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In The Wilderness Lyrics
Leaving all the world to play they disappear
And the leaves have gathered dust to run like deer
Tearing pieces from our lives to feed the dawn
Mist surrounds the seagulls christened by the storm
Music, all I hear is music - guaranteed to please
And I look for something else
Rain drops pouring down the rooftops
Flowing in the drains
As the people run their lives
As their lives are run by time
Fighting enemies with weapons made to kill
Death is easy as a substitute for pride
Victors join together, happy in their bed
Leaving cold outside the children of the dead
Music, all I hear is music - guaranteed to please
And I look for something else
Rain drops pouring down the rooftops
Flowing in the drains
As the people run their lives
As their lives are run by time...
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...