| Yes – Nine Voices (Longwalker) Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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But, of course, the real meaning of the song is more literal: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Sf5le0v7Os |
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| Yes – Nine Voices (Longwalker) Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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The perfect calendar. It reminds me of the Mayan calendar and the Popul Vuh (which might be evoked by the tiny ziggurat on the cover of Tales from Topographic Oceans), but it is not a perfect calendar. Nor is the Gregorian one most of the Western Hemisphere uses. It seems to speak of a time yet to come into being - and we certainly have the science to create perfect calendars now. A perfect time. Who are these Nine Voices? The song seems to take place in North Africa on a beach, but this does not mean the voices are all African. Imagine the reach of certain musical forces into what has been labeled “World Music”. Jon Anderson certainly supports such a thing. And a contemporary who is also interested in English mysticism is Peter Gabriel. Gabriel helped found two important things I will reference for this. The first, is The Elders. This is a group of people from around the world who have held positions of power in their respective locations, who have now moved on from these and no longer control a military base of power, but who still have clout and influence among those who do. These people meet and discuss methods to make people aware and sway opinion and plan courses of action to help the world where it is needed. They are called The Elders, because this idea looks at the world as a Global Village, and that we are all One Tribe. “Nine tribesmen stand alone” The second important thing Gabriel founded is Real World Records. This allows artists from all over the world to record and collaborate together - International cooperation right in front of one’s eyes, despite the frictions and pettiness of the governments of their individual homelands. The artists are broken up into 9 territories, indicated on all Real World record releases by a color code of stripes on the spines of albums. (There are, in fact, 9 letters in “Real World”) This kind of envisions the planet like Star Trek as a unified whole. I don’t think Jon Anderson meant these to be the 9 voices, but it is what this song reminds me of. |
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| Genesis – Harlequin Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I think I have sussed it. For the longest time I thought it was the Harlequin as defined above, as that is the only definition I was aware of. I have discovered a rare related use of it as a transitive verb: Verb. (transitive) To remove or conjure away, as if by a harlequin's trick. The song could be about Summer turning into Winter. The picture in the album is a painting of a woman, who is looking at tiny dancing figures. These could be the pale cold figures who spin a grey web - from the Fire of Summer to the Cold Grey of Winter? - who could also be the three children. She could be Mother Nature, governing the seasons, and overlooking her children (Humanity) as they dance in celebration of the seasons. Having once reaped a Harvest, it would seem that Harvest Season is over, even though Summer sticks around in the fires made to keep the cold of Winter at bay. The term Harlequin could refer to conjuring away one season into another. That the reaping also refers to living and dancing during the day in the light, which is conjured away with the night. Perhaps the Children are there during the day, and the Cold figures are like faery-folk that come to dance at night, like Winter's helpers. The dancing still could seem to relate to the Harlequin character, who was supposed to be quite physical in the commedia dell'arte. Also, the shattered picture and pieces of the sky meant to be "put back" into place could refer to the multitude of triangles on one of the traditional costumes of the Harlequin character. In the end, it seems to point to the idea that dawn will come again, and thus day. And thus viewed as a larger cycle, the Seasons will come around again to Spring and the warmth of another Summer. |
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| Genesis – Harlequin Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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I think I have sussed it. For the longest time I thought it was the Harlequin as defined above, as that is the only definition I was aware of. I have discovered a rare related use of it as a transitive verb: Verb. (transitive) To remove or conjure away, as if by a harlequin's trick. The song could be about Summer turning into Winter. The picture in the album is a painting of a woman, who is looking at tiny dancing figures. These could be the pale cold figures who spin a grey web - from the Fire of Summer to the Cold Grey of Winter? - who could also be the three children. She could be Mother Nature, governing the seasons, and overlooking her children (Humanity) as they dance in celebration of the seasons. Having once reaped a Harvest, it would seem that Harvest Season is over, even though Summer sticks around in the fires made to keep the cold of Winter at bay. The term Harlequin could refer to conjuring away one season into another. That the reaping also refers to living and dancing during the day in the light, which is conjured away with the night. Perhaps the Children are there during the day, and the Cold figures are like faery-folk that come to dance at night, like Winter's helpers. The dancing still could seem to relate to the Harlequin character, who was supposed to be quite physical in the commedia dell'arte. Also, the shattered picture and pieces of the sky meant to be "put back" into place could refer to the multitude of triangles on one of the traditional costumes of the Harlequin character. In the end, it seems to point to the idea that dawn will come again, and thus day. And thus viewed as a larger cycle, the Seasons will come around again to Spring and the warmth of another Summer. |
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| Genesis – Watcher Of The Skies Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Well, describing any musical element in terms of "only" is kind of pointless, since counting to six can be easy, but breaking any beat into finer and finer divisions coupled with increasingly asymmetrical time signatures can raise the difficulty factor for those players who are not drum machines. The phrasing within the 6/4 time here is well executed, and is remarkable for that, unless you are Bill Bruford, in which case most things are easy-peasy. | |
| Genesis – Get 'em Out By Friday Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Excellent research! Thanks for reading and adding the info here! :) | |
| Genesis – Can-Utility and the Coastliners Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Unfortunately, no. It bugs me. From just a musical perspective there is some interesting stuff out there - The Flower Kings, Porcupine Tree, etc. But these people are all older than the 22 years old that Genesis were when they wrote this. They're all INSPIRED by this music, so it doesn't seem that they have really taken their own path. The other strain seems to be a bunch of heavy metal bands who have worked up the occasional quirk (like a drummer who can play a double-bass drum like a machine gun - but has little other subtle talents) or likes to try and make it obvious that they are using "funny" time signatures, but don't seem to really have the natural heart of the early "progressive" movement. And that's the other thing - as far as lyrics and spirit are concerened I haven't found ANYONE to be able to write anything approaching the densely layered archetypes, fantasies, allegories, and stories of these early guys. Perhaps The Legendary Pink Dots (Edward Ka-Spel is a genius), though they stray away from the more traditional musicianship. Most of these metal bands then try to break progressive down into sub-sub-sub categories (just check out ProgArchives.com - it's ridiculous) so that they can try to categorise themselves along side their truly talented prog rock heroes. So - lots of points for being creative at all and getting albums out there, but I would prefer they try to make and refer to their own world of music than dilute one that has already existed. That said, Adrian Belew from King Crimson produced Tool and KC toured with them a while back, so there is some supprt for these kind of bands within "progressive" circles. | |
| Genesis – The Return Of The Giant Hogweed Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| Heh! No - I didn't mean to imply that - but he was a lot more active about it long ago than he is now - his doctor recommended some fish-oil vitamin and he decided that if he was going to take that then he might as well try fish, so now he (occasionaly) eats fish. His mother said that it wasn't a rebellious thing - he just never liked meat. Thanks for the kind words and for reading! :) | |
| Laurie Anderson – Born, Never Asked Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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It was a large room (the world) Full of people. All kinds. (Isn't the world?) And they had all arrived at the same buidling at more or less the same time. (We are all here in the here-and-now, are we not? Or looked at another way, look at the people around you in the world - as long as you are all alive together, you are existing together in one big moment, no matter how young or old you are. The only ones who aren't are either not born yet, or dead.) And they were all free. (Everyone is free - to a certain extent. Free to live, free to die, free to make choices. Perhaps those choices can be limited, and perhaps those choies may have repercussions and consequences, but we are free to make them.) And they were all asking themselves the same question: What is behind that curtain? (Where do we come from? Where do we go? Why are we here? These are the big questions people ask once they think outside the box of social conditioning. Are we here to work in a checkout line? Are we here to administer order to the masses with our riches? Kill another person out of hatred? Give up all possessions and love everyone unconditionally? Some think there is no inherent meaning to life or existence and that it is the meaning we impose upon it that matters. Others think a Supreme Force has created everything and placed us here to do it's will. All of these questions are shrouded in mystery for which the answers may never be known. This is the viel, or curtain between the known and unknown. Perhaps it can be likened to that veil which separates the temple from the ark of the covenant in the temple of Solomon.) And so we're born. And so we're free. So happy birthday. (Regardless of what we think the meaning of life is - we are given this life and it is like a gift. What we do with it is up to us, and it's not always an easy thing. But do we ask to be here at all? Whether it's all an accident of matter or the direction of a higher being, WERE we asked to be here? or is life thrust upon us leaving us bewildered about what it is, why it is, and what our role in it all is? I don't think this is the universal complaint of the adolescent, I think this is the human condition we all are born into. We have to be born into a world in which things have already been set up by those who came before us. Are people who get along well in life well adjusted or have they simply accepted their puppet-hood? Perhaps we are here to make the world a better place for when the next Born, never asked-s come along...) |
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| Laurie Anderson – White Lily Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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The answer to the question is the film Berlin Alexanderplatz, originally broadcast in 1980. It is a 14-part television film adapted and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder from the Alfred Döblin novel of the same name. (Wikipedia has a decent article on it) The film has made an impact on several well-known artists and critics. Susan Sontag wrote an appreciation in a September 1983 issue of Vanity Fair. Director John Waters, writing on fellow cult director Russ Meyer, opined that the latter's projected autobiographical magnum opus should be titled Berlin Alexandertitz. And actress/performance artist Ann Magnuson recounts being "really bummed out" by the film while watching it on PBS during a bad drug trip in her lyrics to "Folk Song" from the Bongwater album, The Power of Pussy. In the 1990s, film director Todd Haynes appropriated imagery from the film's notorious, phantasmagorical epilogue for a sequence in his Velvet Goldmine. The film has also been mentioned in the cult series The Critic. Dating as far back as 1580 B.C., when images of lilies were discovered in a villa in Crete, these majestic flowers have long held a role in ancient mythology. Derived from the Greek word “leiron,” (generally assumed to refer to the white Madonna lily), the lily was so revered by the Greeks that they believed it sprouted from the milk of Hera, the queen of the gods. Lilies are known to be the May birth flower, and the 30th wedding anniversary flower. They are strongly associated with the purity of the Virgin Mary, especially in Roman Catholicism. Meaning in the Song of Songs Some scholars, including Abraham Bin Ezra, assert that the word "shoshannah" in the biblical Song of Songs refers to the white lily, and not to a rose as is commonly thought. Thus, the narrator describes his love's exceptional beauty by saying, "As the lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters." Meaning in the Victorian Era The Victorians assigned detailed meanings to all common flowers and used them to communicate with each other. In her book "The Language of Flowers", Kate Greenaway listed the white lily as representing purity, modesty, and sweetness. Figurative language Because of the strong cultural link between the white lily and the qualities of purity and modesty, this flower pops up in figurative descriptions (sometimes including negative or sarcastic ones) of people as pure and innocent. "Lily-white" is the most common phrase used to describe people in this way. As the flowers most often associated with funerals, lilies symbolize that the soul of the departed has received restored innocence after death. |
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| Genesis – Supper's Ready Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| There is footage of the entire show including costume changes on the Selling England by the Pound DVD Audio remaster rerelease. I do not currently know if they sell it outside of the 1970-1975 Boxset. You can also check on You Tube for probably the same footage. It is amazing stuff, and I'm happy to say that the closest I got to seeing it live was going to see "The Musical Box" a group liscensed by the band to recreate their old stage shows - it was so perfect I bet if they filmed it you wouldn't immediately know it was a modern reproduction. | |
| Genesis – Supper's Ready Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Great piece of insight SnijtraM! Thank you for sharing it - and I agree. do you see anyone around you in the world today that may exhibit the traits of the G.E.S.M.? | |
| Genesis – Supper's Ready Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| Thanks darlomunday - but I am really neither - or maybe a bit of both! I have studied a lot of lyrics because I think they are important and some of them have a lot to say (while a lot of others are in-your-face, mundane, or common). Peter says that if you are going to write lyrics to try and make them the best you can and his are some of my favourite! I also like Syd Barret, Roger Waters, Peter Hammill, Daevid Allen, Laurie Anderson, Peter Sinfield and Edward Ka-Spel. I think they write some of the best and most thought provoking lyrics out there! Thanks for reading and I hope maybe it enhanced your experience of Supper's Ready! :) | |
| The Legendary Pink Dots – A Strychnine Kiss Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A Strychnine Kiss (1) Cut glass cathedrals (2) Slash holes in the air So it always is raining When we kneel down in prayer (3) And Christ leans and laughs . . .(4) Christ! (5) He's shaking his head Because the wine's Portugese And the bread's only bread (6) No trance, no substance, no conscience for sure (7) As the Pope licks a jackboot and lays down the law (8) And his flock form a cross All fall down with disease And the only survivors Are him and his priests (9) In them there seven hills (10) There's a big crock of gold But it's all stashed in sacks And belongs to a Pole (11) And name any language He's got something to sell (12) But if you add it up It's a ticket to hell (13) (1) Strychnine is an extremely poisonous white crystalline alkaloid, C21H22O2N2, derived from nux vomica and related plants, used as a poison for rodents and other pests and topically in medicine as a stimulant for the central nervous system. In keeping with the multiple levels of meaning and allusions to the psychedelic experience in Edward's lyrics, this is probably a reference to a common myth. The following text was written by Alexander T. Shulgin in response to the overwhelming misconception that strychnine is commonly found in street samples of LSD: "The observation of strychnine as being present in any street drug, as a by-product, or a contaminant, or an impurity has never been documented. It is a natural plant product, as are the ergots which are used in the synthesis of LSD. But they come from totally unrelated plants; there has never been a report of strychnine and an ergot alkaloid co-existing in a single species. So if the two materials are together in a drug sample, it could only be by the hand of man. I have personally looked a large number of illicit street offerings and have never detected the presence of strychnine. The few times that I have indeed found it present, have been in legal exhibits where it usually occurred in admixture with brucine (also from the plant Strychnos nux-vomica) in criminal cases involving attempted or successful poisoning. The same argument applies to the myth that occasionally surfaces, that strychnine occurs in the white tufts of peyote. This is equally fraudulent -- it has never been reported in that cactus or any other cactus." Furthermore, it should probably be spelled out that strychnine is not needed to bond LSD to blotter paper, nor is strychnine a breakdown product of LSD. these are probably the two most commonly repeated gross misconceptions. The source of the "strychnine is commonly found in LSD" myth may be somewhat grounded in truth. For example, in "LSD: My Problem Child" Albert Hofmann cites a case in the late sixties of Strychnine being found in an "LSD" sample that was a white powder. However, what is commonly claimed is that strychnine is found in a significant percentage of LSD, specifically blotter LSD, which is *not* true. Shulgin's note that he has analyzed many samples of LSD and never found strychnine is backed up by published analyses done by PharmChem and the LA County Street Drug Analysis program, which likewise never found any strychnine. This is intuitively backed up by the fact that a 5mm x 5mm "standard" square of blotter LSD only weights about 2mg and if the paper itself was made completely out of pure strychnine it is still on the very low end of Strychnine's threshold of activity. Strychnine is not the cause of tracers, cramps, nausea, or amphetamine-like LSD-effects. Its possible that poorly synthesized LSD might have other ergot derivatives in it, which might contribute to the harsh body load that some get on taking LSD. Also, the very close chemical relatives 1-Methyl-LSD and 1-Acetyl-LSD (which break down into LSD in aqueous solution) might be present in some street samples and might contribute to the harsh body load. (Petter Stafford has claimed in his _Psychedelics Encyclopedia_ that 1-Acetyl-LSD is supposedly "smoother" than d-LSD -- thus "strychnine laced acid" may acutally be pure d-LSD, while "pure lsd" may be 1-Acetyl-LSD or some substitute). And the chemicals iso-LSD and lumi-LSD which are breakdown products of LSD might contribute to the body loading on some trips, particularly via a hypothetical synergistic effect. Given this plethora of possible chemicals in street "LSD", its not needed to look to a chemical which has hardly ever been found in analyzed samples to explain variations in the strength and "cleanliness" of street acid. Its also possible that LSD itself simply causes adverse physical effects, particularly muscle cramping, in persons suceptible to it. The reported side effects of LSD (the nausea and apparent CNS stimulant effects) are commonly reported side effects of seritonergic drugs such as fluoxetine (Prozac) and buspirone (Buspar), and also are commonly reported (and typically more severe) with other psychedelics like Mescaline. Or its quite likely that the "strychnine" reactions to LSD are entirely psychosomatic. Both Leary ("The Psychedelic Experience") and Lilly ("Programming and Metaprogramming...", "Center of the Cyclone") have each observed this reaction in people who cannot handle the surge of emotion associated with a trip. Further advice would be to avoid methylxanthines (caffiene, theophylline in tea, etc) prior to dosing. Some have noted a possible synergistic effect between them and LSD causing, or contributing, to a harsh body load during a trip. And prior use of dramamine may alleviate the nausea sometimes associated with LSD, and other psychedelic drugs (although it may also effect the quality of the trip -- Shulgin has noted in PiHKAL that he shuns the use of anti-nauseants in order to experience the effects of the psychedelic, both good and bad, with no possible interference). In summary, it can't be said that we know specifically why sometimes acid feels "cleaner" than other times. However, based on the availability of plausible explanations, and the evidence of drug analysis, and general implausiblity of the whole strychnine concept, we can conclude that it isn't due to any concentration of strychnine. Also, while it can't completely be ruled out, the presence of strychnine in LSD is so minimal that the majority of LSD users will never once come across it. In reference to the lyrics of the song, Edward tells us in a live intro: "Well, we all of us have our idols. And somewhere pointed hats lean from balconies - throwing crumbs and blowing kisses - and we all fall on our knees, hoping to get hit in the eye with one of those kisses or get a little taste of the crumbs. But every crumb is poison. Every kiss is pure, pure, strychnine. Every promise is false. Don't buy a used car from this man. Never trust a man in a pointed hat." (2) On Cathedrals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_architecture_of_Western_Europe Cathedrals often have stained glass depictions of bible stories. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_Man%27s_Bible (3) The "cut glass cathedrals" depicted here are slashing holes in the air - a statement of aggression. The holes open up the opportunity for rain to fall and dampen the mood of those who pray. Most early Christian and later specifically Catholic churches were built over what was originally pagan holy places. These places have been described as being at the intersections of natural paths called "ley-lines" (see "The New View Over Atlantis" by John Michell). The Church found they could not easily convert the pagans, and so simply asserted themselves as the dominant religion by assimilation. For instance, the lines of the song "Spirit Calling" written by Gilli Smyth with her group Mother Gong on the 1993 album "She Made the World": "...Hello - this is your spirit calling, though I'm sometimes named as God, spelt backward 'dog' - well, I like dogs. God for that matter is a dog as much as a priest and a priest is a tree and a tree is a church, but who wants stone churches anyway? They are only our fears made rigid. Hopes fixed in brick for the eternity of an artificial paradise full of Righteous headmasters, policemen priests, and hollow women who have never 'sinned'..." (4) This line implies a personal relationship with the Christ figure, rather than one mediated through another human "authority". The metaphysical/metaphorical spirit of Christ is observing the clergy of this Cathedral, and finding their actions funny. (5) Nice humourous use of the term "Christ!" as an exclaimative interjection after evoking the word for the actual thing. (6) Paul the Apostle was the first to write of the Last Supper. He wrote: "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come." The vessel which was used to serve the wine is sometimes called the Holy Chalice, and has been the one of the supposed subjects of Holy Grail literature in Christian mythology. The events of this Last Supper have been translated into ritual in the Catholic and many other churches. It is called the act of Holy Communion and invloves the drinking of bread and wine as above. Some have believed that through an actual miracle the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Christ. The sprirt of Christ in this song is looking at the clergy in this cathedral performing this ritual and laughing because he knows that the wine is only wine and the bread is only bread. (7) On Trance: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Trance There is a feeling amongst some that the Catholic Church has maintained the majesty and mystery of Rome, but left out the substance. That it is now a hollow shell after the distance of so many years and changes since the Church began. One subject of interest is the role of trance as an authentic religious experience, which the Catholic sermon attempts to evoke. (The music of the Legendary Pink Dots has many trance-like elements, though much of it is not what people might think usually of as trance music - some cases are more akin in spirit to Balinese trance music - http://www.baliblog.com/travel-tips/trance-dances-in-bali.html) "No conscience" is probably a reference to atrocities comitted by the Church in God or Christ's names. See the notes for the song "The Third Secret" from the album "The Maria Dimension". (8) Jackboot: 1. A stout military boot that extends above the knee. 2. A person who uses bullying tactics, especially to force compliance. 3. The spirit sustaining and motivating a militaristic, highly aggressive, or totalitarian regime or system. The Pope here in this song is using such tactics and historically this has been true of most Popes. (9) Catholicism's reaction to the Bubonic Plague era: http://entomology.montana.edu/historybug/YersiniaEssays/Doherty.htm (10) This is a reference to the seven hills of Rome, since this is where the State and seat of power of the Catholic Church resides, in the Vatican. Edward uses "them thar" as a gold-rush miner in California of the early-to-mid 1800's might speak. (11) This is a reference to Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef WojtyÅ‚a (18 May 1920 — 2 April 2005) reigned as Pope and Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death almost 27 years later. His was the second-longest pontificate. He has been the only Polish pope, and was the first non-Italian since the Dutch pontiff Adrian VI in the 1520s. (12) This is probablly a reference to the idea of Catholicism (and really most organized religions) selling the idea of Salvation to anyone across any border. See the song "The Price of Salvation" on the Edward Ka-Spel solo album Cheykk China Doll. Compare also the line "paradise, it has it's price - we're forced to walk through needle's eyes" from the song "Pennies for Heaven" on the album "The Maria Dimension". (13) The idea of Hell, either an afterlife, an actual physical place, or a state of mind, has been around in one form or another in most cultures since the start of recorded history. The Christian Church actually used the mythology of Hell as a deterrent for behaviour considered abberant or heretical. Here in this song, the Pope is claiming to sell Salvation, but the price is enduring a hellish treatment if not obeyed. This should all elucidate the live intro transcribed above - the man in the pointed hat is obviously the Pope, and the crumbs are from the saying "crumbs from a rich man's table", meaning: a small comfort or compensation given to the poor or unfortunate by the rich or more fortunate. But these small comforts are only given at a price, and that is why they are poisoned. Edward has made claims about personal issues with the Catholic Church in general, but has calmed down somewhat in his later years, and now seems to extend his distaste towards organized religion in general, citing people's right to believe what they want so long as it does no harm to others. Tangentially, one might want to read "Angel Tech: A Shaman's Guide to Reality Selection" by Antero Ali, in which he states: "When the great soul Jesus Christ was crucified on the cross in her human form as a man, she did so to convert her physical death into a metaphor for the rest of humanity. The crucifixion, then, is a spiritual signal. It's cosmic significance continues to influence the population of the planet...but for all the wrong reasons , due to some rather awkward interpretive attempts. The primary intent behind the crucifixion is astoundingly simple. It has been completely overlooked due to the human forms' immense capacity for fear, guilt, and hatred, all of which has complicated and twisted a rather sweet and elegant message. This is not to offend those of this congregation who are still enraptured by its unfathomable depth and meaning...for that is here too." |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Madame Guillotine Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Madame Guillotine (1) She washed her hands 300 times but still they're dripping red. (2) We caught her in the pauper's pit, she stole the prince's head, still cursing 'blasphemy'. O mercy me... He staggered like a chicken. (3) They lynched him; they left him flinching then took theirs seats and kept on knitting. (4) God bless the noble savage (5) as he swaggers, (6) as he sweats. He's making bets on who is next- he doesn't care about the colour... (First they rounded up the reds but I'm not red so... Then they rounded up the blacks but I'm not black so... Then they rounded up the gypsies and the junkies and the donkeys. Now I'm scared to whistle 'swanee' cos they'll ask me for my spit...) (7) It's the garden that we walk in and it's dying. So we cut it down. We're drowning now. There's no way out. We all fall down. (We all fall down.) (8) (1) “At half past 12 the guillotine severed her head from her body.” So reads the statement containing the first recorded use of guillotine in English, found in the Annual Register of 1793. Ironically, the guillotine, which became the most notable symbol of the excesses of the French Revolution, was named for a humanitarian physician, Joseph Ignace Guillotin. Guillotin, a member of the French Constituent Assembly, recommended in a speech to that body on October 10, 1789, that executions be performed by a beheading device rather than by hanging, the method used for commoners, or by the sword, reserved for the nobility. He argued that beheading by machine was quicker and less painful than the work of the rope and the sword. In 1791 the Assembly did indeed adopt beheading by machine as the state's preferred method of execution. A beheading device designed by Dr. Antoine Louis, secretary of the College of Surgeons, was first used on April 25, 1792, to execute a highwayman named Pelletier or Peletier. The device was called a louisette or louison after its inventor's name, but because of Guillotin's famous speech, his name became irrevocably associated with the machine. After Guillotin's death in 1814, his children tried unsuccessfully to get the device's name changed. When their efforts failed, they were allowed to change their name instead. The period from June 1793 to July 1794 in France is known as the Reign of Terror or simply "the Terror". The upheaval following the overthrow of the monarchy, invasion by foreign monarchist powers and the Revolt in the Vendee combined to throw the nation into chaos and the government into frenzied paranoia. Most of the democratic reforms of the revolution were suspended and large-scale executions by guillotine began. The first political prisoner to be executed was Collenot d'Angremont of the National Guard, followed soon after by the King's trusted collaborator in his ill-fated attempt to moderate the Revolution, Arnaud de Laporte, both in 1792. Former King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed in 1793. Maximilien Robespierre became one of the most powerful men in the government, and the figure most associated with the Terror. The Revolutionary Tribunal sentenced thousands to the guillotine. Nobility and commoners, intellectuals, politicians and prostitutes, all were liable to be executed on little or no grounds; suspicion of "crimes against liberty" was enough to earn one an appointment with "Madame Guillotine" as the device was nicknamed (also referred to as "The National Razor"). Estimates of the death toll range between 15,000 and 40,000. The locations of public executions were moved frequently. After beheadings, blood continued to pump out of the bodies, overtopping the gutters, and running down the streets. (2) At it's height during the Terror, the guillotine beheaded up to 3000 people per month. So, here, the blade is cleaned, but more just keep on coming... (3) Many bodies who might have had ornate graves were slung into pauper's pits. The comparison here of a staggering headless prince to that of a headless chicken and the way they still run around with their head cut off is particularly gruesome. (4) Le Tricoteuse (female knitters) were famous for sitting in the front row before the guillotine, knitting. Like the laundresses and fishwives, they were known for their volatility and zeal. Madame DeFarge from Dicken's "Tale of Two Cities" was a tricoteuse. (5) In the eighteenth-century cult of "Primitivism" the noble savage, uncorrupted by the influences of civilization, was considered more worthy, more authentically noble than the contemporary product of civilized training. Although the phrase noble savage first appeared in Dryden's The Conquest of Granada (1672), the idealized picture of "nature's gentleman" was an aspect of eighteenth-century sentimentalism, among other forces at work. The term "noble savage" expresses a concept of the universal essential humanity as unencumbered by civilization; the normal essence of an unfettered human. Since the concept embodies the idea that without the bounds of civilization, humans are essentially good, the basis for the idea of the "noble savage" lies in the doctrine of the goodness of humans, expounded in the first decade of the century by Shaftesbury, who urged a would-be author “to search for that simplicity of manners, and innocence of behaviour, which has been often known among mere savages; ere they were corrupted by our commerce” Stanley Kubrick, whose films make strong comments on human nature, rejected the idea of the noble savage: "Man isn't a noble savage, he's an ignoble savage. He is irrational, brutal, weak, silly, unable to be objective about anything where his own interests are involved — that about sums it up. I'm interested in the brutal and violent nature of man because it's a true picture of him. And any attempt to create social institutions on a false view of the nature of man is probably doomed to failure." As a supposed form of racism, the ideology of the noble savage has been criticized by anthropologists who claim that it is a false construct based on European notions of what the "Indian" is like. (6) To swagger definitely implies a certain amount of arrogance. (7) "First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. "In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist; And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist; And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew; And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up." "Swanee" is an American popular song written in 1919 by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Irving Caesar. It is most often associated with singer Al Jolson. Although usually associated with Jolson, "Swanee" has been recorded by many other singers, most notably Judy Garland in A Star Is Born. Asking for spit could be a reference to drug testing. (8) So, this is the situation in this piece. Dead growth gets cut away so new growth can take it's place. Like Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden we all go through a fall from grace. Edward Ka-Spel: :I don't live so well in the real world. The actions of our so-called superiors win no respect from me and sometimes I wonder if there ever was a wise old king, a trusted emperor, a politician who really did care about the people. Then we have the "people." The revolutions, bloody and violentt...and always the stupid lamentable cruelty. If the human race is really at the top of the pyramid then the Universe is in deep trouble. Happily I don't think it is". The phrase '89's a good year from the song "The Center Bullet" on Tired Eyes Slowly Burning by The Tear Garden and in the liner notes to the L.P.D. album "Crushed Velvet Apocalypse" refer to the French Revolution - either a bit of heavy cynicism, or perhaps a nod to the need for revolutions in the positive sense. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Stoned Obituary Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Stoned Obituary (1) Lightning cracked a crooked cross across the sky above the cross (2) where he'd been hanging for a day (he was stoned again!) (3) The breeze grew ice threw knives, blew halos hallowed cinders flew together made a cushion for his feet. There were spikes in his sandals, spikes in his ankles... A spike split the wood, syringed his vertebrae. Spikes in his shins, in his chin, in his fingers...(4) Amused apparitions hummed the Marsellaise. (5) We had to look away, he seemed so fragile. We tried to offer him a cigarette but it was futile... no way through. The guards screamed "Front!", drew guns, splashed acid... so we retreated to the shadows squated low and said a prayer Cameras clicked out of sight there are fights, there were fanfares. Fireworks flashed across the cenotaph. (6) Kiddies played in the pits, spitting crisps, licking ice-creams. (7) A spiv threw an auction for his autograph. (8) I never thought it would finish quite this way. No resistance, not a word to say but maybe we'll meet in heaven. We can talk about those good old days. I believe (at least I WANT to believe) (9) The angels landed, cleared their throats and chorused "Crown Him!" They poured a potion on his hair it nearly drowned him. Then they called a minute's silence. They called the clowns in and a cripple touched his foot and did a cartwheel down the hill... turning once for his wisdom, twice for the pearl moon. A third as the thief cried "It's judgement day." He rolled his eyes, ripped his shirt rolled insane in the dirt. Applause ripped the heavens and blew the clouds away. (10) The laughter died as schoolgirls passed around the tissues. Pretty patterns while a message said "We'll miss you. Bless you. Bless your eyes." And the bell rang twice and we fell as his lips moved. We stared in stoney silence (11) as the news guy scribbled furiously down his final words: "I made mistakes. I've been a fool. (12) I tried hard but never thought that what started so well could end in misery. But my motives were good. I thought you all understood... Just don't be hard when this day is cloaked in history. You mistrusted me? ..." (13) And he died with his eyes on... (14) ash for ashes, dust for dust, a lust for dust, a must for dust, (15) die with your eyes on... (1) Edward Ka-Spel: "Childhood fantasy. I think I had scary dreams/fantasies in my early teenage years. I wrote an outline for this one when I was 13 and showed it to my mum who was horrified. The resulting lyric was refined around 10 years later" Certainly there seems to be a play on words here as in "stoned by having stones thrown at one" or as in "stoned from smoking pot", an activity which I am certain quite a few Legendary Pink Dots fans indulge in. (2) What great imagery here with multiple crosses, one formed of lightning and one made of wood(?) where this guy hangs. Is he hanging here because he's stoned? Does this cross represent something else? More on cross symbolism here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross (3) Again - is this someone who is high, or has just had rocks thrown at him? (4) It seems to be awfully cold up there on that cross. Are these frozen spikes of ice being blown at him from a terrible wind? The use of spikes in this would seem to favor the idea of a heroin user. Certainly the song "Spike" from "Hallway of the Gods" is about heroin. Where are these hallowed cinders coming from? Are people lighting a holy fire beneath him? (5) "La Marseillaise" is a song written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg on April 25, 1792. Its original name was "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" ("War Song for the Army of the Rhine") and it was dedicated to Marshal Nicolas Luckner, a Bavarian-born French officer from Cham. It became the rallying call of the French Revolution and received its name because it was first sung on the streets by volunteers (fédérés) from Marseille upon their arrival in Paris after a young volunteer from Montpellier called François Mireur had sung it at a patriotic gathering in Marseille. In 1879, "La Marseillaise" became the country's national anthem, and has remained so ever since. Whatever "apparitions" are attending this crucifixion, they are amused by it all and somehow humming the Marsellaise seems to amuse them all the more. Is it an ironic humming? That the rallying cry for a revolution is now being hummed at someone's execution? That the only way this person will revolutionize anything is through his own death? Christianity was started by 11 men from a middle-eastern subject state. (6) A cenotaph is a tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of persons whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάϕιον (kenos, one meaning being "empty", and taphos, "tomb"). Although the vast majority of cenotaphs are erected in honour of individuals, many of the best-known cenotaphs are instead dedicated to the memories of groups of individuals, such as the war dead of one country or empire. (7) Again, the imagery here is amazing. I love the way Edward mixes the past with the present, and the real with the surreal. A bit like Peter Gabriel in the song "Supper's Ready" from 1972's Foxtrot where he places the apocalypse in a modern time and not in some fantastic past. The feeling that the whole thing is turned into some kind of carnival event is captured fairly well in an early version of the song that can be found on the cd release of "Prayer for Aradia". Offering the condemned a cigarette, the splash of acid (what kind of acid?) from the guns of guards keeping the crowd distanced from the "main attraction", camera flashes going off, kids eating crackers and ice cream, fighting, fanfares, an autograph auction, clowns, schoolgirls passing out tissues, newsguys scribbling events down on their pads. It's all part and parcel of creating this scene which is happening in a more modern age than the Christ's crucifixion. (And yet, how much has actually changed since then?) (8) A Spiv is one, usually unemployed, who lives by one's wits or who shirks work or responsibility; a slacker. British slang. (9) This part of the lyrics takes place in a changed musical section denoting, perhaps, the change of perspective. Who is saying these lines? Is it a friend of the condemned? A follower? The figure being crucified? Whoever it is, they seem to be trying hard to get over their disbelief. Or perhaps they are employing a healthy skepticism about the whole thing... (10) There are many appearances of angels in Edward's lyrics. I love how the ones here clear their throats before chorusing (as in a choir of angels) "Crown Him!" What could be in this potion they pour on his head that nearly drowns him? The angels then call a minute's silence so that the clowns can come in (don't they just always show up at this point? Shades of "Send in the Clowns"? "Send in the Clowns" is a song by Stephen Sondheim, from the 1973 musical A Little Night Music. It is a ballad from Act II in which the character Desirée reflects on the ironies and disappointments of her life. Among other things, she regrets having turned down a marriage offer 20 years earlier. Meeting him after so many years, she finds that he is now in an unconsummated marriage. She proposes to marry him, to rescue him from this situation, but he declines. Reacting to his rejection of her, she sings the song. Also, clowns fit in with the general carnival atmosphere. Then a cripple touches his foot which heals him - he can do cartwheels. This is probably a reference to Jesus' healing of the crippled man beside the pool called Bethesda, which is one of nine healing miracles involving water and one of seven performed on the Sabbath. Only the apostle John records it (John 5:1-16). Each cartwheel has something attached to it. 1. The first is done for the wisdom of the crucified. 2. The second is for the Pearl Moon. This would appear to be a connection to the actual song "Pearl Moon." Pearl Moon I STOOD HERE, WHEN THIS CITY WAS A CAVE. FACE CONTORTED ANGRY EYES AFLAME... SPITTING VOWS I COULD NOT KEEP I'M ONE FOR THE PEARL MOON...... I SLEPT HERE... CAGED AND WEEPING IN THE WIND-UNDISTURBED THROUGH PILGRIMS CALLED MY NAME - I'M UNIMPRESSED BY CHILDREN'S CRIES. THEY CRIED FOR THE PEARL MOON! I WILL LEAD HERE. I'LL SMASH YOUR CITIES. I'LL BREAK YOUR WALLS. I'VE GOT NO MERCY ALTHOUGH YOU BEG ME TO STOP - BECAUSE I'VE WAITED FAR TOO LONG. TOO LONG FOR THE PEARL MOON. Imagery of Pearls and Moons abound in Edward's lyrics. To throw your pearls [of wisdom] before swine is a biblical saying. "The world is an oyster and we are it's precious pearls" is a line from the album "The Golden Age." "We cradle the Moon in case she stops" is a line from "From Here You'll Watch the World Go By" and "I'm perplexed by the light from your Moon" is a line from Chemical Playschool 8-9. I think the general idea here is that the Pearl is something precious and perfect, and that the Moon represents the feminine side of things, so perhaps the Pearl Moon is the perfect woman? 3. The last cartwheel happens when a theif cries out "It's Judgement Day!" This seems to be a reference to the theif crucified next to Jesus. We learn in Mark that Jesus was crucified with two thieves (Mark 15:27). And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:42-43) The meaning of this is debated, but generally seems to indicate the universal forgiveness of Christ. It is unclear whether it is the healed cripple or the theif who then rolls his eyes, rips his shirt, and rolls insane in the dirt. The crowd like it though, and the applause actually rips into the fabric of heaven and blows the clouds away... (11) Stoney is a variant on Stony, which means: Exhibiting no feeling or warmth; impassive: a stony expression. A nice reference to the song title. Also, it could mean that the audience is simply high... (12) These words scribbled down by the newsguy are clearly represented as belonging to the crucified. There could be a connection with the idea of "The Fool" on the album "Aazyhd China Doll" by Edward Ka-Spel. (13) The crucified person asks "You mistrusted me?" as if this is something the world shouldn't have done... (14) To die with your eyes on was apparently an old Celtic battle cry that meant to keep your wits about you when you went into battle. In a more esoteric way, it could mean to stay aware when undergoing the ego death of a psychedelic experience. (15) A lust and a must for dust is definitely some kind of drug reference. A song on the album "The Tower" is called "A Lust for Powder", and it seems that one of the tools of choice of the time period were things like cocaine and methamphetamines. The final words of the piece are indeed "Nomini Patri spiritus sancti et filia", which is basically latin for: In the name of the Father, the Holy Ghost, and Daughter. Then "Christos", which is Christ. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Frosty Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Think of the term "cool". Here are three definitons: 1. imparting a sensation of moderate coldness or comfortable freedom from heat: a cool breeze. 2. not hasty; deliberate: a cool and calculated action. 3. calmness; composure; poise: an executive noted for maintaining her cool under pressure. - cool it,: calm down; take it easy. The first is literal, though the others are more metaphorical. Our narrator singing in this piece tells us that the main character has become paranoid due to unceasing torment by others. He then goes on to perhaps exaggerate the point by saying that the whole world and the sun and the moon are involved too. His friends feel for him and try to protect him, but the constant ridicule really gets to him. They put his face "in a smash proof case." and put it in the fridge. A place of calmness, and poise, if we follow the metaphor through. A place where perhaps, in his circle of friends at least he is accepted. Not sure if the "they" giggling and giving orders are a reference to his friends or the ridiculers in the world, but in either case the orders seem to be to go and take his message into the limelight, where perhaps it would be better percieved as art. "Playing Hamlet for a fortnight" is an interesting phrase. Hamlet the play is basically a revenge plot. Hamlet's father, the King, is killed, but the killer - his Uncle - has now become King and therefore in a position of power difficult to reach in some ways. Hamlet becomes depressed about this, and acts in ways some consider mad. It is his own conscience that spurs him onwards "O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space - were it not that I have bad dreams". He ends up choosing a play for his Uncle to see that depicts the exact kind of betrayal and murder of his Uncle's plans, hoping that "The Play is the thing, wherein we'll catch the conscience of the King." So, our character is playing Hamlet, and screaming demands for respect on stage. Edward seems to sympathize with the character of Hamlet in some ways. Compare the line "I will take those sling and arrows" from the song "Radio 6" off his solo album "Red Letters", in reference to the famous Hamlet soliloquy: To be or not to be, that is the question; Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them. To die, to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to — 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub, For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause. So, on that album, it appears that Edward answers this question of to be or not to be with "To Be", and that he WILL suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. At the end, a huge war breaks out, but our character has decided to stay cool. Compare with the lines "And Satan walked the earth again, brought plagues of locusts, whips and chains... Played Guns 'n' Roses, blocked the drains but no one payed attention. Too busy in their quiet dream, playing possum drinking tea. The world concluded happily. So there." from the song "She Gave Me an Apple" on the album Chemical Playschool 9. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Expresso Noir Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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There are several "train" songs featured in the lyrics of Edward Ka-Spel, such as "The Train to Never" from his solo album "Textures of Illumina" and "The Train to China" from the Tear Garden album "Eye Spy with my Little Eye". Expresso is a variant on Espresso which is a strong coffee brewed by forcing steam under pressure through darkly roasted, powdered coffee beans. It seems also to be a play on "Express" as in an Express train ride. Noir, is a genre of film and subsequent literature which can be characterized by: 1. Of or relating to the film noir genre. 2. Of or relating to a genre of crime literature featuring tough, cynical characters and bleak settings. 3. Suggestive of danger or violence. Certainly this strange train ride seems to have those things in it, mixed with the fact that all he wants is some coffee and to get off hte train (to never? to nowhere?) I love the idea of conversation (polite, even) in braille - a form of divets on paper or other mediums used by the blind. The Braille system was based on a method of communication originally developed by Charles Barbier in response to Napoleon's demand for a code that soldiers could use to communicate silently and without light at night called night writing. Barbier's system was too complex for soldiers to learn, and was rejected by the military. In 1821 he visited the National Institute for the Blind in Paris, France, where he met Louis Braille. Braille identified the major failing of the code, which was that the human finger could not encompass the whole symbol without moving, and so could not move rapidly from one symbol to another. His modification was to use a 6 dot cell — the Braille system — which revolutionized written communication for the blind. So, Edward's next line - "broken French" is even funnier. Placing garlic in the mouth of a corpse suspected of being a Vampire was part of the ritual for making sure the corpse never reanimated. The character pulls the emergency stop. The "Calvary" give him a fine. Usually the phrase would be something like "Gosh, he's so nice he would hive you the shirt right off of his back." In this case they rip it off his back. Then they throw his "case" on the tracks. Is this the "case" in which he was just fined, or a "case" one carries onto a train like a business or suitcase? Are these tracks even the ones that regular trains run on, or are they the grooves of a record? Lastly, I wonder if this ape is the one Edward speaks of in "Guilty Man" from the next year's album "Shadow Weaver": "All wired up with no-one to kick but myself in a cell and an ape with a stick who's bigger than me and complains that he's sick of my story." I'd want off this train too. Make mine black, please. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Dying for the Emperor Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Slow Pulse Boy has got this one. I would add that the line "We" keep coming back is interesting, because it makes it appear that Edward is putting himself in the category of one of those aliens that people keep trying to destroy. In this context, the song is not just about someone addicted to video games (and as early as this song was written it certainly has presaged things like World of Warcraft addicts) but the struggle for all those who are different to be accepted. Aliens (and Edward's status as one/amongst them) seem to be a recurring theme in Edward's lyrics. Compare also the lines "Now half of this cage is starving while the rest of us shoot stars and blast the eighteen headed Pacman from our armchairs in the bar. Zsa Zsa Korova scored a supernova! Zeros wall to wall..." from the song "Where No Man" from Chemical Playschool 9. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Cloud Zero Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Cloud Zero - another Zero reference - is, of course, a reworking of the idea of Cloud 9. The phrase to be on cloud nine, meaning that one was blissfully happy, started life in the United States and has been widely known there since the 1950s; it’s since spread worldwide. It’s said to have been popularised by the Johnny Dollar radio show of that period, in which every time the hero was knocked unconscious he was transported to Cloud Nine. But that wasn’t the origin of the phrase. It’s been around since the 1930s, though early examples show a lot of numerical variability, with the cloud sometimes being as low as number seven or eight or as high as thirty-nine, though seven and nine were most common. Cloud Zero, then, is to be in an awful place, most likely from the addiction in the comment by Nexus7. The unamed character (the song seems to be speaking to the audience) had lost all their money, their friends, and their home. They are seeing aeroplanes fly and wish that they too could fly amongst the clouds. They want to "fly", in the way that Edward seems to use the word a lot, which is in a broader sense it seems - as in to ride a wave of self-made good fortune, perhaps? But they can't - they are "high" in the sense of being in a drug assisted state of euphoria, but are really going nowhere - destination zero. Interesting that this song is on the same album as "Waiting for the Cloud". The diminshed chords used by Jason on piano and Patrick on violin so perfectly capture the kind of desperate lonely situation the character seems to be in. Watching the aeroplanes could also be a small reference to "Waving at the Aeroplanes" from the album "Curse". Edward certainly has an interest in the number Zero and concepts of nowhere and nothingness. More on that later. Cloud Zero, being a place on the way to nowhere, makes it interesting (and perhaps with a glint in the eye) that this was chosen as the name of one of their main websites. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – The Gallery Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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My building's full of little holes with heads in (1) Staring at the street They sometimes topple forwards Then stick at one another Passing freaks They rarely speak and though I don't feed them Still they keep their double (their quadruple) chins (2) Their garbage bins are emptied each day By night waiting with lights off, their cats out Their wives in They're peeping!(3) They're peeping at the methylated man who spits in a can Spreads his hands for silver Pans for gutter gold He mutters old forgotten songs his father taught him Rolls on the floor He rolls in alcoves Gets caught in waterfalls down rotting walls (He's bored) (4) My friends applaud, throw pennies and wait (5) Peeping from the gallery. (6) (1) little holes appear to be windows - the heads are the people living in the flats behind the windows. These people are all staring out of their windows and observing the life in their neigborhood along with the narrator of this song. (2) These neighbors seem to be well fed, though the narrator says he doesn't feed them. The have garbage service too... (3) T'would be an eerie scene, no? All the lights in the windows go out and multiple eyes, perhaps with binoculars, are being simultameous voyeurs... (4) The object of their peeping seems at first to be a homeless drunkard. Methylated is the past tense of Methylate, which means to mix with methyl alcohol. Methyl alcohol, in return, is a colorless, toxic, flammable liquid, CH3OH, used as an antifreeze, a general solvent, a fuel, and a denaturant for ethyl alcohol. Also called carbinol, methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood spirits. Doesn't seem very healthy... Amongst this fellow's actions are "muttering old forgotten songs his father taught him", which is turned into "we're singing all the songs our father taught us" from "The Ocean Cried 'Blue Murder'" on 1991's Maria Dimension. It would seem that this fellow goes hungry and lives a life of boredom while the peepers watch as if it is a gallery of art, sitting fat in their flats and not doing a thing about it. (5) Friends of the narrator throw pennies and applaud, trying at least to do that. (6) This could indeed be linked well with "Wildlife Estate", which in turn has definite connections to "A Problem with the Natives" from Chemical Playschool 11. Also, "Window on the World" from "Malachi" seems to have similar overtones, this time using a television screen instead of a literal window. Edward states this is about a scene out of his (bedroom?) window in "dear old Amsterdam" in a live intro. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Cheraderama Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This one has always seemed to me to have the connotation of "Charade" and "Drama", or Charade-o-rama: -orama (ə ram′ə, ə rä′mə) a greater-than-usual number, volume, or variety of a specified thing: used to form commercial names and other words for events and displays like sportorama Whether it’s a weekend sale-o-rama at the local car dealership or a laserama show at the planetarium, we do seem to love to add “rama” to a word indicate the spectacular wondrousness of an event. Blame Irish artist Robert Baker for the suffix. In the late 18th century, he combined the Greek words pan (meaning “all”) and horama (“view”) to copyright the name “panorama” to refer to his oversized paintings that offered 360-degree views of famous cities. His panoramas were such a hit that other artists followed suit with cycloramas (large scenes painted on the inside of a cylinder) and dioramas (three-dimensional models). In 1939, industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes created a space-age exhibit for General Motors at the New York World’s Fair. He dubbed it “Futurama,” which officially gave the “rama” suffix its coolness cachet. Of course, it loses a bit of its impact when local furniture stores have a “mattress-o-rama” every weekend. So, here the person writing the lyrics is - at some club. I usually imagine some goth dance club. Both he and some girl are dancing beneath a strobe-light. Everyone is probablly wearing black, and the reason he is wearing black is because he is sad that all the colourful things have seemed to have left the scene. A hopeless character, he is crying through happy hour passing the time endlessly watching the dancing girls dance while intoxicated on god-knows-what, having every chance in the world to see him there, sitting, waiting for a nice conversation perhaps, but instead the girls are more interested in the hallucinatory patterns on the walls. "Choose your masks and raise your armour" could be an oblique reference to Hawkwind's song "Choose your Masques", which I believe is from the Live Chronicles album. This was Hawkwinds rendition of Micheal Moorcock's Elric saga put to music. They're handing out the weapons And your armour's ready too But the most important item Has been left up to you You must make a firm decision And once it's made you'll find That the form that you have chosen Can entirely fill your mind For the mask you have selected Stands for Chaos or for Law And you cannot take it off now 'til you're no longer in the War And the Masks of War are grinning And from under them you howl Out the slogans of the part you play for the Battle's starting now Choose your Masks The ranks are forming Choose your Masks The day is dawning Choose your Masks And choose the side that you'll be on And learn the words of your new song For the Battle will be long.....so long........ In this case, the armour appears not to be literal, but the psychological armour more akin to the character armour of Wilhelm Reich, who noted: FUNCTIONS OF MUSCULAR ARMOR: KEEPS POTENTIALLY EXPLOSIVE EMOTIONS IN WARDS OFF EMOTIONS OF OTHERS. Reich noticed men have trouble taking away armor because they are so accustomed to suppressing feelings and emotions. An armored person does not feel their armor as such. Reich believed that mind-body work is necessary for people to rid themselves of this armor. BODY ARMOR AND CHARACTER ARMOR are essentially the same. Their function is trying to protect yourself against the pain of notexpressing things that society says you may not express. Muscular armor is character armor expressed in body, muscular rigidity. Armoring is the sum total of the muscular attitudes which a person develops as a defense against the breakthrough of emotions, especially anxity, rage, sexual excitation. Character armor is the sum total of all the years of the muscular attituded that have also been incorporated in the person's character. CHARACTER ARMOR CAN BE REFLECTED IN LIFE-PATTERNS. Karen Horney, reflecting on Reich's work, noted that people may arrange their lives to fit their character armor. Thus a severely introverted person may find an apartment in a building that is so configured that he or she need not meet or interact with neighbors, and shop at impersonal stores where minimal contact with others is necessary. Also, armoring seems to cause Neurotic Sexuality. This can result in the "cold eyes searching for a space that's warm enough to take them through the night- There's only black and white - Express; we never touch (we only press) - Can taste the desperation in your breath" The idea of "touch" in Edward's lyrics is also multi-layered. In "Princess Coldheart" we get the line "It's touching" as in "something that moves me internally". In "Laughing Venus" from Edward's solo album "Scriptures of Illumina" we get "I'd give you back the day - just touch me" - this could seem to contain either meaning. "Please do something that actually moves me" or "I long for your physical touch." In this song, the characters express themselves through mechanical touch - a physical pressing, and not the inner connection that the lyric writer wants. Also, compare the lines "Was I just a passing phase? Did we ever really share? Did we just soliloquise - Was I ever really there?" from "Love Noete and Carnations" on Tear Garden's "Last Man to Fly" album. At the end, the lyric writer says that he'd protect this girl (from her own Neurosis?) if she'd only give him a chance and look into his eyes instead of ignoring him to draw attention to herself. Also, once again we run into a multi-layered use of the eye as a symbol. It could mean "If you only saw things the way I did you wouldn't need to wear your masks...raise your eyes upwards and look at each other, make a connection." |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Belladonna Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Belladonna appears to be a character who, though has beautiful eyes of blue only sees the world in grey. She sheds tears for years - because she is a slave? Ultimately she chooses death. The speaker of this piece remembers her great beauty. Perhaps like Belladonna the drug she can "wash the day away" by making time meaningless with her hallucinatory effects. The speaker could be referring to a dawn they spent together, or a "dawn" as in a shared realisation. | |
| The Legendary Pink Dots – Belladonna Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Belladonna, more commonly known as deadly night-shade, Atropa belladonna, devil's cherries, devil's herb, divale, dwale, dwayberry, great morel, naughty man's cherries, and poison black cherry, is a perennial herb that has been valued for its medicinal properties for over five centuries. It was thought to be an herb tended by the Devil himself, except on Walpurgis Night, when the Devil retired to prepare a witches' sabbath. On that night, the plant metamorphosed into an enchanting lady, lovely but deadly to behold. This plant contains potent alkaloids, which can produce hallucinations, so wine for Bacchanalian orgies was spiked with belladonna, which yielded frenzy and hysteria. There were, of course, many evil uses. However, on a romantic note, Italian and Spanish ladies put belladonna in their eyes to cause them to dilate, which made the ladies look beautiful and seductive ("beautiful lady" = bella donna). The poisonous substance is extracted from deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna) and from which the drug atropine is obtained. Atropine has powerful effects on the parasympathetic nervous system, blocking nerve transmissions. With the parasympathetic nervous system out of action, the sympathetic system is left to function unopposed. Thus, atropine mimics some of the stimulatory actions of the sympathetic nervous system and adrenaline. Small doses cause the heart rate to increase. Atropine is used in some cough mixtures for the treatment of bronchitis and whooping cough. It is also used to dilate the pupils for eye examination, relieve peptic ulcers, and to relax the smooth muscle of the intestines and stomach before a general anaesthetic. One of the first widespread uses of the herb was purely a cosmetic one. Sixteenth century Italian women reportedly applied belladonna solutions to their eyes to dilate the pupils and achieve a dreamy and supposedly more desirable appearance (hence the name belladonna, which is Italian for 'beautiful lady'). Also, Amaryllis Belladonna (am-a-ril-lus bel-a-don-na) Nicknames: Belladonna Lily, Naked Lady, Brunsvigia Rosea, Jersey Lily, Barbados Lily, Guernsey Lily, Madeira Lily, Family: AMARYLLIDACEAE Colors: Light Pink, White Blooms in the Northwest: August/September, Needs to be root-bound to bloom, may take several years to establish Named after amaryllis, the Greek beauty and bella donna which means beautiful lady in Italian. Belladonna also means poisonous. Whenever you see belladonna in the botanical world it means that the plant is deadly but that can be good because it also means it is deer and rodent resistant. According to the classical poets Theocritius, Ovid, and Virgil, Amaryllis was a virginal nymph, timid and shy but with a spine of steel. She fell head over heels in love with Alteo, an icy-hearted shepherd reputed to be as handsome as Apollo and as strong as Hercules, and determined that she would be true only to him, no matter what the consequences. Indifferent to her charms, Alteo claimed his only desire was that a new flower be brought to him, a flower that had never before existed in the world. Amaryllis consulted the Oracle at Delphi and was instructed to pierce her heart with a golden arrow at Alteo’s door. This she did, dressed in maidens white, for thirty consecutive nights, dripping blood all the while. The shepherd finally opened his door to discover a flower which had sprung from the blood of her heart. The flower was named Amaryllis. Here we have the history of the introduction of Amaryllis Belladonna to Greece from South Africa. It caused quite a commotion then and still does today in Northwest Gardens for anyone fortunate enough to find them for sale. It was all types of trade (spice, gold, diamonds, and sugar which in turn brought slaves from Africa to other parts of the world to work in the sugar and tobacco fields) that is very important to the distribution of the Amaryllis Belladonna as well as all South African Plants. Belladonnas were widely cultivated by the Romans and Greeks and later by the seafaring and trading powers Portugal, Spain and Italy. The bulbs are still found in gardens of nobles in major cities, trading ports,church gardens, and around plantation houses of wealthy merchants. Amaryllis Belladonna are also known as naked ladies because the greenery comes up first in early summer then dies back. Then in late summer a naked spike that resembles a cobra emerges out of the ground and then pops open produces many blooms that are a soft pink color. They smell like Bazooka bubble gum and last for a long time in the garden and as a cut flower. They can not be forced inside to bloom. The amaryllis bulbs sold in autumn to bloom indoors are hippeastrum bulbs from South America and are not hardy outside. aka "Naked Lady, Belladonna Lily, Resurrection Lily |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – A Space Between Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A car crash (named Billy) A spark that caused the great fire of London (named Red Harry) the great fire was one of the things that eventually led to the end of the bubonic plague A cut on Hitler's knee (named Georgie) Georgie could be a reference to General George Patton. I find no reference to an infected knee wound involving Hitler, though there are rumours that he had contracted syphillis. Someone's mother (named Jane) who appears to be a storm that sneezes away a continent. The viewpoint of the singer is that of water. He is rain falling on the rusted remains of the car-crash, rain that puts out the great fire of London, water (that had to be "kidnapped") that was used to clean the wound on Hitler's knee, and finally the water of the sea, who with the power of Jane the Hurricane made a myth by hiding a continent. This would seem to point to the legend of Atlantis sinking below the waves. Of course, by the time the story becomes a stage play, their original names have been forgotten...but not completely lost, as the chorus repeats... |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – A Crack in Melancholy Time Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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A Crack in Melancholy Time I lean on the fence and you squat in the middle (1) And we wait until the stream runs dry (2) Though you don't see the sense and we can't solve the riddle (3) It's amazing how time flies And we hear the children calling, we agree that it's appalling But it's best to keep on stalling (4) Count me out (5) Now there's bloood on my hands and I'm wearing a muzzle So I'll look the other way I'll place my head in the sand and let the rest solve the puzzle (6) I'll think about just who's to blame (7) Because I hear the children weeping and I see the virus creeping (8) History is repeating Count me out Now there's chains around my neck and my head's in the oven (9) And the crowd kicks at my door And you're leading the pack under wraps, undercover (10) Because you need to win this war (11) You picked up your flag and kissed it with your black volcanic lipstick (12) Now I'm simply your statistic Count me out (13) A Crack in Melancholy Time seems to evoke a sudden appearance of some event that shakes someone out of their melancholy revery. It also seems to have a connection with the proverb: "A stitch in time saves nine." Meaning: You use this proverb to say that it is better to spend a little time to deal with problems or act right now than wait. If you wait until late, things will get worse, and it will take much longer to deal with them. "Stitching Time" is also the name of the LPD song on 1992's "Shadow Weaver" album Also, as a tangential thought, conmpare these lines from the song "Zeroid" on Gong's "Zero to Infinity" album released in 2000, sung by Gilli Smyth: "I'm through I'm through the crack in time! In the garden see the woman in the blue coat with stars in her hair! Magdelene... Priestess... Magdelene... An unearthly wind blows the curtains of leaves. Through the slit I see a flash of everything." (1) sit on the fence (third-person singular simple present sits on the fence, present participle sitting on the fence, simple past and past participle sat on the fence) (idiomatic, intransitive) To remain neutral on a certain topic, to not have a stance or opinion. Usage notes This expression implies that it is wiser to not be neutral. Compare with the line "If I'm the final man to raise a glove and fight your master plan then I just throw my hand in." from "This One Eyed Man is King" on the next year's album "From Here You'll Watch the World Go By" (2) Compare with the line "We walk on hot coals where a stream meandered." from "Just a Lifetime" on the album "Crushed Velvet Apocalypse". (3) What riddle is this? Of how to get along? (4) Stalling for time, even as time flies? Time to not make a hasty decision? (5) Count me Out - compare with John Lennon's lyrics for the song "Revolution": You say you want a revolution Well you know We all want to change the world You tell me that it's evolution Well you know We all want to change the world But when you talk about destruction Don't you know you can count me out (in) At the end of 1966, Lennon met and fell in love with the Japanese artist Yoko Ono. John's head-over-heels devotion to Yoko--think of how often her name shows up in future Lennon songs--earned the derision of many fans, especially after the Beatles broke up and Yoko got blamed for it. But her politics certainly reinforced Lennon's move to the left. The two came in contact with leaders of the movement in Britain--significantly, Ali and Robin Blackburn, both members of the Trotskyist International Marxist Group. A later interview/discussion among the four that appeared in the IMG paper Red Mole (reprinted in Ali's memoir Streetfighting Years)--gives a sense of the back-and-forth about the questions facing the struggle. John's song "Revolution" on the Beatles' White Album is a reflection of such discussions. It famously says that "you can count me out," but this is a comment on tactics--specifically, the role of violence in the struggle. "Revolution" encapsulates a debate John was having with himself and others about how social change should be achieved. In fact, on the album version of the song, John also sings "you can count me in"--because, he later said, "I wasn't sure." (6) Bury your head in the sand Meaning Refuse to confront or acknowledge a problem. Origin This comes from the supposed habit of ostriches hiding when faced with attack by predators. The story was first recorded by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder, who suggested that ostriches hide their heads in bushes. Ostriches don't hide, either in bushes or sand, although they do sometimes lie on the ground to make themselves inconspicuous. The 'burying their head in the sand' myth is likely to have originated from people observing them lowering their heads when feeding. The story also relies on the supposed stupidity of ostriches, and of birds in general. In fact, there's little to support that either as birds have a significantly larger brain to weight ratio than many other species of animal. The notion is that the supposedly dumb ostrich believes that if it can't see its attacker then the attacker can't see it. This was nicely reformed as a joke on Douglas Adams' 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', in which the 'Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal' was described as 'so mind-bogglingly stupid that it assumes that if you can't see it, then it can't see you.' (7) Compare with the lines "still you point your fingers in the dark" from "Mood 159" on the album "A Perfect Mystery" released in 2000. (8) Edward's use of virus appears to be multi-layered - sometimes reffering to an actual medical virus, sometimes reffering to an informational virus that causes behavioural change, like a meme, and sometimes a computer virus. Compare with the lines "We've all got the plague" from an early Dots tune, including the "ashes to ashes we all fall down" from the old Nursery Rhyme, or lines like "I've got this creepy crawly virus and I feel it kicking in, I'm in your heart now in your fingers [typing], am I getting on your nerves?" from "Cyberspider" on the Tear Garden album "To be an Angel Blind..." (9) Sticking one's head in the oven and letting the gas on is a method of suicide that seems to appear in several LPD songs such as "Jewel on an Island" from 1986's "Island of Jewels" album...it is not reccomended. (suicide, that is) (10) Compare with the line "Driving the pack, from the rear, with a trumpet, with an axe." from Dissonance on 1998's "Nemesis Online" album. (11) Which war? (12) References to Volcanoes (and Mountains) in Pink Dots music remind me of the Genesis song title "Dance on a Volcano" which is a British term meaning to exist in blissful ignorance unaware of something big about to make a change in one's life. (13) Whose statistic is the speaker? If the speaker wishes them to count him out, then that is the same as saying count me as the number zero. More on the number zero later. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – A Space Between Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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After thinking about Edward's lyrics and struggling to come up with round-about meanings that make sense, he always has the most succinct way of explaining them. "A Space in Between", he says, "Is about the idea that events have personalities." Interesting events for him to choose. |
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| The Legendary Pink Dots – Spike Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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You are right, the H with a capital hate is Heroin, it is a look back at Dwayne Goettel's death, - this and the breakup with his first wife Elke, really shook Edward Ka-Spel up in the mid-nineties. He was a friend of Dwayne's through the Tear Garden connection. Songs like "To Mourn the Death of Colour" are imploring the whole Heroin scene to quit, as it is sucking the life from it. Amongst other things... Heroin makes you feel great 1. If you are doing it and 2. Because you are creating new users and feeling good that you are taking away their pain - like Jesus - drilling holes into flesh with needles - but of course, the addiction and side-effects kick in and sap you of your vitality and eventually - your life. The Wall is related to the obstacle Edward speaks of trying to climb over in "Straight on 'till Morning" from "From Here You'll Watch the World Go By", and also later obliquely in the song "Castaway" from the album "Crystal Mass" by Tear Garden. In spirit, it carries on, on "The Whispering Wall", though that wall is more about a specific political boundary than this one. "We're trapped here 'till we die" reminds me of Jim Morrison's "No one gets out of here alive." Since we will all die someday, I guess we don't - unless there is an escape hatch from the Hallway of the Gods... |
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| Genesis – Dancing With The Moonlit Knight Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Also note that Peter Gabriel was the one who collected Green Sheild Stamps on the road during the early days with the band, to the band's amusement, I think. A few words about the album as a whole: Selling England by the Pound The title was actually originally the slogan used in the Labour Party Manifesto for the General Election held before the album was released which itself was using wordplay on the idea of "pound". The pound sterling is the world's oldest currency still in use. The origins of sterling lie in the reign of King Offa of Mercia, who introduced the silver penny. It copied the denarius of the new currency system of Charlemagne's Frankish Empire. As in the Carolingian system, 240 pennies weighed 1 pound (corresponding to Charlemagne's libra) Labour Party's Harold Wilson was elected for a third time in February 1974, taking over from Conservative Edward Heath whose government was brought to its knees by oil shortages and a crippling coal miners' strike in 1973. Heath's most lasting achievement was to lead the UK into the EEC (later the EU) in 1973. His tenure, however, was blighted by industrial unrest, including a devastating miners' strike. This resulted in the famous 'three-day-week', in which commercial consumption of electricity was limited to three days per week, with the exception of essential services. However the 1970s proved to be a disastrous time for any party to be in government. Faced with a mishandled oil crisis, a consequent world-wide economic downturn, and a badly suffering British economy, Governments were forced to take an interventionist approach, and companies such as British Leyland were nationalised to prevent their collapse. Pressure on sterling compounded these problems, and by the middle of the decade 1½ million people were unemployed in the UK - a previously unthinkable figure. The Labour Party itself had adopted a left-wing agenda, 'Labour's Programme 1973', a document which pledged to bring about a 'fundamental and irreversible shift in the balance of power and wealth in favour of working people and their families.' This programme referred to a 'far reaching Social Contract between workers and the Government.' Wilson publicly accepted many of the left-wing implications of the Programme but the condition of the economy allowed little room for manouevre. Gabriel insisted that the album be titled Selling England by the Pound, the reference to the Labour Party slogan at the time, in an effort to counter the impression that Genesis were becoming too US-oriented. |
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| Genesis – I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe) Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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(with some comments from here) Armando Gallo reveals 'the inspiration for Peter's lyrics in "I Know What I Like" came from a painting by Betty Swanwick, which he saw at an exhibition. Peter immediately noted down the characters of the song on the exhibition catalogue, and later on Betty Swanwick agreed to make some additions and enlarge her painting for the cover of Selling England by the Pound.' One addition was the lawn mower, which was not present in the original painting. It fits in nicely with the English themed covers of the last 3 albums. This allegedly was written for Genesis' roadie from 1971-1973. His name was Jacob Finster, and he could never hold jobs - he was a lawn mower, a pawn store clerk and a cashier. By the time he died, he worked in a doughnut shop where he overdosed on heroin. Much to the disapproval of everyone else, the protagonist in the song is rebuking modern society and all its vices (consumerism, careerism, etc.) in favor of a simpler life. He may be regarded as an underachiever but he is content in the knowledge that he is creating beauty. Art is perhaps the only medium where one need know nothing, yet still be a critic: we all know the chestnut, "I may not know art, but I know what i like." This can also be viewed in a negative sense, where, after all, art is something worthy of knowing about - to ignore it is to set your sights low. This has led one reviewer to say that in this song - "the uselessness of the upper class youth is pointed out in I Know What I Like (in your wardrobe). The origin of the phrase "I may not know Art, but I know what I Like" is uncertain. My favourite instance of it is during the Last Supper sketch of Monty Python during their "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" film. In it, the Pope tells the painter (Michelangelo?) that he doesn't want his painting of the Penultimate Supper with three Christs and a Kangaroo - he wanted what he ordered, and ends the sketch with the phrase. The Garden Wall was the name of one of the Charterhouse groups that contained future members of Genesis. The Farmer, who's trade is apparently escaping from the fire, comes straight out of Supper's Ready. "getting better in your wardrobe" - some relation to the Chronicles of Narnia, or another reference to the British obsession with cross dressing like Pink Floyd's Arnold Layne? |
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| Genesis – Dancing With The Moonlit Knight Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Dancing Out with the Moonlit Knight (including comments from here) is about the effects the British economy has on every day lives of Englishmen, the cultural crisis that they endure and the first oil crisis that happened right around that time. As transports and oil-derived vinyl were sending prices through the roof, many ways were considered to cut costs - SEBTP was the first Genesis non-gatefold and had cheaper, lighter records. Dancing Out With the Moonlight Knight is a wonderful socio-commentary partially dressed in legend. The lyrics offer the listener to "Dance with the Moonlit Knight," or defy the trends which are destroying us. It has been described as basically an epitaph to British culture as large companies destroy its heritage. "Can you tell me where my country lies?" (1) said the unifaun (2) to his true love's eyes. "It lies with me!" cried the Queen of Maybe (3) - for her merchandise, he traded in his prize. (4) "Paper late!" (5) cried a voice in the crowd. "Old man dies!" The note he left was signed 'Old Father Thames' (6) - it seems he's drowned; selling england by the pound. Citizens of Hope & Glory, (7) Time goes by - it's 'the time of your life'. (8) Easy now, sit you down. Chewing through your Wimpey dreams, (9) they eat without a sound; digesting england by the pound. Young man says 'you are what you eat' - eat well. Old man says 'you are what you wear' - wear well. You know what you are, you don't give a damn; bursting your belt that is your homemade sham. The Captain leads his dance right on through the night - join the dance... Follow on! Till the Grail sun sets in the mould. (10) Follow on! Till the gold is cold. Dancing out with the moonlit knight, Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout. (11) There's a fat old lady (12) outside the saloon; laying out the credit cards she plays Fortune. (13) The deck is uneven right from the start; and all of their hands are playing apart. The Captain leads his dance right on through the night - join the dance... Follow on! A Round Table-talking down we go. You're the show! Off we go with - You play the hobbyhorse, I'll play the fool. (14) We'll tease the bull ringing round & loud, loud & round. Follow on! With a twist of the world we go. Follow on! Till the gold is cold. Dancing out with the moonlit knight, Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout. (1) It begins without any music, with Gabriel's voice asking "Can you tell me where my country lies?" This album is the reply to that very question, and the reply (while musically mind-blowing) may not be very encouraging. (2) 1.Unifaun apparently does not have any connection with the mythological faun, but is a mercenary rank equivalent to "private". 2. Unifaun: pun that stands for representing the ancient, historical England. From uniform, unicorn, faun (fawn or faun, in general) (3) Queen of Maybe: From Queen of May, who, in the ancient England, used to represent the starting of a good season and the hope for a good harvest. Who is the Queen of Maybe? Opportunity. Today, Queen of May is used in England only for commercial advertising of products and this "Queen of Opportunity" represents the modern England. The first stanza could be the gambling of culture on the 'maybe' of development. (4) This could tell of how the younger generation is throwing away a legacy ("for her merchandise, he traded in his prize"). (5) One puzzling lyric in this song is "paper late cried a voice in the crowd", especially since it went on to become the title of another songs. Americans have assumed that it meant the same thing as "extra, extra!", the way paperboys hawked a late edition of the newspaper that had just come out. A British citizen comments: "I've never heard that phrase in colloquial English. However, I have heard "Late paper!" being shouted by paper sellers. A slightly convoluted theory is therefore this: Suppose a vendor is shouting 'Late paper! Late paper!' repeatedly. Given that he is in a crowd we can suppose there is a lot of other noise, perhaps enough to drown him out at times. In these circumstances, you might, in a lull in the background noise, hear '...paper! Late...'." (6) The "old man dies," leaving the younger generation in charge, who promptly "sell England by the pound". Old Father Thames is the spirit of the River Thames (the one which flows through London). He is depicted as an old man with a flowing white beard and symbolises Britain's ancient past. He's part of British folklore. The Old Father Thames spirit does not recognize his modern land - Old Father Thames symbolic drowning being a death of London as it was. (7) Citizens of Hope and Glory are the English people. From the hymn Land of Hope and Glory. (8) "its the time of your life" could point out how easily led people are by what they're told (9) "Wimpey is/was an indigenous chain of burger stores, so colloquially a Wimpey is/was a burger (like a Big Mac, only even nastier). "wimpey dreams" refers to Wimpey restaurants which at the time were taking over the food market with chain outlets. They took their name after Wimpy in the Popeye cartoons, because he always ate burgers! [His tag phrase was "I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today".] Also, Wimpey are a national firm of (UK) builders who specialise in building vast estates of Identikit houses. "Dream Homes", as the adverts read. These are not made of the highest grade materials but are often built in Mock-classic English styles (Tudor, Georgian) of architecture. They were a firm that specialised in providing cheap(ish) housing often on the outskirts of larger conurbations and were seen by many working class people as a Des-Res (Desirable Residence) location to move to once they had sufficient money. This sort of house is seen as being a bit of a "trash talisman" by some sections of society. Frequently this sort of housing was a step up as families sought to better themselves. (10) Grail: the cup of Jesus Christ from the last supper, which, according to the legend, is carried in England into King Arthur's court. Represents the splendour of the epoch. This is about the downfall and decline of Great Britain as it loses its empire on which the sun never sets - the sun never sets on the British Empire because it is so big that it's always daytime somewhere. However, it's declining, and soon the sun will set... (11) -"Green shield stamps" were the 70s equivalent to reward points at petrol stations or whatever - this points to commercialism. Green food stamps and price folder (Aisle of Plenty ) remind how low the Once Mighty Empire has fallen as the first oil crisis did even more damage to England Sold By The Pound to Arab Sheiks playing fortune with the Old Lady England that lays out the credit cards and plays fortune A double meaning is used again in this phrase too. Today, in England, the Green Shield Stamps are point, scratch-and-win, or unstick-and-win prizes. Knights of the green shield stamp and shout is one of the many puns on Selling England that are totally lost on Americans. "Green shield stamps used to be issued when you purchased everyday goods at stores. You collected them and when you had enough you could exchange the stamps for other goods, i.e. they were a promotional gimmick to encourage you to shop at certain stores." (12) The verse about the fat old lady could be a dig at those who willingly throw away their money, possibly to company directors with their lying money grabbing ways. (13) "Credit cards" is another modern day introduction of the times - Today's fortuneteller doesn't use playing cards anymore, only credit cards, to foretell the fortune. (14) The Fool and the Hobbyhorse are characters from the Morris Dance. From "hobby horse" came the expression "to ride one's hobby-horse", meaning "to follow a favourite pastime", and in turn, the modern sense of the term Hobby. There is a repeated riff that can be found in "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight" and the last tracks, and it sort of draws the album together |
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| Genesis – The Return Of The Giant Hogweed Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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From our brief pastoral respite, our camera of the mind follows the bus for a bit as it ambles out of the village, and floats onwards - eventually letting the bus go and settling on a clump of unlikely looking plants growing near the ditch on the side of the road. They begin to stir, and the music begins to play... The really interesting thing about the Giant Hogweed, is that like a lot of Peter Gabriel's lyrics, they are based on something real! Giant Hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), is a member of the family Apiaceae, native to the Caucasus Region and Central Asia. ("Long ago in the Russian hills") It may reach 2-5 metres (rarely to 7 m) tall. Except for size, it closely resembles Common Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), Heracleum sosnowskyi or Garden Angelica (Angelica archangelica). It is further distinguished by a stout, dark reddish-purple stem and spotted leaf stalks that are hollow and produce sturdy bristles. Stems vary from 3-8 cm in diameter, occasionally up to 10 cm. The stem shows a purplish-red pigmentation with raised nodules. Each purple spot on the stem surrounds a hair, and there are large, coarse white hairs at the base of the leaf stalk. The plant has deeply incised compound leaves which grow up to 1-1.7 m in width.("Kill them with your Hogweed hairs") Many foreign plants were introduced to Britain in the 19th century, mainly for ornamental reasons. Giant hogweed is native to the Caucasus mountains of southwest Asia. It was brought to Europe by 19th century naturalist explorers (CABI, no date) and subsequently escaped, spreading throughout much of Europe and the UK. ("A Victorian explorer found the regal Hogweed by a marsh, He captured it and brought it home.") A few have become aggressively dominant, creating serious problems in some areas. It is now widespread throughout the British Isles especially along riverbanks. ("Around every river and canal their power is growing.") By forming dense stands they can displace native plants and reduce wildlife interests. It has also spread in the northeastern and northwestern United States. It is equally a pernicious invasive species in Germany, France and Belgium, overtaking the local species. It was introduced in France in the 19th century by botanists, much appreciated by beekeepers. Once again, the album Nursery Cryme mentions a Victorian theme. Giant Hogweed is a phototoxic plant. Its sap can cause phytophotodermatitis (severe skin inflammations) when the skin is exposed to sunlight or to UV-rays. ("They all need the sun to photosensitize their venom.") Initially the skin colours red and starts itching. Then blisters form as in burns within 48 hours. They form black or purplish scars, which can last several years. Hospitalisation may become necessary. Presence of minute amounts of sap in the eyes, can lead to temporary or even permanent blindness. These reactions are caused by the presence of linear derivatives of furocoumarin in its leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds. These chemicals can get into the nucleus of the epithelial cells, forming a bond with the DNA, causing the cells to die. The brown colour is caused by the production of melanin by furocoumarins. In Germany, where this plant has become a real nuisance, there were about 16,000 victims in 2003. Herbicides such as 2,4-D, TBA, MCPA and dicamba will kill above ground parts but are reportedly not particularly effective on persistent rootstalks. ("They seem immune to all our herbicidal battering.") An actual representation of Giant Hogweed is recreated on the back cover of Nursery Cryme, as well as the inside gatefold in the picture that accompanies the lyrics to the song. Turn and run! Nothing can stop them, Around every river and canal their power is growing. Stamp them out! We must destroy them, They infiltrate each city with their thick dark warning odour. They are invincible, They seem immune to all our herbicidal battering. Long ago in the Russian hills, A Victorian explorer found the regal Hogweed by a marsh, He captured it and brought it home. Botanical creature stirs, seeking revenge. Royal beast did not forget. He came home to London, And made a present of the Hogweed to the Royal Gardens at Kew. Waste no time! They are approaching. Hurry now, we must protect ourselves and find some shelter Strike by night! They are defenceless. They all need the sun to photosensitize their venom. Still they're invincible, Still they're immune to all our herbicidal battering. Fashionable country gentlemen had some cultivated wild gardens, In which they innocently planted the Giant Hogweed throughout the land. Botanical creature stirs, seeking revenge. Royal beast did not forget. Soon they escaped, spreading their seed, Preparing for an onslaught, threatening the human race. The Dance of the Giant Hogweed Mighty Hogweed is avenged. Human bodies soon will know anger. Kill them with your Hogweed hairs HERACLEUM MANTEGAZZIANI Giant Hogweed lives ADVANCE Another side to this seems to be the almsot science-fiction edge that Peter gives to this tale - endowing the Giant Hogweed with more sentient faculties. On almost evry mention of actual Giant Hogweed I can find, it seems there is always the inevitable reference to Triffids. The triffid is a highly venomous fictional plant species, the titular antagonist from the 1951 novel The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham and also later appears in Simon Clark's novel The Night of the Triffids. Triffids were also featured in the 1957 BBC radio dramatization of Wyndham's book, in a considerably altered film which was produced in 1962, and in a more faithful television serial which was produced by the BBC in 1981. The name may be related to the Trifid Nebula, a region of star formation originally named by John Herschel because it appeared to have three components, resembling a three-lobed flower in photographs taken in visible light. Wyndham hints at but never fully reveals the origin of his triffid species. Twenty or more years prior to the events of The Day of the Triffids, the original "gossamer-slung" triffid seeds, stolen from a Soviet research facility, were dispersed worldwide after the aircraft they were packed in was destroyed at high-altitude during the Cold War. Soon after the discovery of the first triffid seeds, the story's scientists learned that their bodies were a potentially lucrative source of protein and natural oils. Despite their dangerous nature, it was determined that the value of a triffid outweighed the risks, and people began to cultivate them as a commercial crop. This resulted in triffid seeds being spread all over the world in a comparatively short space of time: within 20 years, triffids were a common crop in numerous countries. Though triffids kept by private breeders and collectors had their stings docked for safety reasons, most commercially grown triffids were left with their stings attached, as docking was found to reduce the quality of the oil that they produced. This situation persisted for many years, until a burst of light, initially thought to be from a comet, but later speculated to be a high-altitude weapons discharge, blinded much of the human race. Without sighted keepers to maintain their fences and to check the tethers that kept them in place, small groups of triffids began escaping from their farms and established wild populations. Urban triffids, with nobody to prevent their stings from regrowing, soon joined them. Although slow moving and lacking in intelligence, newly freed triffids found blind humans to be easy targets and began to attack them. As starvation, disease, accidents, and infighting further reduce human numbers, the increasingly bold and numerous triffids begin to take over, forcing humans out of the cities and into isolated hamlets and fortified farms in the countryside. A final word on this is that Peter Gabriel is a vegetarian, and this could be a fabulous way to vent some veggie frustration at meat eaters by having plants come and eat them. |
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| Genesis – For Absent Friends Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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One can imagine the scene in the nursery ending with little murderess Cynthia fearfully clutching her Nurse and watching for signs of life within the broken remains of the Musical Box scattered upon the foor. Were this a series of connected films, we could pull back from this scene and float out the window into the unassuming and idyllic English countryside and down the lane towards a village church. We would pan past a clock-tower who's face lets us know it was 6 o'clock p.m. We have travelled from the complex darkness of The Musical Box where a spirit haunts (and attempts to rape!) his killer, to a simple life where two people visit a church to remember and pray for their deceased friends with love and respect. Sunday at six when they close both the gates a widowed pair, still sitting there, Wonder if they're late for church and it's cold, so they fasten their coats and cross the grass, they're always last. Passing by the padlocked swings, the roundabout still turning, ahead they see a small girl on her way home with a pram. Inside the archway, the priest greets them with a courteous nod. He's close to God. Looking back at days of four instead of two. Years seem so few (four instead of two). Heads bent in prayer for friends not there. Leaving twopence on the plate, they hurry down the path and through the gate and wait to board the bus that ambles down the street. This simple scene is such an interesting counterpoint to the Musical Box. Who is this little duo, and who have they lost? Why are they always last? Why does the Priest look back at days of four instead of two? Does this indicate the Priest's knowledge of the larger scope of things? Also in this song are some great words that are decidedly British. Widowed is the past tense of the verb form of the noun "Widow" - to make someone a widow, and doesn't need to apply to the death of a husband. It can mean to deprive of anything cherished or needed: "A surprise attack widowed the army of its supplies". This young pair have lost some friends. Roundabout is an interesting British word that describes a playground carousel. Pram is always an interesting British word. It means "baby carriage," and is from 1884 - a shortening of "perambulator". Perhaps influenced by pram "flat-bottomed boat" (1548), from O.N. pramr, from Balto-Slavic (cf. Pol. pram "boat," Rus. poromu "ferryboat"). One great line from the song "Camelot" in Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail is "I have to push the Pram alot". It seems they were hard-pressed to disccover things that rhymed with "Camelot". The first twopence was a silver coin issued for Charles II in about 1660, but was undated, as used to be the normal practice. This was a hammered coin, and there were three slightly different issues of twopence between 1660 and 1662. From 1668 onwards, milled (machine made) twopences were issued almost every year. Charles II's was the reign when the production of hammered coinage finished, and was replaced completely by milled issues, although machine production had started during the reign of Elizabeth I. In 1971, the year Nursey Cryme was released, the decimal twopence or two pence became legal tender, although it had been available for some time before as part of a five coin familiarisation pack issued in a blue wallet. |
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| Genesis – The Musical Box Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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In Victorian England, the nursery was usually situated at the top of the house, reached by several flights of stairs. A little wicket gate across the landing prevented small children tumbling downstairs, and a solid wooden door muffled noises from the rest of the house. Here the nursemaid spent much of her time washing, dressing and undressing the children. This task was made all the more time consuming by the sheer volume of clothing considered proper for a baby. The coal fire was kept alight on all but the hottest days, as the top rail of the guard was used for airing the children’s clothes. Once the children were washed and dressed, breakfast was sent up from the kitchen. During the morning there would be lessons, followed by lunch, which was usually eaten in the nursery. After a short sleep in the afternoon, followed by a walk in the park, the children were washed and changed and taken down to the parlour to spend an hour with Mama. Here they talked politely, sang or recited to visitors, or listened to music before returning to the nursery for tea. After tea there was time to play with their toys and games for a while before they were washed and put to bed. One of the day games would be Croquet, a game who's origins are not quite clear, though it may have come from French Lawn Billiards. It seems to be undisputed, however, that a game called Crookey was played in Ireland from the 1830's and that, in 1852, it was brought to England where it quickly became popular. It was particularly popular with women because it was the first outdoor sport which could be played by both sexes on an equal footing. A well established image brought to mind is the playing of Croquet using flamingoes as mallets in Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland. Paul Whitehead's cover for Nursery Cryme alludes to Alice's adventures and brings to mind a simple visual pun: Head Games. Perhaps the most important difference between the Alice books and more conventional children’s stories of mid-Victorian Britain is a difference in the author’s attitude towards his audience. For a middle and upper class child, growing up in Victorian times may have been something less than a happy experience. It was an age of the nanny and the governess; children were shunted off to the nursery, brought out to spend an hour with their mothers in the late afternoon, and then whisked off again. When they reached school age, they were packed off to preparatory and then public schools, where they learned to fear schoolmasters and mistresses, and even more, one another. School was too often the arena of the bully: violence was rampant. To survive at the English boarding school, one had to be strong and resourceful enough to outwit one’s classmates. Lewis Carol seemed to remain aware of how children growing up in his time would feel when writing his nursery rhymes and fairy tales. "In Britain", says one British citizen, "people grew up with these stories like 'Don't go into certain moors', and you'd hear horror stories about psychopaths and whatever, and nursery rhymes fulfilled this function, they were a warning not to do certain things, advice for life in some ways." As the 20th century progressed, fairy tales were pushed further and further into the nursery, published in children's editions influenced by the Victorian and Disney versions. The entire genre came to be viewed as simple, silly, sexist stories in which passive, dutiful, beautiful girls grew up to marry rich Prince Charmings. It was largely forgotten that in centuries past fairy tales had not been so simple and saccharine, happy endings had not been guaranteed, and heroines had not sat passively awaiting rescue by a passing prince. Fairy tales in the past had looked unflinchingly at the darkest parts of life: at poverty, hunger, abuse of power, domestic violence, incest, rape, the sale of young women to the highest bidder in the form of arranged marriages, the effects of remarriage on family dynamics, the loss of inheritance or identity, the survival of treachery or calamity. The origins of the Nursery Rhyme lyrics of Old King Cole are based in history dating back to 3rd century. There is considerable confusion regarding the origins of Old King Cole as there are three possible contenders who were Celtic Kings of Britain, all who share the name Coel. It is interesting here, because this is an already existing Nursery Rhyme inside the song The Musical Box, which purports to be a Victorian Fairy Tale in itself, though a darker fairy tale exposing the underbelly of society that resulted from the nature of a repressed culture. The term Victorian has acquired a range of connotations, including that of a particularly strict set of moral standards, which are often applied hypocritically. This stems from the image of Queen Victoria—and her husband, Prince Albert, perhaps even more so—as innocents, unaware of the private habits of many of her respectable subjects; this particularly relates to their sex lives. This image is mistaken: Victoria’s attitude toward sexual morality was a consequence of her knowledge of the corrosive effect of the loose morals of the aristocracy in earlier reigns upon the public’s respect for the nobility and the Crown. Victorian prudery sometimes went so far as to deem it improper to say "leg" in mixed company; instead, the preferred euphemism “limb” was used. Those going for a swim in the sea at the beach would use a bathing machine. However, historians Peter Gay and Michael Mason both point out that we often confuse Victorian etiquette for a lack of knowledge. For example, despite the use of the bathing machine, it was also possible to see people bathing nude. Another example of the gap between our preconceptions of Victorian sexuality and the facts is that contrary to what we might expect, Queen Victoria liked to draw and collect male nude figure drawings and even gave her husband one as a present Steven Marcus, an author dealing with Victorian erotic novels notes: Pornography is, after all, nothing more than a representation of the fantasies of infantile sexual life, as these fantasies are edited and reorganized in the masturbatory daydreams of adolescence.... Now this conclusion may be true of the novels Marcus studies, or indeed, even of most Victorian erotica; but the distinction that must be made is that Victorian erotic writing is anomalous in the history of the genre. Neither before the nineteenth century nor after it is erotic literature so deadening and so unrealistic, so reduced to mechanical fantasies. When the Dionysian element in literature is accorded its rightful place by a society, it is a complex mixture of reality and fantasy; only when it is forced underground does it fit Marcus' description. He is misleading when he judges pornography at its worst. Repression was the basis of Victorian civilization; it is not the psychology likely to produce a healthy erotic literature.It has become an axiom of popular psychology that the repression of pleasure equals the expression of cruelty to the same intensity. In Victorian times rigid repression twisted sexuality into a small and private violence which manifested itself in the rod. But the rod would come to seem an amusement next to the violence of the twentieth century. In the nineteenth century people became replaceable parts in the factories of progress. Victorian erotica mirrors this condition, and we can see in its scenes of whippings, for instance, a hint of worse violence to come, as people reacted to the suppression of their erotic natures. Into this scene we are told this story: While Henry Hamilton-Smythe minor (8) was playing croquet with Cynthia Jane De Blaise-William (9), sweet-smiling Cynthia raised her mallet high and gracefully removed Henry's head. (Peter's live intro would describe how Henry's spirit went all the way upwards, and then all the way back down again, because he'd been rejected up there and told to come back at the opening of his old Musical Box.) Two weeks later, in Henry's nursery, she discovered his treasured musical box. Eagerly she opened it and as "Old King Cole" began to play, a small spirit- figure appeared. Henry had returned - but not for long, for as he stood in the room his body began ageing rapidly, leaving a child's mind inside. A lifetime's desires surged through him. Play me Old King Cole That I may join with you, All your hearts now seem so far from me It hardly seems to matter now. And the nurse will tell you lies Of a kingdom beyond the skies. But I am lost within this half-world, It hardly seems to matter now. Play me my song. Here it comes again. Play me my song. Here it comes again. Just a little bit, Just a little bit more time, Time left to live out my life. Play me my song. Here it comes again. Play me my song. Here it comes again. Old King Cole was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he. So he called for his pipe, And he called for his bowl, And he called for his fiddlers three. But the clock, tick-tock, On the mantlepiece - And I want, and I feel, and I know, and I touch, Her warmth... She's a lady, she's got time, Brush back your hair, and let me get to know your face. She's a lady, she is mine. Brush back your hair, and let me get to know your flesh. I've been waiting here for so long And all this time has passed me by It doesn't seem to matter now You stand there with your fixed expression Casting doubt on all I have to say. Why don't you touch me, touch me, Why don't you touch me, touch me, Touch me now, now, now, now, now... Unfortunately the attempt to persuade Cynthia Jane to fulfill his romantic desire led his nurse to the nursery to investigate the noise. Instinctively Nanny hurled the musical box at the bearded child, destroying both. At the end of the live version, Peter Gabriel would always slide down his mike stand in an incredibly phallic kind of way, denoting the demise of Spirit-Henry. |
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| Genesis – Supper's Ready Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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(1) Welcome to the annotated lyrics to the epic song that is the 23 minute long opus, "Supper's Ready"! Such a complex work as this can be befuddling to the average listener, and so these noted are provided for the complete lunatic who wishes to know more. The information here is from various sources, some of them cited and others not, as this is not meant to be an academic work. Most sources are as accurate as possible, however, and hopefully there is not too much of the editor's belief imposed onto the structure of the song, as it should be left up to the listener/reader. One of the main sources is The Genesis Discography by members of the online magazine Paperlate, from the section on song meanings, collecting various anecdotes from band members and other sources. Wkipedia and other internet resources were also used. Several books on the band and it's members were used as well. Finally, the story in red that accompanies the lyrics is from a programme handed out during one of the early tours. Peter Gabriel is quoted as saying: "I really felt that I was writing about myself in a lot of ways...". One story Peter would tell to introduce the song at shows went like this: "Old Michael, walked past the pet shop - which was never open - into the park - which was never closed. And in the park was a very smooth, clean green grass. So Michael, took off all his clothes, and began rubbing his flesh into the wet, clean green grass. He accompanies himself with a little tune...It went like this... (Sometimes Phil Collins would pretend he wasn't listening by saying "I'm sorry everybody, I wasn't actually paying attention to what he was saying", then start playing a jazzy little riff on the hi-hat. Peter would then improvise some vocal sounds like "Bom tiddly BAM toodly doobim toodoo" or something like that.) Beneath the ground, the dirty brown writhing things, called worms, interpreted the pitter patter from above as rainfall. Rainfall in worm-world means two things: Mating and Bathtime. Both of these experiences were found thoroughly enjoyable to the worm colony...simultaneously. And within seconds, the entire surface of the park was a mass of dirty, brown, soggy, writhing forms. He was still pleased - Old Michael, and he began whistling a tune this time, to accompany himself. It went like this: (At this point Phil would again play the hi-hat and Peter would whistle a version of the hymn "Jerusalem" [more of which in note (37)] ) Jerusalem Boogie to us perhaps, but to the birds it meant THE SUPPER IS READY!" Who are these birds? And to what does Supper's Ready refer to? Fasten your seatbelt and read onwards... (2) Lover's Leap (sometimes spelled as Lovers Leap or Lovers' Leap), is a toponym given to a number of locations of varying height, usually isolated, with the risk of a fall and the possibility of a deliberate jump. Legends of romantic tragedy are often associated with a Lovers' Leap. Symbolically, it can mean any endeavour of uncertain ending taken upon a pair of lovers - a leap together into the unknown, with all the possible turbulence that could force two lovers apart. It is from this place that our lovers embark on this tale, in as ordinary a setting as a sitting room. (3) The turning off of the television is important, as it illustrates that the events of this apocalyptic tale are taking place in the here-and-now, and not some time in the distant past or far future. (4) Gabriel: "The first sequence was about a scene that happened with me and Jill [Gabriel's then wife]..." John Anthony, the Charisma records house producer, befriended Peter and Jill more than the rest of the band. One night, Anthony went with Jill and Peter to her parent's flat at the Old Barracks in Kensington Palace. G: "It was one night at Jill's parents' house in Kensington, when everyone had gone to bed...we'd just been talking to John...there's this strange room in the house in Kensington...I can never sleep there. It was decorated in turquoise and purple which are colours that are both quite high in the frequency range, and I think it was like an echo chamber for what was going on. It was late at night, and we were tired and all the rest, so it was quite easy for us to hallucinate or whatever...we hadn't been drinking or drugging, but...there was this girl who was an old girlfriend of John's andwas trying to get back at him or something, and she was into magic and that sort of thing..." Anthony: "Jill and I were having a conversation about power and strength and will. Suddenly I was aware that the whole room's atmosphere had changed, Jill had gone into some sort of trance. Suddenly the windows blew in, followed by extreme cold, followed by this psychic phenomenon." G: "...[Jill and I] saw other faces in each other, and I was very frightened, in fact. It was almost as if something else had come into us, and was using us as a meeting point. The curtain flew wide open, though there was no wind, and the room became ice cold..." A: "Neither Peter, Jill, or I were doing drugs or drinking. I realized it was a basic manifestation. I have seen it before, the room was full of cold astral smoke, psychic ether. The thing that scared me was that it started moving in the form of a tourbillion - the great wheel that projects spirits into the astrosphere. It is nothing to do with death. It is a phenomenon that can occur with people with strong psyches. If you go through one there is a good chance that if you come back you will never be the same." (5) G: "And I did feel that I saw figures outside, figures in white cloaks, and the lawn I saw them on wasn't the lawn that was outside. It was just like a Hammer horror film, except it was for real...I was shaking like a leaf, and in a cold sweat. ..Jill suddenly became a medium, and started spouting in a different voice...and it is very strange when someone you live with suddenly starts talking with another voice, and eventually I made a cross with a candlestick and something and held it up to Jill when she was talking in this voice...she sort of reacted like a wild animal. John and I had to hold her down. And the rest of the night we eventually quietened her down, and made her a cup of tea, and tried to talk her through. Then she slept downstairs in the sitting room, but neither I nor John slept a wink that night. Fortunately it hasn't happened since because it terrified her. At the same time, some weird things happened at the place where she worked, and at her house. These notes arrived with dates on them...her birth-date, and another date that was coming up in a month's time. We could only assume it was this girl who was trying to get back at her. We were very frightened when the date came up, and I stayed with Jill all day, checking that she wouldn't be...nothing could happen to her...no one could come and kill her, or something like this. Fortunately, we went past that date, and when twelve'o'clock came, and the day was over, I was very happy. Anyway, that's how I got into thinking about good and evil, and forces working against each other. That's the sort of thing that Supper's Ready was...fed on. This was the thing, you see. This is why I was put into this sate of mind really, only because the cross had worked. The cross, as a thing, meant nothing to me. I did it because I had seen horror films, and...just anything really that might have worked. I had experienced a sense of evil at that point - I don't know how much of this was going on inside my head and how much was actually happening, but it was an experience I could not forget and was the starting point for a song about the struggle between good and evil." Gabriel has also been quoted by some as saying he felt he was "led" to the various sources he used in putting together the lyrics for the song. (6) A highly disciplined scientific religion brings to mind an entity like L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology, or Aleister Crowley's Scientific Illuminism, the latter of which was a huge influence on the cult-like theories combining science and magic in the writings of Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, and Antero Ali. (7) The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man is an interesting character. In the programme we are told that the two lovers come across a town with two characers - the other is a Farmer. Since the Farmer is mentioned in the lyrics, it is assumed that the Fireman is the G.E.S.M. who looks after the "Fire". Although we are not told specifically what the Fire is, we can also make the assumption that it is probably not good, as fire has a habit of burning and destroying things. So, in broad terms, the Farm is the force of nuturing and caring and helping things to grow, and the Fire is the opposite force. This Farm can be connected to the idea of Willow Farm, later in the song. The G.E.S.M. claims that he has found a new ingredient to fight the Fire. The lyrics speak of a "spoonful of miracle." We are told we can share the peace he offers, but have to sign a lease to obtain it. We are told that his claims are actually a lie, and that he is fooling everyone. This makes him a False Prophet of Peace. The very fact that he is claiming to offer a sanctuary that will last forever guaranteed in an uncertain world where nothing can really be guaranteed is, in itself impossible for any man. (This doesn't stop a lot of businesses from having a similar approach...) The children though, hand-in-hand and gland-in-gland (denoting sexual conjoining?) want to believe and are more easily swayed, and so will go where his words direct them ("look into my mouth he cried... I'll bet my life you'll walk inside") This is the kind of behaviour expected of the Anti-Christ in biblical literature. (8) What could this new ingredient be, that can fight the Fires of destruction? (9) 1. A petty falsehood; a fib. 2. Silly pretentious speech or writing; twaddle. [Origin unknown.] (10) The Farmer seems to tend his farm with clear water. Is this the true way of fighting fire? Compare with the character in the song Stagnation who kneels down to drink some water that has hopefully not been contaminated by nuclear destruction. Also, compare with the lyrics of Gabriel's later solo song "San Jacinto", where the indian pledges to continue to drink from the stream. (11) The G.E.S.M. is apparently stoking the fires of destruction whilst offering a cure for it's ills. Compare with modern business practices. (12) An interesting interpretation of a super-sonic scientist would be a musician... (13) Who are these children? Could they be your average every-day generation of children exposed to advertising and music, who want to believe in something? (14) These lines are apparently sung by those children "lost down many paths". The symbol of the snake is usually connected to the serpent in the Garden of Eden who tempted Eve to eat the Apple from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This snake is apparently being rocked - which could mean as in a gently swaying motion to aid in sleep or as in a rock band pacifying it's listeners. (Cobras are supposed to be charmed by the flute music that "soothes the savage beast".) Also, compare Jim Morrisson of the Doors' "ride the snake" motif. Is it the children of every generation that continues to keep the snake snug and warm? (15) Ikhnaton is a rare usage of the name of an Egyptian Pharoah intitially named Amenhotep IV, (meaning "the spirit of Amon is satisfied") but changed to Akhenaten, or Ikhnaton (meaning "servant of the Aten") to emphasize his allegiance to the newer cult of Aten which he attempted to make the sole religion of Egypt. Akhenaten's chief wife was Nefertiti, made world-famous by the discovery of her exquisitely moulded and painted bust, now displayed in the Altes Museum of Berlin. Ikhnaton has been called by historian "the first individual in history", as well as the first monotheist, first scientist, and first romantic. On the contrary, Nicholas Reeves in his book Akhenaten: Egypt's False Prophet portrays a totally different image of Pharaoh, seeing his religious reformations as mere attempts for centralizing power and solidify his role as "divine monarch". Akhenaten is known to have initiated at least one campaign into Nubia Ikhnaton's fanaticism was his undoing. He defaced every monument carved with the name of Amon, previously the greatest god of Egypt. The Aten cult died with Ikhnaton because the sentiments of the priesthood and the people were outraged by his destruction of their traditions and by his terror-filled reign. Compare Ikhnaton's reign to the actions of the Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man, and ask why he would call forth Ikhnaton and his "merry" band of warriors to attack all those who aren't under the sway of his religion.? (16) The programme has Itsacon spelled Its-a-Con. (17) Once again we have the G.E.S.M. offering eternal life, but only if they are a part of his religion. Compare with modern Church practices. (18) To activate one's prayer capsule is an interesting science-fiction type of phrase. It also implies that the followers of the G.E.S.M.'s relgion no longer rely on personal initiative to send thoughts and well wishes to those around them in prayer - all they have to do is pop a pill, and their prayers are sent. Compare this to the current practice in medicine, where instead of costing a fortune in insurance to have regular visits to a psycho-analyst, the chemical companies make it cheaper to simply hand out prozac or similar antidepressants. (19) This was a phrase that the bandmembers of Genesis heard their first producer Jonathan King utter on more than one occasion. (20) An interesting phrase, which seems to imply that Social Security, usually the public insurance that helps people in their waning years, is actually the thing that has "taken care" of this lad, as in a phrase often used in movies, to "take care" of a character, or to get rid of them. Compare with modern theories of Social Security, which competely opposite of the thing which it claims to do, predict a rather dire future for upcoming generations. (21) The Myth of Narcissus: Hellenic version This is a moral tale in which the proud and unfeeling Narcissus is punished by the gods for having spurned all his female pursuers. It is thought to have been intended as a cautionary tale addressed to young men. Until recently, the only source for this version was a segment in Pausanias (9.31.7), about 150 years after Ovid. A very similar account was discovered among the Oxyrhynchus papyri in 2004, an account that predates Ovid's version by at least fifty years. In this story, Ameinias, a young man, loved Narcissus but was scorned. As a way of rebuffing Ameinias, Narcissus gave him a sword, which Ameinias used to kill himself on Narcissus' doorstep; he prayed to Nemesis that Narcissus would one day know the pain of unrequited love. This curse was fulfilled when Narcissus became entranced by his own reflection in a pool. He only realized that it was his reflection after trying to kiss it. As he leaned forward to look at himself in the pool of water, he fell in and drowned. Roman version In the tale told by Ovid, Echo, a nymph, falls in love with a vain youth named Narcissus, who was the son of the blue Nymph Leirope of Thespia. The river god Cephisus had once encircled Leirope with the windings of his streams, and thus trapping her, had seduced the nymph. Concerned about the baby's welfare, Leirope went to consult the prophet Teiresias regarding her son's future. Teiresias told the nymph that Narcissus "would live to a ripe old age, as long as he never knew himself." One day when Narcissus was out hunting stags, Echo stealthily followed the handsome youth through the woods, longing to address him but unable to speak first. When Narcissus finally heard footsteps and shouted "Who's there?", Echo answered "Who's there?" And so it went, until finally Echo showed herself and rushed to embrace the lovely youth. He pulled away from the nymph and vainly told her to leave him alone. Narcissus left Echo heartbroken and she spent the rest of her life in lonely glens, pining away for the love she never knew, until only her voice remained. Eventually he became thirsty and went to drink from a stream. As he saw his reflection, he fell in love with it, not knowing that it was him. As he bent down to kiss it, it seemed to "run away" and he was heart broken. He grew thirstier but he wouldn't touch the water for fear of damaging his reflection, so he eventually died of thirst and self love, staring at his own reflection. In pity the gods changed Narcissus into a lovely flower bending its head over…The narcissus flower grew where he died. This is the point during the live shows of Supper's Ready when Peter Gabriel would don the famous "flower mask", by Gabriel's own admission, partly inspired by the BBC children's programme The Flower Pot Men. (22) This is one of the first instances of Peter Gabriel's explorations into the transformation and transmutaion of things, which The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway would be his pinnacle statement with Genesis. Everyone lies here. Why? Is it because false things transmute into true things and back again? The fox on the rocks is here, with a rather obscure german spelling to have it match the spelling of rocks - another transformation. The Musical Box is mentioned, and in the lyrics of that song "...the Nurse will tell you lies, of a Kingdom beyond the Skies" (23) From an interview in 1980: G: "The land [on the farm where I lived as a child] used to belong to my grandfather, and there is a big house, Coxhill, which is lived in by a guru now. It's the house where I imagined the story of 'Musical Box' taking place, a big Victorian manor with wood paneling, a billiard room, and croquet lawn. I used to look at the dragonflies - butterflies, flutterbies, gutterflies! They used to fly around the river on the farm and now, fifteen years later, they have all dissapeared, which is sad." (24) Is this, then, the goal of all this transformation? Humanism? The line "happy as geese" seems to be connected with note (27) (25) The "All Change!" whistle is what they used to do (and occasionally still do) at train stations when you disembarked for a connection from a different platform. (26) Compare with the line "nobody needs to discover me - I'm back again.." from Trespass. Having been in this place all along, and being a seed under the soil waiting for Spring to germinate, it would appear that the soil is some kind of purgatory. (27) Apocalypse (Greek: Ἀποκάλυψις Apokálypsis; "lifting of the veil") is a term applied to the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from the majority of humankind. Today the term is often used to refer to the end of the world, which may be a shortening of the phrase apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end of the æon, or age". We are told in the programme that it is specifically the apocalypse of St. John which is happening in full progress that the lovers return to, seeing the process anew, perhaps, after going through the transformational changes in Willow Farm, and becoming seeds. What is the nature of these seeds? Into what will they grow? 9/8 refers to the musical time signature of this part of the song. That's nine eighth notes every measure. Note that "the delicious talents of Gabble Rachet" is replaced on the programme by "the delicious talents of wild geese". In Brewer's Dictionray of Phrase and Fable, under the entry for Gabble Rachet it says: See Gabriel's Hounds! Under the entry for Gabriel's Hounds it says: "Gabriel's Hounds, also called Gabble rachet. Wild geese. The noise of geese in flight is like that of a pack of hounds in full cry. The legend is that they are the sould of unbaptized children wandering through the air till the Day of Judgement." The early backing vocals in the band were jokingly refered to as "The Hounds." (28) In the reissue interviews, Gabriel tells us that one of the explorations in making this piece was numerology, and that if you equate a numerical value for each letter of the western alphabet you get 1-26. Therefore the value of the letter F would be 6. The letter O would be 15 (1+5 =6) and the letter X would be 24 (2+4=6). He said this was part of trying to illustrate the mixing of the pagan and christian worlds. (29) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gog_and_Magog (30) The legend of the Pied Piper: The Pied Piper of Hamelin' is a legend about the abduction of many children from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Germany. Famous versions of the legend are given by the Brothers Grimm and, in English, by Robert Browning. In 1284, while the town of Hamelin was suffering from a rat infestation, a man dressed in pied garments appeared, claiming to be a rat-catcher. He promised the townsmen a solution for their problem with the rats. The townsmen in turn promised to pay him for the removal of the rats. The man accepted, and thus played a musical pipe to lure the rats with a song into the Weser River, where all of them drowned. Despite his success, the people reneged on their promise and refused to pay the rat-catcher. The man left the town angrily, but returned some time later, seeking revenge. On St. John's Day while the inhabitants were in church, he played his pipe again, this time attracting the children of Hamelin. One hundred and thirty boys and girls followed him out of the town, where they were lured into a cave and never seen again. Depending on the version, at most two children remained behind (one of whom was lame and could not follow quickly enough, the other one was deaf and followed the other children out of curiosity) who informed the villagers of what had happened when they came out of the church. Other versions (but not the traditional ones) claim that the Piper lured the children into the river and let them drown like the rats or led the children to a cave on Köppen Hill or Koppelberg Hill (outside of Hamelin) or a place called Koppenberg Mountain and returned them after payment or that he returned the children after the villagers paid several times the original amount of gold. Some researchers believe that the tale has inspired the common English phrase "pay the piper", although others disagree. To "pay the piper" means to face the inevitable consequences of one's actions, possibly alluding to the story where the villagers broke their promise to pay the Piper for his assistance in ridding the town of the rats. The phrase sometimes refers to a financial transaction but often does not. Compare this to the music industry attempting to sell records to the youth, and the differences between "underground" music and mainstream music. A further mention could be the fact that Pink Floyd's first release was entitled "Piper at the Gates of Dawn", and that they are often though of as one of the pioneers of underground psychedelic music. (31) Compare these lines from the Book of Revelations - 13:1 And, I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 13:4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who [is] like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? 13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a Human(s); and the number [is] Six hundred threescore [and] six - - 666. (32) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_the_Beast (33) To have a backbone is commonly understood as having characteristics whcih make one tough, and able to survive difficult times. To be getting the marrow out of someone's backbone would be to make them weaker. (34) The seven trumpets is a reference to the Book of Revelations - 8:2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. The seven seals is a concept of Christian eschatology, which comes from the Book of Revelation in the Christian Bible, where a book with seven seals is described in Revelation 5:1. The seven seals are opened by The Lamb (presumably Jesus), one by one. Each opening of a seal is followed by some event or series of events. When each of the first four seals are opened, a horse and its rider appear and are described. These are commonly referred to as the four horsemen / four horses of the Apocalypse. The opening of the fifth seal is followed by a vision of those that were "slain for the word of God" (Revelation 6:9) When the sixth seal is opened, there is a "great earthquake," and signs appear in heaven. (Revelation 6:12-6:14) Also, 144,000 servants of God are "sealed ... in their foreheads" in Revelation 7. When the seventh seal seal is opened, seven angels with trumpets begin to sound, one by one. The events of the seventh seal are further subdivided by the events following each angel sounding their trumpet. This seal is opened in Revelation 8, and the seventh angel does not sound until Revelation 11. The seven trumpets in Supper's Ready appear to be playing rock-and-roll and causing quite a sensation... (35) Pythagoras and his students believed that everything was related to mathematics and that numbers were the ultimate reality and, through mathematics, everything could be predicted and measured in rhythmic patterns or cycles. According to Iamblichus, Pythagoras once said that "number is the ruler of forms and ideas and the cause of gods and demons." Compare this with Peter's programme where Pythagoras - a greek extra in this drama - is deliriously happy that he has measured out just enought milk and honey on his cornflakes - a measurement of taste? Is there really no accounting for taste? Scientifically speaking - yes. Also, if number is the cause of gods and demons, then compare this with note (32). Pythagoras was very interested in music, and so were his followers. The Pythagoreans were musicians as well as mathematicians. Pythagorean tuning is the basis of modern western musical scales. The Pythagoreans elaborated on a theory of numbers, the exact meaning of which is still debated among scholars. Pythagoras believed in something called the "harmony of the spheres." He believed that the planets and stars moved according to mathematical equations, which corresponded to musical notes and thus produced a symphony Religiously, Pythagoras was a believer of metempsychosis. He believed in transmigration, or the reincarnation of the soul again and again into the bodies of humans, animals, or vegetables until it became moral. Compare this belief with the events occuring during "Willow Farm" A legend, taken from Brewer's Dictionary, describes his writing on the moon: Pythagoras asserted he could write on the moon. His plan of operation was to write on a looking-glass in blood, and place it opposite the moon, when the inscription would appear photographed or reflected on the moon's disc. (36) Some think that "As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs" is a folklore variation of the logical tautology that "X = X" and that in this context is a reference to certainty and faith--being absolutely convinced of the ultimate victory of good over evil and that a God and Heaven do indeed exist. The Egg symbolism continues in other Genesis lyrics and indeed into all of Peter Gabriel's solo work, and will be discussed in detail later. (37) "And did those feet..." is, of course, the first part of name of the poem "And did those feet in ancient time", by William Blake. Today it is best known as the hymn "Jerusalem", with music written by C. Hubert H. Parry in 1916, and popularized during World War I. That music is performed in part as "Jerusalem Boogie" by the band during the live show of Supper's Ready (see note (1) ), and a version of it performed by Emerson Lake and Palmer on their album "Brain Salad Surgery". And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon England's mountains green? And was the holy Lamb of God On England's pleasant pastures seen? And did the Countenance Divine Shine forth upon our clouded hills? And was Jerusalem builded here Among these dark satanic mills? Bring me my bow of burning gold! Bring me my arrows of desire! Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire! I will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand, Till we have built Jerusalem In England's green and pleasant land. The poem was inspired by the apocryphal story that a young Jesus, accompanied by his uncle Joseph of Arimathea, travelled to England and visited Glastonbury. This legend is linked to an idea in the Book of Revelation ( 3:12 and 21:2) describing a Second Coming wherein Jesus establishes a new Jerusalem. The Christian Church in general, and the English Church in particular, used Jerusalem as a metaphor for Heaven, a place of universal love and peace. The poem therefore implies that the visit of Jesus briefly created heaven in England and this is contrasted with the 'dark Satanic mills'. The term "dark Satanic mills", which entered the English language from this poem, is sometimes interpreted as referring to the early industrial revolution and its destruction of nature. "Aching Men's Feet" refers to this poem. The aching feet of all those still working hard to build a New Jerusalem. It is also a play on words of "Making Ends Meet", which could refer to making one's bills balance, or indeed, making two ends of something meet to form a circle. (38) Souls igniting and shedding ever changing colours brings to mind the interior jacket drawing by Paul Whitehead. It is this act of igniting souls that will make the darkness fade away. (39) Here we are brought back to the Watcher's statement in "Watcher of the Skies" - "Will you survive the Ocean of Being?". The mentioning of a river in Genesis lyrics usually refers to an allegory or metaphor for "The River of Life", or the paths we lead from birth to death. Rivers commonly lead to oceans, and so the River of Life leads to the Ocean of Being. This is a common vision in much poetry and lyrics. King Crimson's "Islands", for instance, addresses the John Donne quote "No man is an island.". Think about such phrases as "two ships passing in the night", refering not to vessels of the sea, but to two people who might have had a great chemistry together, but instead for whatever reason missed each other, or had only a brief time spent together. Or phrases such as "Big fish or Little fish" when talking about business entities with a lot of influence or only a little influence. Also compared here is a germ in a seed that grows. This brings to mind the phrase "germ of an idea". Also it is connected with note (26) and (27). (40) Who is free to get back home? All the souls of children lost down many paths? All the seeds growing underground, growing up to reach the Sun? Compare with Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill: "Son," he said, "You can pack your things I've come to take you home." (41) This is a reference to the Book of Revelations: 19:17 I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the sky, Come! Be gathered together to the great supper of God. This passage of Scripture refers to the bodies of the wicked dead left-over after the forces of the AntiChrist are supernaturally destroyed - the birds are called to feast on the flesh of the wicked. Hence, the song's title: Supper's Ready. Birds also have a great amount of symbolism in poetry and progressive rock lyrics. (42) So in the end, Peter Gabriel seems to hope, or perhaps believe, that we will all find a place of peace in the massive changes that are occuring to the human race right now in this part of history. Biblically, the New Jerusalem is mentioned in Revelation 21, where it describes Mankind reuniting with God. After completing the lyrics in this section, Gabriel would then pick up and raise an active blacklight tube, holding it near himself, upraised with both hands, as though it were a sword. Gabriel would be the only one lit onstage at this point and would actually appear to be glowing from the combination of blacklight, his reflective white costume and fluorescent makeup. Gabriel considered this effect to be a theatrical way of symbolizing the victory of good/light over evil/darkness. Some believe this "glowing" also reflects a spiritual transformation, changing from a fleshly body to a spiritual one as is depicted in the Biblical Rapture, also referenced in the preceding lyrics, "Can't you feel our souls ignite..". A last word: G: Often I felt that I could talk to the audience through the band's material, and the audience would understand what I was trying to say, and I would have a release, and a conversation with the audience through that. I was singing my heart out there when I used to sing the 'New Jerusalem'...I was singing for my life. I was saying this is good over evil, and...you know, it was an old fashioned gesture, but I meant it and I was fighting. Whew! |
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| Genesis – Supper's Ready Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Supper's Ready (1) I. Lovers' Leap (2) In which two lovers are lost in each other's eyes, and found again transformed in the bodies of another male and female. Walking across the sitting-room, I turn the television off. (3) Sitting beside you, I look into your eyes. As the sound of motor cars fades in the night time, I swear I saw your face change, (4) it didn't seem quite right. ...And it's hello babe with your guardian eyes so blue Hey my baby don't you know our love is true. Coming closer with our eyes, a distance falls around our bodies. Out in the garden, the moon seems very bright, Six saintly shrouded men move across the lawn slowly. The seventh walks in front with a cross held high in hand. (5) ...And it's hey babe your supper's waiting for you. Hey my baby, don't you know our love is true. I've been so far from here, Far from your warm arms. It's good to feel you again, It's been a long long time. Hasn't it? II. The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man The lovers come across a town dominated by two characters: one a benevolent farmer, and the other the head of a highly disciplined scientific religion. (6) The latter likes to be known as "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" (7) and claims to contain a secret new ingredient capable of fighting fire. (8) This is a falsehood, an untruth, a whopper and a taradiddle, (9) or to put it in clearer terms; a lie. I know a farmer who looks after the farm. (10) With water clear, he cares for all his harvest. I know a fireman who looks after the fire. (11) You, can't you see he's fooled you all. Yes, he's here again, can't you see he's fooled you all. Share his peace, Sign the lease. He's a supersonic scientist, (12) He's the guaranteed eternal sanctuary man. Look, look into my mouth he cries, And all the children lost down many paths, (13) I bet my life you'll walk inside Hand in hand, gland in gland With a spoonful of miracle, He's the guaranteed eternal sanctuary man. We will rock you, rock you little snake, We will keep you snug and warm (14) III. Ikhnaton (15) and Itsacon (16) and their Band of Merry Men Who the lovers see clad in grays and purples, awaiting to be summoned out of the ground. At the G.E.S.M.'s command they pour forth, from the bowels of the earth, to attack all those without an up-to-date "Eternal Life Licence" which were obtainable at the head office of the G.E.S.M.'s religion. (17) Wearing feelings on our faces while our faces took a rest, We walked across the fields to see the children of the West, But we saw a host of dark skinned warriors standing still below the ground, Waiting for battle. The fight's begun, they've been released. Killing foe for peace...bang, bang, bang. Bang, bang, bang... And they're giving me a wonderful potion, 'Cos I cannot contain my emotion. And even though I'm feeling good, Something tells me I'd better activate my prayer capsule. (18) Today's a day to celebrate, the foe have met their fate. The order for rejoicing and dancing has come from our warlord. IV. How Dare I Be so Beautiful? (19) In which our intrepid heroes investigate the aftermath of the battle and discover a solitary figure, obsessed by his own image. They witness an unusual transmutation, and are pulled into their own reflections in the water. Wandering through the chaos the battle has left, We climb up a mountain of human flesh, To a plateau of green grass, and green trees full of life. A young figure sits still by a pool, He's been stamped "Human Bacon" by some butchery tool. (He is you) Social Security took care of this lad. (20) We watch in reverence, as Narcissus is turned to a flower. A flower? (21) V. Willow Farm Climbing out of the pool, they are once again in a different existence. They're right in the middle of a myriad of bright colours, filled with all manner of objects, plants, animals and humans. Life flows freely and everything is mindlessly busy. At random, a whistle blows and every single thing is instantly changed into another. (22) If you go down to Willow Farm, to look for butterflies, flutterbyes, gutterflies (23) Open your eyes, it's full of surprise, everyone lies, like the focks on the rocks, and the musical box. Oh, there's Mum & Dad, and good and bad, and everyone's happy to be here. There's Winston Churchill dressed in drag, he used to be a British flag, plastic bag, what a drag. The frog was a prince, the prince was a brick, the brick was an egg, the egg was a bird. (Fly away you sweet little thing, they're hard on your tail) Hadn't you heard? (They're going to change you into a human being!) (24) Yes, we're happy as fish and gorgeous as geese, and wonderfully clean in the morning. We've got everything, we're growing everything, We've got some in We've got some out We've got some wild things floating about Everyone, we're changing everyone, you name them all, We've had them here, And the real stars are still to appear. ALL CHANGE! (25) Feel your body melt; Mum to mud to mad to dad Dad diddley office, Dad diddley office, You're all full of ball. Dad to dam to dum to mum Mum diddley washing, Mum diddley washing, You're all full of ball. Let me hear you lies, we're living this up to the eyes. Ooee-ooee-ooee-oowaa Momma I want you now. And as you listen to my voice To look for hidden doors, tidy floors, more applause. You've been here all the time, (26) Like it or not, like what you got, You're under the soil (the soil, the soil), Yes, deep in the soil (the soil, the soil, the soil!). So we'll end with a whistle and end with a bang and all of us fit in our places. VI. Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-starring the Delicious Talents of Gabble Ratchet) (27) At one whistle the lovers become seeds in the soil, where they recognize other seeds to be people from the world in which they had originated. While they wait for Spring, they are returned to their old world to see the Apocalypse of St. John in full progress. The seven trumpeters cause a sensation, the fox keeps throwing sixes, (28) and Pythagoras (a Greek extra) is deliriously happy as he manages to put exactly the right amount of milk and honey on his corn flakes. With the guards of Magog, (29) swarming around, The Pied Piper takes his children underground. (30) Dragons coming out of the sea, Shimmering silver head of wisdom looking at me. He brings down the fire from the skies, You can tell he's doing well by the look in human eyes. Better not compromise. It won't be easy. (31) 666 is no longer alone, (32) He's getting out the marrow in your back bone, (33) And the seven trumpets blowing sweet rock and roll, Gonna blow right down inside your soul. (34) Pythagoras with the looking glass reflects the full moon, In blood, he's writing the lyrics of a brand new tune. (35) And it's hey babe, with your guardian eyes so blue, Hey my baby, don't you know our love is true, I've been so far from here, Far from your loving arms, Now I'm back again, and babe it's gonna work out fine. VII. As Sure as Eggs is Eggs (36) (Aching Men's Feet) Above all else an egg is an egg. 'And did those feet ..............' (37) making ends meet. Can't you feel our souls ignite Shedding ever changing colours, in the darkness of the fading night, (38) Like the river joins the ocean, as the germ in a seed grows (39) We have finally been freed to get back home. (40) There's an angel standing in the sun, and he's crying with a loud voice, "This is the supper of the mighty one", Lord of Lords, King of Kings, (41) Has returned to lead his children home, To take them to the new Jerusalem. Jerusalem = A place of peace. (42) |
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| Genesis – Can-Utility and the Coastliners Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Can-Utility and the Coastliners is the fourth song on the 1972 album Foxtrot. Can-Utility appears to be a word-play on the name of an old King, Canute (also spelled Kanute, or Knut) The Coastliners are his followers who in one version of the story are sycophants needing to be shown the truth, and in the other are the ones exposing the delusions of the king. Peter’s lyrics seem to weave elements of both tales into one, leading us from the near future of Get ‘em Out by Friday, to a quasi-mythical timeless area. (following taken from several sources, including Wikipedia) One version of the tale: Canute, surrounded by sycophants and obsequious courtiers, had an unwelcome and undeserved reputation of being master of anything in the universe, especially the angry North Sea separating his two seats, England and Denmark. Irritated and tired of this ridiculous assertion, he placed his throne on the beach - but not to defy the incoming tide. He sat on the beach and let the waves engulf him precisely to demonstrate that he was not master of the seas, whatever anyone said. Henry of Huntingdon, the 12th century chronicler, tells how Canute set his throne by the sea shore and commanded the tide to halt and not wet his feet and robes; but the tide failed to stop. According to Henry, Canute leapt backwards and said 'Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is none worthy of the name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal laws'. He then hung his gold crown on a crucifix, and never wore it again. This story may be apocryphal. While the contemporary Encomium Emmae has no mention of it, it would seem that so pious a dedication might have been recorded there, since the same source gives an 'eye-witness account of his lavish gifts to the monasteries and poor of St Omer when on the way to Rome, and of the tears and breast-beating which accompanied them'. Goscelin, writing later in the 11th century, instead has Canute place his crown on a crucifix at Winchester one Easter, with no mention of the sea, and 'with the explanation that the king of kings was more worthy of it than he'. However there may be a 'basis of fact, in a planned act of piety,' behind this story, and Henry of Huntingdon cites it as an example of the king's 'nobleness and greatness of mind'. Later historians repeated the story, most of them adjusting it to have Canute more clearly aware that the tides would not obey him, and staging the scene to rebuke the flattery of his courtiers; and there are earlier Celtic parallels in stories of men who commanded the tides, namely Saint Illtud, Maelgwn, king of Gwynedd, and Tuirbe, of Tuirbe's Strand, in Brittany. The encounter with the waves is said to have taken place at Bosham in West Sussex, or Southampton in Hampshire. This event was also shown in a video from Sting’s Ten Summoner’s Tales I believe. I like to think this is a parable to all leaders that we are all human, and that those in public office (or the entertainment industry) have a job to do and not a position to glamourize and alienate from everyone else. Utility is a public service. |
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| Genesis – Get 'em Out By Friday Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Get 'em Out by Friday is the third song on the 1972 album Foxtrot. We are treated once again to the "play" format of Peter's lyric writing used previously on Nursey Cryme's "Harold the Barrel." and slightly differently in "The Fountain of Salmacis". A format which works perfectly when the moniker of "rock theatre" is applied to it by the press. The song takes the form of a futuristic play set initially in the present but ending in 2012. If we are following continuity, we have been brought from the far future of an empty planet Earth, to an exploration of the distant past bringing us up to the present and - at the end of this song - to the near future. (2012, by the way, is a special year according to the Mayan Calendar...but I digress) The song uses elements of reality and science fiction as a means of social criticism on the corporate greed and oppression of the UK's council housing system in the 1970s as commented by woolymore. Social commentary was an evident theme throughout Genesis's early work, especially in their following album, Selling England by the Pound. (edited from several sources including wikipedia) Plot The play contains three main characters: John Pebble: A business man of Styx Enterprises. Near the end of the song, he has been knighted and works for United Blacksprings International. Mark Hall (also known as "The Winkler"): A man who works for Styx Enterprises and has the task of evicting tenants. Mrs Barrow: a tenant in a house in Harlow, purchased by Pebble. (and either her friend Mary, or an exclamation to the catholc Mary) The song starts with a fast-paced refrain of Pebble ordering Hall to "Get 'em out by Friday". In the following verse, the Winkler tells a disbelieving Mrs Barrow that a firm of men has purchased her property and that she has been evicted. She refuses to leave, so Pebble raises the rent on the property. In lieu of this, the Winkler offers £400 for Mrs Barrow to move; she does, albeit grudgingly. However, shortly after Mrs Barrow moves in, Pebble again raises the rent. A slow instrumental indicates a passage of time, taking the story to the year 2012. At this time, Genetic Control has announced that they are restricting the height of all humans to four feet. (Dial-a-Program was literally a service that was set up in Britain when fiber-optics were first coming into use, and invented by Peter Gabriel’s father, Ralph Gabriel, who was the head television engineer for Rediffusion televison, who amongst other things made “At Last the 1948 Show” and “Do Not Adjust Your Set”, the Monty Python precursors.) This piece of news is then discussed in a “puborama” by a man named "Joe Everybody," who reveals the reason behind the restriction: so that Genetic Control, who has recently bought some properties, will be able to accommodate twice as many people in the same tower block. The penultimate verse is that of Pebble, now knighted, repeating the process for another set of properties. The last verse is a "Memo from Satin Peter With land in your hand, you'll be happy on earth, then invest in the Church for your heaven.” Satin, being a wordplay on Satan, would make this line most ironic - implying a conspiracy between business and the church? Also, if Peter is portraying a Satan-like character for this song, (most likely a comment on the attributes of those business figures behind these housing issues) then compare him portraying the Fox with the red dress on from the cover who in the libretto to Supper’s Ready “keeps throwing sixes.” Michael Rutherford commented that the lyrics were the best that Gabriel had written while Allmusic.com has cited the song as "the truest sign Genesis had grown muscle without abandoning the whimsy.” Peter Gabriel in the recent reissue interviews has gone on to say that with genetic science progressing, that we may just want to “go shorter” in the future if the need is there! |
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| Genesis – Time Table Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Time Table is the second song from 1972's Foxtrot album. From the far future of science-fiction we are transported to a far medieval past, and at the end of the song to sometime long after that. The present? The time when the Watcher visits? Is this an exploration of what happened to humanity? It is interesting to view the album in a continuous way, even if all the songs were not written by one person, or with continuity in mind. A timetable or schedule is an organized list, usually set out in tabular form, providing information about a series of arranged events in particular, the time at which it is planned these events will take place. This, then, is a slight play on words. It is a literal table, made of Oak, and carved with the images that illustrate some of the more nobler conceptions associated with the medieval period - bravery, valour, honour, chivalry, etc. Kings and Queens are strong and in power as they sip wine from goblets made of gold. It also illustrates a time where right and wrong are determined by who wins battles with lances and swords. Then we have the chorus, which asks us why we can never be sure until we die. Sure of what? Surety implies complete understanding of all answers. Are we being asked here if we are in a state of uncertainty until we die, and only then will we "know" the truth of things? By looking back on our life? Then we are told that some kill others to find their answers. Once we have killed, there is no turning back, and this is a different kind of certainty. Then we are asked why people group together - very often around race and racial issues - and then proceed to think that they are superior to all other groups, thus most likely leading to the scenario above where right and wrong is determined through fighting and wars, and answers are sought by attempting to prove which group can outdo the other in battle. The answer we are given is that "through time and space, though names may change each face retains the mask it wore." Through every age, and in every place on the planet, there have been roles that people have played. Some play the role of the Emperor and some of the Peasant, but these archetypes of behaviour, or Masks, have remained constant with us through it all. Though the names of people in governmental offices have changed, for instance, the precepts of that very office continue a pattern which repeats itself over and over, and can be traced back through all the other faces that have worn this mask...we seem to be caught up in events that are difficult to change... So, at the end of the song we are shown what has happened to this once powerful group of Kings and Queens. The place is musty and the table itself dusty through neglect. The carving which illustrated these noble concepts and pictures of a great kingdom is gone along with those who made it. Like Darwinistic concepts of evolution, the weak must die, even as old and ancient as this kingdom might have been - weakened by it's notions of warfare and it's neglect of those very concepts that made it noble in the first place. Now, only the rats hold sway. These could be literal rats in this old room that holds the table, or it could be describing the people that neglected to uphold the concepts that kept the kingdom healthy and strong. This brings to mind the poem by Pery Bysshe Shelley, "Ozymandias" OZYMANDIAS I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand, Half sunk, a shatter'd visage lies, whose frown And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamp'd on these lifeless things, The hand that mock'd them and the heart that fed. And on the pedestal these words appear: "My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" Nothing beside remains: round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands stretch far away |
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| Genesis – Watcher Of The Skies Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Watcher Of The Skies, was in essence written by Rutherford and Banks during a tour in Italy. The two had been staring out over the landscape at the back of a hotel in Naples. Banks talked about it in an interview: "Early one morning, it was totally deserted. It was incredible. We had the idea of an alien coming down to the planet and seeing this world where obviously there had once been life and yet there was not one human being to be seen." Watcher of the Skies is the first track on Genesis' 1972 album Foxtrot. The title is borrowed from John Keats' 1817 poem "On First Looking into Chapman's Homer": Then felt I like some watcher of the skies When a new planet swims into his ken. "...it's more likely to be about Clarke's "Childhood's End", which is about mankind evolving to leave Earth and their bodies behind and to join a cosmic consciousness called the Overmind " ("do they know more than their childhood games"). A highly influencial book, Pink Floyd also had a song entitles "Childhood's End". You are exactly right, 6th! An alien (played live by Peter Gabriel in his Batwing headgear and inverse mohawk) comes to Earth, only to find it deserted. It begs the question - is it deserted because the creatures here destroyed themselves ("has life again destroyed life") or because they have left Mother Earth behind to go elsewhere (do they play elsewhere). Whatever the cause, like a primitive lizard leaving it's tail behind it, humanity as a whole has gone beyond it's union with the mother planet. This alien is old, and has travelled a vast amount of space. Perhaps it is huge, or is organically grown into a massive ship, for we are told that the alien is a world unto itself, and that no world he passes is his. After observing conditions on the planet, the alien imparts a bit of it's age-old wisdom to the vanished inhabitants, saying: "From life alone to life as one, Think not your journey's done For though your ship be sturdy, no Mercy has the sea, Will you survive on the ocean of being?" (Mention of the Ocean of Being here is important symbolism.) Then, sad because it is still alone, the Watcher turns and heads back to the stars. |
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| Genesis – Watcher Of The Skies Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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First a word on the album cover of Foxtrot: In the words of artist Paul Whitehead: ...recommended that I go and see Stratton-Smith, and he introduced me and we got on. And Peter Gabriel and I got on great. Gabriel had already seen my work, and he kind of knew of me because I was editing a magazine called Time Out. I was the art director, and I was one of the people that started that. There were four of us who started it. That kept me very much in touch with what was going on in London. I had a show and it was mentioned in the magazine and (Gabriel) saw some of the work. With Genesis, I became a sort of 'art director' for them. I got to know them and as time went on I would introduce them to different artists and styles and books. Whenever I went to meet them I'd have an armful of books with me and say, "look at this, isn't this neat? "Having worked with the band on the previous two record covers (and, it turns out, also providing the titles for all three albums), we'd developed a very sound approach to creating the imagery. I would stay with the band for three or four days while they were developing things musically and lyrically. We'd then have a number of brain-storming sessions where I'd show them books and other reference materials. I'd do pencil sketches of the design ideas I'd have on tissue and then we'd come to an agreement as to what the basic approach would be and which images would be included in the final painting. Peter would give me the libretto and I'd then go away for a couple of weeks and we'd then hold an unveiling of the painting - done in oils - in Tony Stratton-Smith's office (often accompanied by champagne, as would be served at any art opening). My favourite cover is probably Nursery Crime. It was one where I was just given free reign to do whatever I wanted to do and everybody loved it. It was like "Let's focus on 'The Musical Box'" because it was the strongest song so I said it's got to be a Victorian look, and let's deal with the nastiness and violence in the nursery. Foxtrot was the follow-up to Nursery Cryme, and it was our goal to continue to use the cover imagery to poke fun at British High Society (where Peter, Mike and Tony had all come from). The cover of Nursery Cryme painted a scary portrait of the game of croquet, a staple of aristocratic entertainment, and so we chose another activity associated with the priviledged class - fox hunting - as the main theme for the new record. Cover is originally a put-down on fox-hunting as a aristocratic sport. You'll note, though, that I included a scene from the previous record - the croquet tournament - in the background of this new image to provide the continuity we were looking for." It took on a stronger meaning when he heard "Supper's Ready". The ice floating on water is like the soul floating in the human body. (..."like the Fox on-the-rocks...") The fox, is a passion, a violent aspect, but it has used its cunning and adopted a disguise and the ice to escape its pursuers. "Adding a new dimension to the fox-hunting theme, I based the four principal images on the left-hand side on a loose interpretation of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. "Death rides a pale horse" - you'll see that the character on the white horse is weeping - and he also has a huge chip on his shoulder (perhaps as he's the only one actually named in the Bible)! These characters have come to the water's edge in their chase after the Fox, but as foxes are known for their cunning, this one has chosen to disguise himself in a red dress and escape the huntsmen and their dogs by escaping on the water on top of an ice floe. At the time, in America, pretty girls were known as 'foxes', which is another reason I chose to add a more feminine touch to the crafty fox's escape. It was inspired by hearing somebody (an American, I think it was) say, "Ah, she's a real fox, man." And Jimi Hendrix did Foxy Lady. And the whole theme of the album got into the fox outwitting the people hunting it ...... Here's an interesting aside - as we were always trying to get away with something for a laugh and sneak something past the censors, I was particularly proud of how we accomplished this feat in this painting. Now, you may have looked at this cover hundreds of times, but I'll bet that you have never noticed just how "excited" the 4th horse (the one farthest to the right, ridden by the rider with the green head) is to be this close to the Fox.. ;-) To this day, I still win bets with people who 'know this painting backwards and forwards' but who've never seen that particular 'naughty bit' before! I also included some imagery from the lyrics of 'Supper's Ready' - the 'six saintly shrouded men, move across the lawn slowly, the seventh walks in front, with a cross held high in hand', as well as some additional imagery from other songs and albums, such as the Hogweed and the croquet mallet floating in the water. The cover is adopted into half land and half sea, and it shows that there is as much life in the sea as there is on the land. There is also death in the sea, as signified by Cynthia's mallet, the shark, the Hogweed and the nuclear submarine. The band and I also felt it important to include images that reflected the state of the world and the planet at the time. In the water in the upper right-hand corner, you'll see a U.S. nuclear submarine, which represents the presense of the U.S. Naval Fleet off the coast of Scotland. Many people in Britain, including members of Parliament, were unhappy with the fact that the U.S. maintained a fleet of nuclear subs 'only 30 minutes by missle' away from the Soviet Union. The 2 dolphins and fish rising up from the ocean were representing the marked increases in water pollution (caused by the nuclear subs?) and its effects on all living things, while the man with his head buried in the sand (to the left of the Saints)represented 'the music business' who had yet to treat the band and its music with much respect To the far left in the painting, you'll see a person riding a bicycle - rather wobbily and, if you've ever tried it, impossible to do on the sand. The cyclist is Peter! Peter would ride a bike to meetings and such, but he was not that steady on his bike... The hotel is representative of all the hotels that the band were about to spend time in. They were about to hit the big time, and years on the road loomed ahead of them. "The Holiday Inn-style hotel in the background was my way of illustrating to the boys that they had better get used to staying in places like that - another night, another city, another hotel - as they were going to start "going places" very soon, which turned out to be quite right!" |
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| Genesis – The Return Of The Giant Hogweed Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| SirToreth is correct - Giant Hogweed is real: http://my.opera.com/musickna/blog/show.dml/157141 | |
| Genesis – Looking For Someone Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Hmmmm...much as I am loathe to make direct christian connections to the lyrical work of Genesis, Verse 2 and Chorus 1 of this song could be illuminated by this from wikipedia: Straight Street is mentioned in the story of Paul's conversion to Christianity in Acts 9:10-19: “ Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. |
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| Genesis – In Limbo Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This one almost seems to be a character to which the character singing the song before it ("Window") is extending his hand. This person wants very much to reach the peace that keeps winding its way through the album. | |
| Genesis – Window Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This seems to follow on from "One Day" - another pastoral kind of love song. We have definitely veered from the Biblical story of mankind, unless perhaps these bits of peaceful beauty are an expression of the christ force that is the only true alternative to the wars brought about by the forces of Satan...or some such something as that, but you really have to stretch. In this piece, a guiding hand is mentioned again - leading one to another land. Interesting use of "Horizons come to sip wine", though the song "Horizons" on the album "Foxtrot" was written by Steve Hackett. The "veiled mist reveals the wandering ship upon the reef, the albatross flies to the stern" is evocative of the song "Seven Stones" from the album "Nursery Cryme", (as well, of course, as the Ryme of the Ancient Mariner") and here the truth seems to be the honest truth of the Mountains rather than the manufactured truth of the Truth Factories from "In Hiding". |
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| Genesis – One Day Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| This song is full of such youthful vigour and optimism! I wonder if it could be said that Peter Gabriel has achieved the "Kingdom of his Dreams"? I always get the pictures in my head of a kind of Disney film, where cartoon or CGI Birds and Cherry Trees and fuzzy cute little animal friends are helping our hero decide whether or not to ask his love to come with him and build a nest. Does the singer of this one even have to be a human being? He could be some kind of fox or something... | |
| Genesis – In Hiding Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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This could almost be the same character from "Am I Very Wrong?". Certainly both songs seem to champion the idea of free thinking. Where is this character hiding? Is it also "behind the glare of an open minded stare"? Is it the place we started at in "Where the Sour Turns to Sweet?" Lost in beauty, on a mountain, floating on a river, far from the factories of truth (schools?). The idea of The River is an archetype that I will discuss later in these notes (if you are reading them in chronological order of songs and album releases that is!) There seems to be a definite division between the pastoral place of hiding and the cities of night. Natural space versus urban constriction. This song was originally one of the first songs the group ever made - it was an instrumental guitar piece by Anthony Phillips entitled "Patricia" |
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| Genesis – The Conqueror Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| A great song and great segue from the last song about war and from side 1 if you are listening to vinyl. The same motif from the end of side 1 starts here in a different key. I guess perhaps if not directly adhering to Jonathan King's Biblical concept the idea of The Conqueror is certainly an archetype that runs throughout the bible and history of mankind. Also of note is the idea of this seems to evolve later into the concept of "The Knife" from the album Trespass. This also brings to mind the old saying that "Love Conquers All". | |
| Genesis – In The Wilderness Lyrics | 15 years ago |
| Once more, Jonathan King's Biblical concept gets stretched here. In fact, this song is rather difficult to interpret. It seems to be more of a kind of pop single of it's period than some of Genesis' other songs of the time. There seems to be more of a love of wordplay and clever phrases than anything concrete. Who are the "they" who disappear leaving the world to play? Are these the same people who wage these wars in the second verse? Have they gone only in a sense because instead of playing they are now the ones waging wars? And now the ones left to play - the children - are now the ones dead? In any case, it is definitely a great song celebrating music. A great line at the end, too - that people run their lives, but we all have to live within time, where we have a limited time to be, and where our schedules more often run us than the other way around... | |
| Genesis – Am I Very Wrong? Lyrics | 15 years ago |
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Here is where our adherence to Jonethan King's concept starts to get a little stretched. The character who's birthday it is COULD represent mankind, whose birth has just been chronicled in the last few songs (starting to leave very little room for the rest of the bible) and it COULD be the birth of Jesus, but really it seems to be a little more straight-forward than that. Our Protagonist "hides behind the glare of an open-minded stare" and "wanders in the fear of a never ending lie". He tries to close his ears to "the sound they play so loud". The "they" of which he speaks seems to be the friends who sing to him in the chorus. He wants to "steal a pin to check that I have skin" and "leave his friends and the curse of the happiness machine." And of course, he wonders if he is wrong for all of these things. This is indicative of a lot of open minded people. The protagonist of the song is questioning whether the happiness of those around him is justified by the events of the world around him which make him feel rather cut off and unreal - thus he wants to prick himself and see if it is not some dream - a lie he wanders in. I believe a group called Gorillaz have a song that is similar - wondering if the endless partying is really all it's cracked up to be or actually indicative of something more sinister. Being forced to party or to be happy is just as much of a crime as being forced into sadness or negative situations. This is the brilliant (if somewhat visually silly) point of "The Happiness Patrol" episode of Doctor Who. Our Protagonist's friends though, are NOT open minded, and thus do not see outside of the illusion of happiness they are perpetuating, and hope that our Protagonist lives on forever inside this lie. Thus the idea of this never ending happiness without a moment of reflection or regret sends him into wailings of woe at the end "they say never eeeeeend! never end, never end, never end," etc The idea of the Happiness Machine may come from something called exactly that in Ray Bradbury's book entitled "Dandelion Wine", which certainly would have been around having been published 10 years or so before this song was produced. In it, an inventor tries to make a Happiness Machine. In doing so, he ignores the little things that already make his life happy. When people try the machine, they discover a great sadness, for the machine makes one realize all the things they never knew they wanted, and that one cannot stay in that state forever, because of the everday things in life that have to get done. Eventually, the inventor realizes that it is these everyday little things that are the real Happiness Machine. |
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