I Met an Indian Girl

‘Pearly Queen’ is a song by Traffic that was written by Jim Capaldi, and Steve Winwood and it was released on their eponymous 1968 second studio album and again on their 1994 album The Last Great Traffic Jam.  ‘Pearly Queen’ was also recorded by Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood on Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert in 1973 and Live From Madison Square Garden in 2009.  This is a fun song about a wine drinking gypsy who reveals this guy’s destiny.  This Indian girl makes him forget this troubled world, and he dreams about a pearly queen with flowers blooming around her feet.  Gypsies across the world originated from India and they worshiped Kali, a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the master of death, time and change.  It is believed that the various invasions in India and financial reasons led to the exodus of these tribes and eventually gypsies spread across the globe.  The gypsy language seemed to be different from the other European languages, so the Europeans thought that they came from Egypt, but they called themselves Roma.

This song may be a reference to female member of the Pearly Kings and Queens who would wear eye-catching outfits decorated with pearl as they raised funds for charity in the UK.  The Pearly Kings and Queens originated in 19th Century Victorian London, evolving from Coster Kings and Queens, who were elected as leaders of London’s Street traders.  These Street traders, or Costermongers were an important feature of London life but they were often hounded by the authorities & bureaucracy.  They developed a fashion for wearing pearls, sewing these pearls on their battered hand-me-down waistcoats, caps and working trousers.  A road sweeper and rat-catcher by the name of Henry Croft changed this look forever by smothering a worn-out dress suit & top hat with smoked pearl buttons, incorporating patterns, symbols and slogans, one of which was “All For Charity”.

I bought a sequined suit from a pearly queen
She could drink more wine than I’d ever seen
She had some gypsies’ blood flowing through her feet
And when the time was right she said that I would meet my destiny

I traveled round the world to find the sun
I couldn’t stop myself from having fun
And then one day I met an Indian girl
And she made me forget this troubled world we’re living in, yeah

I had a strange dream, in my hair
I saw a pearly queen lying there
And all around her feet flowers bloomed
But they were made of silk and sequins two by two

I bought a sequined suit from a pearly queen
She could drink more wine than I’d ever seen
She had some gypsies’ blood flowing through her feet
And when the time was right she said that I would meet my destiny

I traveled round the world to find the sun
I couldn’t stop myself from having fun
Then one day I met an Indian girl
And she made me forget this troubled world we’re living in

Written for Thursday Inspiration #161 Spill the Wine where the prompt is pearl.