The Habanero Reel
"On a lighter note, I think quite a few people know that I'm keen on spicy food, particularly those who have visited our website . I use a lot of chilli peppers when I cook at home and the generally accepted number 10 strength killer is the habanero - in the Caribbean a close relative of this is the Scotch Bonnet, which I also refer to in this song. 'The Habanero Reel' is just an ode to capsicum, which gives off that excessive, burning heat. Of course, the best thing about it, as I say in the song, is that it is strictly legal!"
* Ian Anderson; from the Papillon Press Release "The Secret Language Of Birds"
"The Capsaicin experience: the endorphin rush. We're not just talking Chicken Tikka Massala. Can repel intruders. Probably illegal in your town after all, in that context".
* Ian Anderson in the album booklet.
Cool in the corner, tom cat sitting
on the edge of the yard; sand-flies flitting.
Orange order in a field of green.
Smothers me to smithereens.

Rum and cola, ice cubes crashing.
Jumping beans and brown eyes flashing.
Long hair swinging, tell me how d'you feel?
Well, hot and fancy, it's the habanero reel.

Troubled skin? Pour oil upon it.
She's fit to burn in her new Scotch Bonnet.
Spice up anybody's stew.
Frogs and goats and chickens too.

Rum and cola, ice cubes crashing.
Jumping beans and brown eyes flashing.
Long hair swinging, tell me how d'you feel?
Well, hot and fancy, it's the habanero reel.

Barefoot in the sunshine.
Kicking empty beer cans down on a high tide line.
Big wave nearly float your dress away.
And I'm thinking that it's just another day:
just another day.

Feel that hot rush starts its tickle.
Sweat is rising, taste buds prickle
with ears of bat and eye of eagle.
It's just as well it's strictly legal.

Rum and cola, ice cubes crashing.
Jumping beans and brown eyes flashing.
Long hair swinging, tell me how d'you feel?
Well, hot and fancy, it's the habanero reel.

Barefoot in the sunshine.
Kicking empty beer cans down on a high tide line.
Big wave nearly float your dress away.
And I'm thinking that it's just another day:
just another day.