the second of two singles from that album, the other being "Voices in the Sky". "Ride My See-Saw" is one of John Lodge's signature high-energy rock and roll songs, and is sometimes regarded as his most popular composition for the Moody Blues, along with "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)".
| "Ride My See-Saw" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Moody Blues | ||||
| from the album In Search of the Lost Chord | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 12 October 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 17 May 1968 | |||
| Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 3:39 | |||
| Label | Deram | |||
| Songwriter(s) | John Lodge | |||
| Producer(s) | Tony Clarke | |||
| The Moody Blues singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
"Ride My See-Saw"
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The single was released later in October 1968, with Mike Pinder's "A Simple Game" on the B-side. That track was sampled by Phi Life Cypher on the track "Free" on the album Higher Forces. The Four Tops' recording of "A Simple Game" went to #3 in the UK charts in October 1971.
On the album, the song is preceded by the spoken-word piece "Departure", and laughter from the end of that track bleeds into the opening of "Ride My See-Saw". This introduction was not included on the single release.
At most of the Moody Blues' concerts, "Ride My See-Saw" is the encore presentation at the end of the shows. When performed live, it is usually opened by a lengthy keyboard and drum duet as the band members make their way back out to the stage for the encore.
Personnel
- John Lodge ― bass, vocals
- Justin Hayward ― electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Mike Pinder ― Mellotron, vocals
- Ray Thomas ― tambourine, vocals
- Graeme Edge ― drums, maracas
Chart positions
| Chart (1968) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 42 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 61 |
Use in popular media
An instrumental version of "Ride My See-Saw" recorded by Ronnie Aldrich and the London Festival Orchestra was used as the theme music for the Canadian morning programme Canada AM on CTV during the 1970s. During this same period Canada AM's sister series W5 was using Supertramp's "Fool's Overture" as its theme music.
This song was used as bumper music for Art Bell's radio program Coast to Coast AM, and as the intro song to his short-lived Art Bell's Dark Matter.