| King Crimson – Epitaph Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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The meaning of this song is summed up in the following lyrics: "Knowledge is a deadly friend When no one sets the rules The fate of all mankind I see Is in the hands of fools" In other words, our technological prowess has far outstripped our wisdom in wielding it. We have invented the means of our own destruction. I first heard this album in college in the mid 1970's, and I still play the CD to this day. |
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| Pink Floyd – Echoes Lyrics | 10 years ago |
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I think the feelings and images evoked by the musical passages are as essential as the lyrics for a personal understanding of Echoes. Perhaps more so, since the lyrics are brief in comparison and so open to interpretation when viewed in isolation from the music. When listening to what I consider a masterpiece by Pink Floyd, I get a strong feeling of evolution and transformation. This fits in very well with the first set of lyrics, with life climbing from the sea onto the land: Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air And deep beneath the rolling waves in labyrinths of coral caves The echo of a distant tide comes willowing across the sand And everything is green and submarine And no one showed us to the land And no one knows the where's or why's But something stirs and something tries Starts to climb towards the light The second set of lyrics ... Strangers passing in the street By chance two separate glances meet And I am you and what I see is me. And do I take you by the hand And lead you through the land And help me understand The best I can. And no one called us to move on, And no one forces down our eyes. No one speaks and no one tries No one flies around the sun ... involving people passing in the street (evolved humans in a city) comes immediately afterward, preceding the evolutionary musical passages. This sequence need not be a contradiction because storytelling is often a flashback, whether inspired by an acid trip or not. That second set of lyrics illustrates how much we have in common and where our hope lies, while pointing out the current state of humanity: strangers passing on the street. It's a lament with seeds of hope, followed by a series of musical phrases describing our long journey to where we are now. The albatross symbolizes a psychological burden that feels like a curse, from the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It hovers above and its call haunts us, suggesting that hope is forlorn. The music eventually comes full circle back to where we are now, and the final lyrics: Cloudless everyday you fall Upon my waking eyes, Inviting and inciting me To rise. And through the window in the wall Come streaming in on sunlight wings A million bright ambassadors of morning. And no one sings me lullabies And no one makes me close my eyes So I throw the windows wide And call to you across the sky Hope remains as long as the sun brings another day. Each of us has to depend on ourselves (No one sings us lullabies) and no one is holding us back but ourselves (And no one makes me close my eyes). So go ahead and open your eyes, throw the windows wide, and call out! Humans may yet learn how to crawl towards the light. In summation, my interpretation: With some lyrics to guide us Echoes paints a sonic passage of the evolution of humanity, our current sorry state, and the way forward. |
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