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Epitaph Lyrics
The wall on which the prophets wrote
Is cracking at the seams
Upon the instruments of death
The sunlight brightly gleams
When every man is torn apart
With nightmares and with dreams,
Will no one lay the laurel wreath
As silence drowns the screams
Between the iron gates of fate,
The seeds of time were sown,
And watered by the deeds of those
Who know and who are known;
Knowledge is a deadly friend
When no one sets the rules
The fate of all mankind I see
Is in the hands of fools
Confusion will be my epitaph
As I crawl a cracked and broken path
If we make it we can all sit back and laugh,
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying,
Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying
Great song! Both musical and lyrical. One of the very best of KC. I think this about (Cold) War/nuclear destruction. Nukes were a very real threat in those days. (Well, they still are.)
Here is my interpretation:
The wall on which the prophets wrote Is cracking at the seams. Upon the instruments of death The sunlight brightly gleams. [Sun shining on nukes, ready for launch]
When every man is torn apart With nightmares and with dreams, [We all fear nuclear holocaust, and we all dream of a better future.] Will no one lay the laurel wreath As silence drowns the screams. [Nobody left to mourn our dead after nuclear war]
Between the iron gates of fate, ['iron gates of fate': Communism/capitalism?] The seeds of time were sown, [This East/West ideologies simply lead to this situation.] And watered by the deeds of those Who know and who are known; ['those' are politicians with their hand on the red button]
Knowledge is a deadly friend When no one sets the rules. ['Knowledge' as in E=MC^2. Too much knowlegde, too litlle wisdom.] The fate of all mankind I see Is in the hands of fools. [Well, no need to explain THAT one. ;-)]
Confusion will be my epitaph. As I crawl a cracked and broken path [Double meaning: 1) Image of postnuke world where he walks. 2) metaphorical: 'I' = humankind.] If we make it we can all sit back and laugh. [If we don't destroy ourselfs, we can laugh about it one day.]
But I fear tomorrow I'll be crying, Yes I fear tomorrow I'll be crying. [Well, he is NOT optimistic about chances for laughter tomorrow...]
This is how I hear this song. But most concepts can easily be stretched to a broader meaning as others did in their interpretation. Great, but haunting song. :-)
This is pretty much what I got from 'Epitaph' as well. One slight correction in the first verse, "Will no one lay the laurel wreath" doesn't refer to mourning but to there being no winners in a nuclear war. A laurel wreath is a classic symbol of victory. Basically it's referencing the principle of mutually assured destruction, or the 'nuclear deterrent' as it's also known.
This is pretty much what I got from 'Epitaph' as well. One slight correction in the first verse, "Will no one lay the laurel wreath" doesn't refer to mourning but to there being no winners in a nuclear war. A laurel wreath is a classic symbol of victory. Basically it's referencing the principle of mutually assured destruction, or the 'nuclear deterrent' as it's also known.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_wreath for reference.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_wreath for reference.
@MrWillow As we said back when this was written.... heavy, heavy words man, heavy.
@MrWillow As we said back when this was written.... heavy, heavy words man, heavy.
This has also always been my interpretation. I'm old now, but when I was a teenager this song always gave me a sadness, not simply about man unable to survive a nuclear war, but about all of life being destroyed.
This has also always been my interpretation. I'm old now, but when I was a teenager this song always gave me a sadness, not simply about man unable to survive a nuclear war, but about all of life being destroyed.
This was released in 1969. The film 'Silent Running' (1972) is unrelated, but evokes similar feelings. No spoilers, but in that film the Earth is destroyed and all that remains is a spaceship with one man and some robots. Epitaph is a plea to reason.
This was released in 1969. The film 'Silent Running' (1972) is unrelated, but evokes similar feelings. No spoilers, but in that film the Earth is destroyed and all that remains is a spaceship with one man and some robots. Epitaph is a plea to reason.
Anyone born after July 1945 has had to come to terms with the very real possibility...
Anyone born after July 1945 has had to come to terms with the very real possibility that all life on Earth is in jeopardy. Yes, the sun will absorb Earth in 7.5 billion years, but that's a long time. And religions all have an end of days, but that's just make believe, not science. After 1945, the real threat became possible, ourselves. And even if all mankind is destroyed, by us, at least if animals survive, then there's a sad hopefulness. But if we destroy it completely, then there's nothing more tragic and disappointing.
peter sinfield is the man who wrote the lyrics for this album. he is definitely one of the best lyricists in history, which is evident especially in this song and i talk to the wind. great, legendary lyrics
Obviously about nuclear holocaust. Easily one of the most dread-inducing songs recorded.
Just an aside here - 'Knowledge is a deadly friend when no-one sets the rules. The fate of all mankind I see is in the hands of fools' - this song was written at the height of the cold war when nuclear attack was thought of as probable rather than just possible.
The first part of the song is about breaking away from tradition and the deconstruction of society. People living in the hell that they created. No one is willing enough to express themselves because they will be lynched, and everyone turns a blind eye "silence drowns the screams'.
The first part of the second verse is about the beginning of time being created by God (I guess), and that the great vastness of our reality has been simplified to an anti-intellectualism.
The chorus is written in first person. The person see the faults and messed up ways of society and is only confused and will die soon. The only thing he wants to show the rest of the world in writing was that he was a confused person. The next day he will cry for everyone then die.
Kind of dperessing, isn't it?
Personally, i disagree. i see it as a representation of a form of a judgement day, were people are judged by there passed actions. the idea that, though he thinks he may pass the judgement an be happy for it [if we make it we can all sit back and laugh], but he [the narrator] feels that he wont be able to. I think that the deeper meaning is that of how our past actions can lead to future regrets.
This song discusses the despair of society and how conformists are leading everythinh down the wrong path. Back then "prophets" dreamed of an ideal society and the "late men" and "moonchildren" are trying to crawl along that path that is being shattered by modern society: politicians, war, everything. However, the tone of despair rings that this path is growing harder to crawl across and may be gone eventually if things progress this way. The is somewhat of a combination of schizoid man and i talk to the wind: this is the "late man's" fear that the world will become that of the schizoid man.
It's about our own self-destruction - precisely what Nietzsche envisioned and in a way prophesied about the 20th century - the ramifications of humanity's "killing" of God. What a grim but beautifully written song - profound and poignant in all of its artistry.
The meaning of this song is summed up in the following lyrics:
"Knowledge is a deadly friend When no one sets the rules The fate of all mankind I see Is in the hands of fools"
In other words, our technological prowess has far outstripped our wisdom in wielding it. We have invented the means of our own destruction.
I first heard this album in college in the mid 1970's, and I still play the CD to this day.
So does anyone else resort to Pornhub to stream this?