"In The Cage" as written by Anthony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Michael Rutherford and Steve Hackett....
I got sunshine in my stomach
Like I just rocked my baby to sleep.
I got sunshine in my stomach
But I can't keep me from creeping sleep,
Sleep, deep in the deep.
He wakes in a cold sweat with a strong urge to vomit. There's no sign of the cocoon and he can see more of the cave about him. There is much more of the glowing water dripping from the roof and stalactites and stalagmites are forming and decomposing at an alarming rate all around him.
Rockface moves to press my skin
White liquid turn sour within
Turn fast - turn sour
Turn sweat - turn sour.
Must tell myself that I'm not here.
I'm drowning in a liquid fear.
Bottled in a strong compression,
My distortion shows obsession
In the cave.
Get me out of this cave!
As fear and shock register, he assures himself that self-control will provide some security, but this thought is abandoned as the stalactites and stalagmites lock into a fixed position, forming a cage whose bars are moving in towards him.
If I keep my self-control,
I'll be safe in my soul.
And the childhood belief
Brings a moment's relief,
But my cynic soon returns
And the lifeboat burns.
My spirit just never learns.
Stalactites, stalagmites
Shut me in, lock me tight.
Lips are dry, throat is dry.
Feel like burning, stomach churning,
I'm dressed up in a white costume
Padding out leftover room.
Body stretching, feel the wretching
In the cage
Get me out of the cage!
At one moment there is a flash of light and he sees an infinite network of cages all strung together by a ropelike material.
In the glare of a light,
I see a strange kind of sight;
Of cages joined to form a star
Each person can't go very far;
All tied to their things
They're netted by their strings,
Free to flutter in memories of their wasted wings.
As the rocky bars press in on Rael's body, he sees his brother John outside, looking in. John's face is motionless despite screams for help, but in his vacant expression a tear of blood forms and trickles down his cheek. Then he calmly walks away leaving Rael to face the pains which are beginning to sweep through his body.
Outside the cage I see my Brother John,
He turns his head so slowly round.
I cry out Help! before he can be gone,
And he looks at me without a sound.
And I shout out 'John please help me!'
But he does not even want to try to speak.
I'm helpless in my violent rage
And a silent tear of blood dribbles down his cheek,
And I watch him turn away and leave the cage.
My little runaway.
(Raindrops keep failing on my head, they keep falling on my)
In a trap, feel a strap
Holding still. Pinned for kill.
Chances narrow that I'll make it,
In the cushioned straight-jacket.
Just like 22nd Street,
They got me by my neck and feet.
Pressures building, can't take more.
My headaches charge, earaches roar.
In this pain
Get me out of this pain.
If I could change to liquid,
I could fill the cracks up in the rocks.
I know that I am solid
And I am my own bad luck.
However, just as John walks out of sight, the cage dissolves and Rael is left spinning like a top.
Outside John disappears, my cage dissolves,
without any reason my body revolves.
Keep on turning,
Keep on turning,
Turning around,
Spinning around.
(round, round, round, round)
Like I just rocked my baby to sleep.
I got sunshine in my stomach
But I can't keep me from creeping sleep,
Sleep, deep in the deep.
He wakes in a cold sweat with a strong urge to vomit. There's no sign of the cocoon and he can see more of the cave about him. There is much more of the glowing water dripping from the roof and stalactites and stalagmites are forming and decomposing at an alarming rate all around him.
Rockface moves to press my skin
White liquid turn sour within
Turn fast - turn sour
Turn sweat - turn sour.
Must tell myself that I'm not here.
I'm drowning in a liquid fear.
Bottled in a strong compression,
My distortion shows obsession
In the cave.
Get me out of this cave!
As fear and shock register, he assures himself that self-control will provide some security, but this thought is abandoned as the stalactites and stalagmites lock into a fixed position, forming a cage whose bars are moving in towards him.
If I keep my self-control,
I'll be safe in my soul.
And the childhood belief
Brings a moment's relief,
But my cynic soon returns
And the lifeboat burns.
My spirit just never learns.
Stalactites, stalagmites
Shut me in, lock me tight.
Lips are dry, throat is dry.
Feel like burning, stomach churning,
I'm dressed up in a white costume
Padding out leftover room.
Body stretching, feel the wretching
In the cage
Get me out of the cage!
At one moment there is a flash of light and he sees an infinite network of cages all strung together by a ropelike material.
In the glare of a light,
I see a strange kind of sight;
Of cages joined to form a star
Each person can't go very far;
All tied to their things
They're netted by their strings,
Free to flutter in memories of their wasted wings.
As the rocky bars press in on Rael's body, he sees his brother John outside, looking in. John's face is motionless despite screams for help, but in his vacant expression a tear of blood forms and trickles down his cheek. Then he calmly walks away leaving Rael to face the pains which are beginning to sweep through his body.
Outside the cage I see my Brother John,
He turns his head so slowly round.
I cry out Help! before he can be gone,
And he looks at me without a sound.
And I shout out 'John please help me!'
But he does not even want to try to speak.
I'm helpless in my violent rage
And a silent tear of blood dribbles down his cheek,
And I watch him turn away and leave the cage.
My little runaway.
(Raindrops keep failing on my head, they keep falling on my)
In a trap, feel a strap
Holding still. Pinned for kill.
Chances narrow that I'll make it,
In the cushioned straight-jacket.
Just like 22nd Street,
They got me by my neck and feet.
Pressures building, can't take more.
My headaches charge, earaches roar.
In this pain
Get me out of this pain.
If I could change to liquid,
I could fill the cracks up in the rocks.
I know that I am solid
And I am my own bad luck.
However, just as John walks out of sight, the cage dissolves and Rael is left spinning like a top.
Outside John disappears, my cage dissolves,
without any reason my body revolves.
Keep on turning,
Keep on turning,
Turning around,
Spinning around.
(round, round, round, round)
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
"In the Cage" as written by Michael Rutherford Anthony Banks
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The next verse of the song I have my own theory about that I don't want to get into here, but I'll say that I believe the people in cages above Rael have some relation to the "butterflies" that the narrator from the beginning of the Lamb's liner notes has. The point is that Rael notices there are more people trapped just like him. He then notices his brother John, a new character introduced in the story, standing outside of the cave. This is probably my favorite part of the story, because I can see so clearly Rael yelling for his brother to help him- "I shout out 'Help!' before he can be gone, and he looks at me without a sound. And I shout out 'John, please help me!,' but he does not even want to try to speak." Obviously John is not a very loving brother, as he selfishly abandons Rael to face his doom without even speaking to Rael. I imagine his face completely emotionless in contrast to Rael's- Rael is probably screaming in anguish and desperation, pounding on the bars of the cage ("helpless in my violent rage"), and John is expressionless and blank, even as a tear of blood runs down his cheek (which suggests that he showing false sympathy for Rael). Then he betrays Rael and leaves him by himself, and although Rael should be angry at him or at least keep yelling for help he only lets this occurrence slide by with the affectionate remark of "My little runaway." To me, this suggests that John has done this sort of thing before, abandoning Rael in his time of need, and that Rael is used to it now, though it exasperates him more than anything. The next frenetic chant of "Raindrops keep falling on my head..." creeps me out, as if Rael is trying not to go crazy by chanting this. That line reminds me of Chinese water torture, actually (I do know what song it's referencing though).
Rael resigns himself to his fate. He notes that the feeling is "just like 22nd Street, when they got me by my neck and feet," which I think is referring to when he was caught and hauled into the Pontiac Reformatory in his backstory. The fear is the same now. The pain grows worse, and he wishes that he could change to liquid and escape, but still can't comfort himself with lies. He also blames himself for getting caught- "I am my own bad luck-" which is heartbreaking to hear because he couldn't avoid it in any way. Then the cage dissolves and Rael is taken to his next destination, the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging. This song is significant because Rael develops a fear of the dark/caves, which comes back to bite him in The Waiting Room/Anyway. It is also the first time that John betrays Rael.
He takes drugs and the initial feeling is quite good (Cuckoo Cocoon & the first 3 lines of this song) but then the bad trip kicks in: unpleasant body aches, which are described quite consistently and are typical of taking drugs, mix themselves with a horrific rush of drug-induced imagery of fear and anxiety.
If you have experienced something similar in your life, you can't but recognize that this is a vivident, magnificent description of a bad drug trip. This is sheer bloody poetry, chapeau to Mr. Gabriel for that.
Outside the cage I see my Brother John,
He turns his head so slowly round.
I cry out Help! before he can be gone,
And he looks at me without a sound.
And I shout out 'John please help me!'
But he does not even want to try to speak.
I'm helpless in my violent rage
And a silent tear of blood dribbles down his cheek,
And I watch him turn away and leave the cage.
My little runaway.
could it be john lennon? does anyone know of any siblings of any members that were named john? in this version b in brother is capitalized, signifying to me a religious connection.
i think it could be john lennon because i just read the other day that the previous album, 'selling england by the pound', was praised by lennon. they found out about that praised and were very proud that a hero of theirs like what they produced.
also, the references to the song/album/movie 'help!' (with the exclamation point) are giving it away.