Great Adventures In Wonderland

The Tables

Shady Whims & Obstacles

Perfect Pop Records 1992, 1999

I once did a web search for Talisman, and came across a curious link. It was a mention of a record that had used Talisman for its inspiration. I couldn’t find any more on the subject and gave up.

A while longer I did another search and found a whole page dedicated to The Tables at MP3.com, but this page has since disappeared. It was a nice find though, as not only was there a downloadable version of the track, but the words to it were there too.

I figured it would be nice to offer the visitors to Talisman Island the chance to listen to the track themselves, so I wrote to Perfect Pop Records and asked if I could put the track on the site. A very nice chap called Tom Stian Korsmo, the Manager of The Tables, mailed back and said that it was fine. He even sent me a copy of the Shady Whims & Obstacles CD. THANKS TOM 🙂

Perfect Pop Records is the home of The Tables and many other bands. Check them out at http://www.perfectpop.no/

Shady Whims & Obstacles is a huge 24 track CD filled to the brim with foot tapping music which you’ll find yourself humming along to in no time! None more so than Track Four. Great Adventures In Wonderland is a tale of playing Talisman with someone who can’t just play for the fun of it, and I think we’ve all been there!

Bartleby of The Tables recounts:

I used to play a board game called Talisman with Sandy and her brother. It was a very simple game, just the way I like it, nothing like chess, where you actually have to use your brains! You rolled the dice, moved your “person”, drew some cards. There were cards with Shields and Lances which made you stronger, and Cursed by the Hag, Ghoul etc. which were setbacks. There were places on the board called The Valley of Fire and The Portal of Power, and the whole point was to get to the centre of the board with a Talisman card. If you didn’t have a Talisman card when you got there, you had to start all over again.

Sandy’s brother was what I call “a bad player”, bad because he didn’t seem to enjoy the game for it’s own sake, he only thought about winning. I never took it that seriously, so when I got to the centre of the board it happened that I had forgotten to secure a Talisman card. Then Sandy’s brother smiled triumphantly and gleefully and said in a low voice: “I think you need a Talisman.”

Aaaargh! So what? I had had a good time imagining myself living in this fantasy world of dwarfs, giants and wizards, and I didn’t care much if I lost or won the game. But Sandy’s brother cared! He wasn’t only a bad player, he was a bad loser. When he lost, it was always: “Just one more game, just one more game!” He was unable to leave the table without feeling like a champion.

So this song is about two things: The irritiating experience of playing board games with bad losers, and a tribute to this game called Talisman and to Baard Enoksen, the guy who first got me hooked on role playing games and all the new board games. Of course, I’m one of those guys who’d rather live in a fantasy world than in the real world. I’m a romantic dreamer.

An additional secret: I crammed in a couple of veiled allusions to 60’s popsike in this song: “The jolly little dwarves” is an allusion to “Three Jolly Little Dwarfs” by Tomorrow. “Biff! Bang! Pow!” is of course from the Creation song by the same name.


Click to play and sing along!


You’re deep in the Forest and you don’t know how to get out (Can’t move or walk about)		You’re Cursed by the Hag and it doesn’t help to scream and shout

and you lost your Lance in a fight with a horrible Ghoul (You don’t learn this at school)		The fact that you forgot you’d got a Shield made you look a fool

and the Princess is far away You’re in a nasty predicament!
Great Adventures in Wonderland (Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo) Great Adventures in Wonderland (Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo) Great Adventures in Wonderland In Wonderland!!

The jolly little Dwarf runs away as the Giant appears (He’s back after so many years)		and the Knight on your right he’s collecting Bears

With a Biff! Bang! Pow! and a Spell and a Unicorn (I wonder how they are born)		The Portal of Power breaks down you’re in the Danger Zone


And now you’re in the Valley of Fire “I think you need a Talisman…”
Great Adventures in Wonderland (Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo) Great Adventures in Wonderland (Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo) Great Adventures in Wonderland In Wonderland!! The clothes you wear don’t suit you there, Oh no You have a good time ’cause it’s in your mind Great Adventures in Wonderland (Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo) Great Adventures in Wonderland (Hoo-Hoo-Hoo-Hoo) Great Adventures in Wonderland In Wonderland!!