FRIENDS OF DISTINCTION Grazing in the grass (music reaction) I need help on this one guys..

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  • Опубликовано: 14 ноя 2024

Комментарии • 140

  • @paulrt3
    @paulrt3 Год назад +3

    Such a fun song!

  • @John_Chu
    @John_Chu Год назад +56

    Originally by Hugh Masekela, the South African trumpeter, in 1968 as an instrumental. The song is a variation on another song by an African artist Freddie Gumbi (from Zambia) called "Mr. Bull No. 4." It's about cattle grazing in the grass, Harri. LOL. Both songs started with cowbell! The lyrics were written by one of the Friends of Distinction band members, picking up on the theme of herding cattle in Africa. Nice pick Brandon. Thanks, Harri.

    • @Cynthia...
      @Cynthia... Год назад +5

      That's right John and I knew it by Hugh Masekela first. Fantastic.

    • @HiramLoki
      @HiramLoki Год назад +6

      There used to be a post on YT of both versions back to back. Starting with the instrumental first.

    • @cpruitt75
      @cpruitt75 11 месяцев назад

      LOL! Here I thought it was the other way, the cowbells represent the girls' fast pace lyrics. Anyhow, it's good for family outtings for picnics, etc, slowing down and observing nature, seeing what's around... and for the adults, adding that extra enhancement you elude to. I first heard Hugh's and fell in love with the cowbell and horns, guitar slide w/the surfer sound, and the energy! There's no doubting the energy. That's why the girls were so up and pippy! No wonder the song has that jazz-pop vibe! Thanks for sharing your take. I thought for a moment you may have recognized with your groove.
      In future episodes, PLEASE DO NOT CUT OFF THE SONG! Just because you may not "dig it" doesn't mean your audience isn't- we may be just discovering it too! ❤

    • @cpruitt75
      @cpruitt75 11 месяцев назад

      family outtings= picnics = grazing in the grass

  • @Lakeshore14
    @Lakeshore14 Год назад +26

    This was a big hit in the late 60s. Saw them in Ann Arbor Michigan, they were great. Thanks Brandon and Harri. 👏👏🇨🇦

  • @marybaillie8907
    @marybaillie8907 Год назад +50

    This was the first big hit to include "Dig It" in the lyrics. Harry Elston does the lead vocals, answered by the other 3 singers. This song is packed with vocal hooks and a wonderful scat sing to some of the lines. This was a mammoth hit in 1969 and made it to Number 3.
    Originally done as an instrumental by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, The Friends of Distinction turned this into a catchy tune with great musicality and such vibrant vocals. Love this tune, transforms you right back to the 60's. ❤ Great reaction Harri. Thanks Harri and Brandon. 👏👏
    Cheers from Canada 🇨🇦

    • @EvenCheekier
      @EvenCheekier Год назад +4

      I think they also say "sock it to me", which was made popular by the show "Laugh-In"

    • @TerrysQuest
      @TerrysQuest Год назад +2

      @@EvenCheekier and James Brown.

  • @karenpowell6063
    @karenpowell6063 Год назад +27

    I love this song so much! I remember when it was released in the early 70s, great memories associated with this one . Great reaction as usual Harri❤️🔥

    • @kennyhuskisson2684
      @kennyhuskisson2684 Год назад +2

      Karen, back up a couple years, lol, this came out in 1968, lol, can ya dig it!👍✌️

    • @bradsense7431
      @bradsense7431 Год назад +2

      @@kennyhuskisson2684slow down you backed up too far! This was a hit in summer 1969. That summer was filled with so much great music. I was 11 years old and loved every bit of it.

    • @cpruitt75
      @cpruitt75 11 месяцев назад +1

      LOL! Fun to watch the time machine warp to all these stops. 😂🎶🎺🎤

  • @michael7191
    @michael7191 Год назад +18

    I can dig it. He can dig it. She can dig it. We can dig it. They can dig it. You can dig it. Oh let’s dig it. Can you dig it baby? Hardest karaoke ever!! ☺️

    • @DanielleGillmoreJohnson
      @DanielleGillmoreJohnson Год назад +1

      YES! You'd better know THAT part before you step up to the mic...LOLOL! 😂😂😂

  • @Cynthia...
    @Cynthia... Год назад +13

    I realize that most songs have memories awoken by them, but some way more than others. This really hits the memory nerve for sure as Yorkville was changing from folk houses and Toronto bands to a bit of disco. Thanks Brandon and Harri.

  • @328ChaunceyStreet
    @328ChaunceyStreet Год назад +5

    Not everything is about drugs, this is pure joy and innocence!😎

  • @charlottefetyko772
    @charlottefetyko772 Год назад +23

    Funny thing my Mom thought they were singing raisins in the grass are gassy. We were on the floor laughing when we heard her singing that line. We still tease her to this day and she is 94

    • @janicetilley5540
      @janicetilley5540 Год назад +2

      Love this story about your Mom and this song.❤

    • @cpruitt75
      @cpruitt75 11 месяцев назад +1

      Totally sounds like my tragic ear. It doesn't help when a lot of modern artists don't bother with eeennnooouun-ssseee-Aaaee-Sshhuhnnn.

  • @Friend_Of_The_Muse
    @Friend_Of_The_Muse Год назад +22

    Originally an Instrumental by Hugh Masekela. Great one. I tend to agree that there was a bit of an herbal reference but of course when this came out...everything had a herbal reference. Can you dig it Baby? LOL Good pick guys. Love this version. Check out the Masekela original. This is a great and rare live performance here.

    • @cpruitt75
      @cpruitt75 11 месяцев назад

      Here's a RUclips link to the '68 studio cut from Hugh Masekela:
      ruclips.net/video/qxXZF60EPdM/видео.html
      This is the version I first heard... then a couple weeks later I came across the Friends live recording, and I lost it! SOOO GREAT how the tied the jazz in and the cowbell into modern era pop lyrics that hands down worked! I can totally dig it!

  • @bobbiewallace4008
    @bobbiewallace4008 Год назад +5

    They are definitely happy

  • @kellyhoward6941
    @kellyhoward6941 Год назад +10

    OMG, talk about a trip down memory lane (WAYYY down memory lane...I was 9 when it came out)! I couldn't have given the name of the band or the song, but remembered it as soon as it started. It was a great one, tho it never occurred to me, even when I heard it at an older age, about which 'grass' they might be talking about. Ah, the innocence of youth & cluelessness. Great pick Brandon, great reaction Harri! I can & did dig it. 😆

  • @debragrossbach102
    @debragrossbach102 Год назад +3

    As a country girl growing up in the 60's, it was a wondrous pleasure to lay in the grass and sky watch (I often think back to that as my zen place). I interpreted this song at the time and still do as a natural high on "nature." And as for the excitement of the singers, they were on the freaking Ed Sullivan Show. No disrespect intended, just I see this performance very differently than the reaction. Love this song! Also, Harri, I love your channel!

  • @jimcagney6696
    @jimcagney6696 Год назад +2

    One of my all time favorites. I wish I could give you one hundred thumbs up for this. And thumbs up to Brandon

  • @dedehe7582
    @dedehe7582 Год назад +5

    Hi HARRI, you did check out another song by this group “ going in circles “... they do have great vocals.

  • @garyarnett1220
    @garyarnett1220 Год назад +4

    Perfectly innocent song Harri. I also remember the earlier instumental version from a bit earlier.

  • @subwaygoddess1
    @subwaygoddess1 Год назад +6

    I love this song! I'm so happy you got to hear it!!

  • @marleneclausen30
    @marleneclausen30 Год назад +4

    Well, from the standpoint as a child of the 60's and a farm kid as well, I never thought it was anything except what they said and had ZIP to do w/what my dad's cattle were doing out in the pasture!! Loved it then, love it still. Thanks for the reaction, it really has been quite a while since I last heard it.

  • @pamalaalford1081
    @pamalaalford1081 Год назад +1

    Yes, Harri, it is what you think it is ... but what a great way to "hide" it! Thanks for the memories. God bless you⁸

  • @bmbdsds
    @bmbdsds Год назад +3

    STILL love this song!!!

  • @SnowmanN49
    @SnowmanN49 Год назад +10

    I dig it Harri. It's actually about cattle grazing, but of course all us hippie potheads took it to mean something else entirely. Used to hear this on the radio a lot, but this is the first time I've ever seen them. Lots of energy there, reminds me of The 5th Dimension. You should check out the original Hugh Masekela instrumental. I don't know if it was a big hit on the charts, but it was certainly very popular.

    • @bradsense7431
      @bradsense7431 Год назад

      Come on now. Cattle grazing may have inspired the idea but those lyrics are about something else that as an eleven year old even understood. 😊 It would be a few more years before I “grazed in the grass” myself. And yes it was a gas, and I dug it.

    • @SnowmanN49
      @SnowmanN49 Год назад

      @@bradsense7431 It's true, it's true!

  • @mookeychase0907
    @mookeychase0907 6 месяцев назад +1

    This and Soulful Strut are my fave songs from the late 60s Im 59 born in '65 these were being played at the top of the 70s both have that symphony sound with plenty horn play…

  • @pugowner1347
    @pugowner1347 Год назад +3

    This song was inspired by a song called "Mr. Bull #4" from a 7 inch novelty single record that Hugh Masekela (A black jazz trumpet player) bought while on a trip to Zambia. He reworked the song to fill in the final 3 minutes of a contracted recording deal in 1968. He did it just to fill time and had no idea it would be a hit. He even knocked Herb Albert out of the #1 spot in the radio charts. In 1969 The Friends of Distinction came out with the vocal version we saw here. They took it to #3 in 1969.
    The song is inspired by chillin' and watching cows graze in a pasture. Literally. lol

  • @michaelasay8587
    @michaelasay8587 Год назад +1

    Harri...cant believe youve never heard this!!!

  • @BeeLineEast
    @BeeLineEast Год назад +3

    Oh yes i remember this song well. Good reaction Harri.

  • @renaissanceman165
    @renaissanceman165 Год назад +3

    The sonng is about just enjoying life on a beautiful, sunny day. It was a big hit for The Friends of Distinction. It is a lyrical, vocal remake of Hugh Masekeka''s instrumentall hit. The beautiful, young lady in th white gown is Linda Cleaves, whose soaring, lead and background vocals can be heard, a couple years later, as a member of Earth Wind & Fire, and later Parliament Funkadelic. Check it Out! Ciao!!!

    • @TheQuenisha1
      @TheQuenisha1 Год назад

      exactly

    • @FAMUCHOLLY
      @FAMUCHOLLY 9 месяцев назад

      Jessica Cleaves. She also did a stint singing with George Clinton's P-Funk collective. Wonderful vocalist who passed away too young...😢

  • @dragonfly1153
    @dragonfly1153 Год назад +1

    Sure do dig it!!!! Pure delight. Thanks, Harry!

  • @elysehfm8797
    @elysehfm8797 Год назад +8

    I know this song well, but had no idea "grazing in the grass" had anything to do with it! They sing at lightning speed.
    I can dig it, he can dig it, she can dig it, we can dig it, they can dig it!

  • @miltonslocum8957
    @miltonslocum8957 Год назад +8

    Great request! I've always loved this song. Came out when I was in college. Another song by them is Going In Circles which is a slower song and is another favorite of mine. Thanks for the reaction Harri! Great memories!

    • @brandonious7732
      @brandonious7732 Год назад +1

      Harri reacted to "going in circles" last month check it out. That was apparently his introduction to the band at my request.

    • @miltonslocum8957
      @miltonslocum8957 Год назад +1

      @@brandonious7732 Ok, great! I I'll check it out! Thanks for letting me know!

    • @miltonslocum8957
      @miltonslocum8957 Год назад +1

      @@brandonious7732 Also, great request by the way!

    • @brandonious7732
      @brandonious7732 Год назад

      @@miltonslocum8957 thank you. My favorite request of mine was my first one. He had only heard Kenny logins from footloose. I requested a song called celebrate me home.

    • @miltonslocum8957
      @miltonslocum8957 Год назад

      @@brandonious7732 You're welcome!

  • @Prayerman2009
    @Prayerman2009 11 месяцев назад +1

    I believe you’re right about the true meaning of grazing in the grass.

  • @rs-ye7kw
    @rs-ye7kw Год назад +2

    For some reason I always have trouble remembering what songs are by this group and which are done by The Fifth Dimension.

  • @admin777admin
    @admin777admin Год назад +4

    such a feel good track..always gets me up

  • @Irockthere4
    @Irockthere4 Год назад +4

    If that’s live that’s amazing

  • @punkydoodle4774
    @punkydoodle4774 Год назад +5

    Just heard this song a few hours ago. Yes, I can still do the fast part. This song is like a '60s time capsule. So much of this song has '60s lingo. I remember listening to this in the car with my son. At the end he said, "what?" I had to decode it for him.

  • @scottyhotty1003
    @scottyhotty1003 6 месяцев назад +1

    Great reaction bro you had me rolling❤

  • @dagmar.6954
    @dagmar.6954 Год назад +11

    The Friends of Distinction were a great American vocal group from the 60's. They had 3 major hits "Grazing In The Grass", "Going In Circles" & "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely". In the 70's they recorded "Check It Out" & "Time Waits For No One".

  • @v.downes9608
    @v.downes9608 Год назад

    I remember this song. Its been awhile since I heard this great song. I keep saying, why can’t we hear these great song on the radio, and now a new radio station, WHLI or WHIL not sure, they play 60/70’s music.

  • @gxl5892
    @gxl5892 Год назад +1

    Wow have not heard this song since I was a kid!!!!! What a great song!!!

  • @pugowner1347
    @pugowner1347 Год назад +1

    I actually remember seeing this episode of The Ed Sullivan Show.

  • @cypressknight1471
    @cypressknight1471 5 месяцев назад +2

    1968 Favorite!

  • @stevenhill8422
    @stevenhill8422 Год назад +1

    Try Strawberry #23 by the Brothers Johnson. You'll love it!

  • @supersonicsoulsupreme1414
    @supersonicsoulsupreme1414 Год назад +1

    I think the song is just about enjoying life and the beauty that surrounds us how many of us have laid in the grass and just enjoyed the sights & sounds, but it was released in the 60s so you never know what the true meaning of the song is

  • @rebeccalipps23
    @rebeccalipps23 Год назад

    We used to call this 'Blazin' in the grass. I love the Fifth Dimension vibe, too.

  • @jdw5678
    @jdw5678 Год назад +2

    Ah, a super-duper sunshiny bubble-gum pop hit from '69, one of the greatest summers for music! Wonderful memories from my childhood associated with this one. I think it's an innocent song, Harri -- Ed wasn't going to let another druggy tune get on his show (not after Jim Morrison and the Doors' performance). The "Friends" could get soulful as needed, but this was pure sunshine pop.

  • @joey_bonin
    @joey_bonin Год назад +3

    This is the same arrangement as the hit studio version..

  • @louisb5563
    @louisb5563 Год назад

    I can DIG it BABY!!! Peeps danced that way even when sober! 🔥🔥🔥🌟👍🏻😄

  • @edenmeade8801
    @edenmeade8801 Год назад +1

    Hugh masekela came out with instrumental Nice listen to it.

  • @Jody525252
    @Jody525252 6 дней назад

    Always loved this tune!!

  • @richardfarenas458
    @richardfarenas458 9 месяцев назад

    I was nice and energetic song, hearing it from the fm radio.

  • @An_Cat_Dubh
    @An_Cat_Dubh Год назад

    Floyd Butler and Harry Elston sang along with LaMonte McClemore and Marilyn McCoo in the early-1960s in a vocal group called The Hi-Fi's. The Hi-Fi's later split up into what would become two vocal groups: The Friends of Distinction and The 5th Dimension.

  • @lanceflx63
    @lanceflx63 Год назад +2

    They were like a funky version of The 5th Dimension.

  • @richardkawucha1232
    @richardkawucha1232 Год назад

    Hugh Masekela first wrote/performed this. His wife is Miriam Makeba. Their both fantastic South African performers.

  • @JamesRichardWiley
    @JamesRichardWiley 11 месяцев назад

    Every time I come across this song it reminds me of my pot smoking days fifty years ago.

  • @sammartin6979
    @sammartin6979 Год назад +2

    Maybe the ladies are just happy to be on The Ed Sullivan Show

  • @dianesinnett4391
    @dianesinnett4391 Год назад +4

    So sad, two have passed

  • @haroldhoot
    @haroldhoot Год назад +4

    This is one exciting song! And, dude! They really have their pronouns DOWN!! haha

  • @jonathanwright9613
    @jonathanwright9613 Год назад +2

    Nope, they are just high on life having a fine day.

  • @CherylSantiago-jl3rv
    @CherylSantiago-jl3rv 6 месяцев назад

    Yes it was a big hit back in 1969 I was 16 when that song came out sweet sixteen😂

  • @stevenklyce3555
    @stevenklyce3555 Год назад

    Guaranteed big smile.

  • @pattiaustin1808
    @pattiaustin1808 Год назад +2

    Oh, Harri, these artists were of your parents’ generation, so consider how damn cool they were. “I can dig it you can dig it we can dig” alone is worth the listen. And, yeah, perhaps those fortunate souls had tripped the light fantastic, as it were. Hope they did. Hope you do, too.

  • @KittyCarlile-490
    @KittyCarlile-490 7 месяцев назад

    Haha I remember being high as heck hearing this on the radio when I was 16

  • @danielmorlan1558
    @danielmorlan1558 3 месяца назад

    Was originally an instrumental with lyrics added. Nice video good sir!

  • @bradsense7431
    @bradsense7431 Год назад +2

    I have been waiting for someone to react to this - finally! I can certainly dig it! Please also react to “Love Or Let Me Be Lonely” by same group. It is a wonderful arrangement with catchy vocal hooks, accentuating horns to go along with an unmistakeable 1970 soulful- pop vibe.

    • @jgg59
      @jgg59 Год назад +2

      Going in Circles is another great song

    • @bradsense7431
      @bradsense7431 Год назад

      @@jgg59 yes it is. Harri has reacted to that one recently.

    • @fancy4865
      @fancy4865 Год назад

      Going in Circles!!!!

  • @dwainwilder7337
    @dwainwilder7337 Год назад +6

    This was a great picnic or backyard BBQ song back in the day. It seemed so innocent back then, and now. Harri I must say, I did not see what you described in this song. Please check out some of the other songs in the comments, such as “Going In Circles”. Also the original instrumental by Hugh Masekela. Great stuff!

    • @brandonious7732
      @brandonious7732 Год назад

      He reacted to going in circles last month

    • @dwainwilder7337
      @dwainwilder7337 Год назад

      @@brandonious7732 I guess I missed that one. I must look for it. Thanks for letting me know.

    • @dwainwilder7337
      @dwainwilder7337 Год назад

      I just found and listened to it. Great reaction as usual. Thanks again for letting me know. I also suggested a similar song by the Main Ingredients, “Spinning Around” from that period. Check it out if you have not heard it. It’s a great song!

  • @fancy4865
    @fancy4865 Год назад

    Love it...

  • @tinareinbergen8113
    @tinareinbergen8113 Год назад +2

    HELLO
    I HAVE A SUGESTIEN
    THE MOODY BLUES
    AND THE TIDE RUSHES
    SONG FROM RAY THOMAS
    ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL ❤

  • @richcoe9273
    @richcoe9273 10 месяцев назад

    I grew up in this era. The song is what you think it is. What a beautiful time it was.

  • @martyemmons1859
    @martyemmons1859 7 месяцев назад

    I had never even imagined that the grass that they have been grazin' would be Marijuana, Harri.
    If you had watched any of the dances from that era you would think that they were good.

  • @tinareinbergen8113
    @tinareinbergen8113 Год назад +1

    I HAVE A SUGETIEN
    THE MOODY BLUES
    AND THE TIDE RUSHES
    SONG FROM RAY THOMAS. IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL

  • @scottyhotty1003
    @scottyhotty1003 6 месяцев назад +1

    Actually I looked up in song facts about the song and the writer the singer said he saw cows grazing in a field and that's what inspired him so it actually is about Grazing In the grass not a marijuana LOL

  • @brandonious7732
    @brandonious7732 Год назад +1

    Sounds very much like the studio version

  • @samdroid559
    @samdroid559 Год назад +2

    You need to do this instrumental version

  • @mikecaetano
    @mikecaetano Год назад +1

    Smoking grass in the park baby can you dig it? LOL. Great harmonies at pace on this song. Are those beats triplets or quadruplets? It woulda been nice to see the band too, cause that wasn't lip synched per the lyrical ad libs.

  • @lindamathias6230
    @lindamathias6230 Год назад

    It's about having fun outside in the grass on a summer day.

  • @angelakelly4763
    @angelakelly4763 Год назад

    Going In Circles is a good one.

  • @Chris-filosifer64
    @Chris-filosifer64 Год назад

    The origin of Sock It To Me! popularized on the TV show Laugh-In.

  • @jaycooper2624
    @jaycooper2624 28 дней назад

    Great to watch but messy to listen to as are most TV live appearances back in the day. You would do well to listen to the studio versions and while you're doing that check out "Love Or Let Me Be Lonely". A Great Group, criminally underappreciated.

  • @stevenbertling2826
    @stevenbertling2826 Год назад +1

    Most songs, back then, sang about sex, drugs, and having fun. Great times. Also, about love and war but not this one.

  • @csw0551
    @csw0551 Год назад

    I did dig it!!!

  • @keithdf2001
    @keithdf2001 Год назад +1

    I still prefer the original instrumental version of this song. I believe that came out a few years earlier. They did do a good job of converting a jazz song to a pop song.

  • @wifeoftim
    @wifeoftim 4 месяца назад

    Its not about weed. Its about relaxing and enjoying the great outdoors. Dig it means to get it, understand it etc. Its a gas means awesome, cool etc.

  • @stellarsjay1773
    @stellarsjay1773 Год назад

    This was 69. Lots of energy around as the boomers were young.

  • @jgg59
    @jgg59 Год назад

    Psychedelic Soul so you might be onto something.
    Two other great songs they had that popped into my head are
    Going in Circles
    Love Me or Let Me Be Lonely

  • @cls6055
    @cls6055 Год назад +2

    Just heard this on radio the other day ! Studio version a smidgen better..

  • @HappyValleyDreamin
    @HappyValleyDreamin Год назад

    I remember this song when I was 9 in 1969 playing in the snack bar, at the neighbourhood public pool, in Phoenix Arizona. There was a navel base up the street from the pool and I remember seeing service guys coming up to the fence to talk to the girls there.

  • @ohnoohyeah3205
    @ohnoohyeah3205 11 месяцев назад

    SHO IZZ!!!!

  • @hookalakah
    @hookalakah 3 месяца назад

    Conjugate the verb: to dig it.

  • @channelthree9424
    @channelthree9424 Год назад

    This originally was an instrumental by Hugh Masekela.
    Another friends of distinction song you might like is you got me going in circles

  • @jondhuse1549
    @jondhuse1549 Год назад

    I can dig it, he can dig it, she can dig it, we can dig it...

  • @ronhunt9396
    @ronhunt9396 Год назад +1

    Remember it well

  • @orvillewright1549
    @orvillewright1549 6 месяцев назад

    your right Hugh Masekela

  • @BDM55
    @BDM55 Год назад +1

    No -- it's not about drugs or anything like that, just one of the "fun" songs from the 60's

  • @edtorrejon2935
    @edtorrejon2935 Год назад +1

    smokin weed

  • @spyman52
    @spyman52 Год назад

    My uncle toured with them decades ago, but I prefer the instrumental version.

  • @michaelasay8587
    @michaelasay8587 Год назад

    Harri...u digged it good! I wanted to say something nasty...but i shouldnt.

  • @rockubtzer
    @rockubtzer 10 месяцев назад

    Its only idea and agenda was for humanity to unite in love, beauty, understanding all of good things in life we all could have if we stopped thinking how different we are and started to think how alike we think about the beauty around us. Does grass feel different or are bird song's sweeter over your boarder than ours? The will of the people is stronger than any government army and can force change of ideas from war to peace. If only we could see beyond our differences to realize our similar joys of being one humanity with the same ideas of beauty and joy. Drugs only seemed to provide that insight of enlightenment but they lead only to death and doom of those idea's and give a another reason to turn from them. Greed & power seem to always win.

  • @kirpalite
    @kirpalite Год назад

    This group was discovered by the fabulous NFL footballer Jim Brown.

  • @immaculateheart1267
    @immaculateheart1267 7 месяцев назад

    Didnt u know this is the rock it to me sock it to me chant of the 70s

  • @Fritz-pu1ng
    @Fritz-pu1ng 2 месяца назад

    Remember the guys in the group last! Jessica, Barbara, Claudia are some of names!

  • @thomasripley1548
    @thomasripley1548 Год назад +1

    I thought this was the 5th dimension.....