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Dodo/Lurker Lyrics
Too big to fly, dodo ugly so dodo must die,
Doggo with fear on its side, can't change, can't change the tide.
Dog baiter, agitator, asking questions, says he wants to know why.
Ain't no reason that money can't buy.
Mink he pretty so mink he must die, must die, must die.
Sun he giving life in his light,
Part of the system,
Friend to man, friend to the trees,
No friend to the snowman.
Where does he go, what does he do?
Does he meet with the mole, the stream, the cloud
And end up at the bottom of the sea.
Fish he got a hook in his throat,
Fish he got problems
Where does he go, what does he do?
Does he hope he's too small, to poor a haul,
Who'll end up being thrown back in the sea.
I'm back in the sea.
Caretaker, horror movie,
Only one eye, only needs one boot,
Sweet lady, she knows she looks good
Vacuum coming for the bright and the brute.
Big noise, black smoke
So pig-headed couldn't see the joke.
But it ain't funny
Ask the fly on the wall
It's only living
It don't matter at all, at all, at all.
Pimp, he make you drool and grunt,
He got an answer.
One he got a dream of love,
Deep as the ocean.
Where does he go?
What does he do?
Will the siren team with Davy Jones,
And trap him at the bottom of the sea?
I'm back in the sea.
I'm back in the sea.
I'm back in the sea.
Lurker
Meanwhile lurking by a stone in the mud
Two eyes looked to see what I was and
Then something spoke and this is what
It said to me.......
Clothes of brass and hair of brown
Seldom need to breathe
Don't need no wings to fly
Ooh and a heart of stone
And a fear of fire and water
Who am I?
Clothes of brass and hair of brown
Seldom need to breathe
Don't need no wings to fly
And a heart of stone
And a fear of fire and water
Who am I?
Doggo with fear on its side, can't change, can't change the tide.
Dog baiter, agitator, asking questions, says he wants to know why.
Ain't no reason that money can't buy.
Mink he pretty so mink he must die, must die, must die.
Part of the system,
Friend to man, friend to the trees,
No friend to the snowman.
Where does he go, what does he do?
Does he meet with the mole, the stream, the cloud
And end up at the bottom of the sea.
Fish he got problems
Where does he go, what does he do?
Does he hope he's too small, to poor a haul,
Who'll end up being thrown back in the sea.
I'm back in the sea.
Only one eye, only needs one boot,
Sweet lady, she knows she looks good
Vacuum coming for the bright and the brute.
So pig-headed couldn't see the joke.
But it ain't funny
Ask the fly on the wall
It's only living
It don't matter at all, at all, at all.
He got an answer.
One he got a dream of love,
Deep as the ocean.
What does he do?
Will the siren team with Davy Jones,
And trap him at the bottom of the sea?
I'm back in the sea.
I'm back in the sea.
Two eyes looked to see what I was and
Then something spoke and this is what
It said to me.......
Seldom need to breathe
Don't need no wings to fly
Ooh and a heart of stone
And a fear of fire and water
Who am I?
Seldom need to breathe
Don't need no wings to fly
And a heart of stone
And a fear of fire and water
Who am I?
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I think that this song, like the title track "Abacab", is about nonsense. It's imagery that conjures many ideas. It talks about the nature of certain things and tries to make sense through random connections that end up being more of a stream of consciousness. If there's a recurring theme, it's that of cycles within a system. Relations between forces within the system. Dodo is ugly so it must die. Mink is pretty so it too must die. Cynicism preys on beauty and pacifism? Fish has problems because he has a hook in his throat so he hopes he will be thrown back in the sea because he is too small.... The less important are more fortunate because there is less interest in them from the agitators and aggressors? And so on... Philosophical meanderings jumping from tangent to tangent and illustrating many interwoven concepts that are part of a system.
@justfellin ABACAB is the verse layout on the song, that's what it means, now for Dodo/Lurker, it's about how flippantly humans treat the world around us.."Minkie pretty minkie must die", the Dodo was real up until explorer's wiped them out, "it's only living, it don't matter at all"...all about how man takes the natural world for granted. PETA should use the song as their anthem. But what an awesome song, musically and lyrically...if you've ever seen them do it live...just breath taking.
@justfellin ABACAB is the verse layout on the song, that's what it means, now for Dodo/Lurker, it's about how flippantly humans treat the world around us.."Minkie pretty minkie must die", the Dodo was real up until explorer's wiped them out, "it's only living, it don't matter at all"...all about how man takes the natural world for granted. PETA should use the song as their anthem. But what an awesome song, musically and lyrically...if you've ever seen them do it live...just breath taking.
I don't think that it's a non-sense song. These are guys who grew up in Post-war England, so if the song has a submarine reference, then it's probably intentional. I thought that the whole song was a kind of war song.
If the riddle at the end is about a submarine, then the synth break could be some sort of code being transmitted to the radio operator on the sub, sorta like morse code, but with 3 or 4 kinds of dashes being the notes in the break. I may look into that sometime and post back...
I can't believe everyone missed this. The riddle during "Lurker" is, of course, a submarine, but the most obvious clue no one mentioned is the fact that "Submarine" is the title of another track Genesis recorded during the same sessions in 1981 that did not make it onto the album, but was instead released as the flip side to "Man on the Corner."
Hey! someone give me insight if ya have it. I've been listening to this song for a while and still am not fully clear. All I can perceive is that life is short and runs in a cycle: ...snowman. Where does he go, what does he do? Does he meet with the mole, the stream, the cloud And end up at the bottom of the sea.
Then he says: Vacuum coming for the bright and the brute.
But that riddle at the bottom totally baffles me. Any info? Any insight? Any CLUE???
@LeArtist "Sun he giving life in his light, part of the system Friend to man, friend to the trees, no friend to the snowman Where does he go, what does he do? Does he meet with the mole, the stream, the cloud And end up at the bottom of the sea?"
@LeArtist "Sun he giving life in his light, part of the system Friend to man, friend to the trees, no friend to the snowman Where does he go, what does he do? Does he meet with the mole, the stream, the cloud And end up at the bottom of the sea?"
That whole paragraph is about the Sun, like the sun that shines down on earth. The Sun is no friend of the snowman. Kinda makes sense. Where does the sun go? At night? Does it sink into the ground? Meet with...
That whole paragraph is about the Sun, like the sun that shines down on earth. The Sun is no friend of the snowman. Kinda makes sense. Where does the sun go? At night? Does it sink into the ground? Meet with the mole, the stream, the cloud, or end up at the bottom of the sea (if you have an ocean view of the sunset)?
I don't think there is a common theme, or a very loose them throughout the song. Consider it short stories. The last paragraph I differ with the submarine analogy. I tie it in to the paragraph preceding it, so the two make no sense if it's a submarine. I tie it to aliens since there is already another song about an alien word, or an imagined world (Keep it Dark). So when the voice that speaks sounds like a synth, I think it's an alien or even synthetic life. It also makes sense through the last paragraph (seldom need to breathe don't need no wings to fly, fear of fire and water, Clothes of brass, heart of stone).
The vacuum thing could mean too many different things because it's in a paragraph that references a horror movie.
@LeArtist as with so many things philosophical, they can take on many meanings and often with an individual bias.\r\n\r\nThe sentence \'Vacuum coming for the bright and the brute.\'\r\nstrikes me as a powerful reference to the vacuum of space and the minority of humankind. We\'re all the same, we come and go easily and while were here, we choose how we behave and act.\r\nAre we being responsible as individuals, is it a satisfying, good existence on balance globally. Many would argue not.\r\n\r\nIn the longer term, we will all be reduced to dust, atoms or less by the vacuum of space, the...
@LeArtist as with so many things philosophical, they can take on many meanings and often with an individual bias.\r\n\r\nThe sentence \'Vacuum coming for the bright and the brute.\'\r\nstrikes me as a powerful reference to the vacuum of space and the minority of humankind. We\'re all the same, we come and go easily and while were here, we choose how we behave and act.\r\nAre we being responsible as individuals, is it a satisfying, good existence on balance globally. Many would argue not.\r\n\r\nIn the longer term, we will all be reduced to dust, atoms or less by the vacuum of space, the universe.\r\n\r\nOr in a biblical sense, are we due a reckoning - are we behaving in the \'almighty\'s\' vision? (whatever you subscribe to, or don\'t - agnostic, Islamic, Christian, Gaia theory)
The riddle at the bottom, I believe refers to a submarine, being made of brownish metal, periodically surfacing for air, needing no wings to manuever. A submarine would have a fear of being FIRED on, and of taking on water. The only part I don't get is the "heart of stone" thing, but everything else seems to point to a submarine.
The "heart of stone" part is thought to be the uranium which fuels nuclear submarines, but this is all SPECULATION, including the part about the submarine.
The "heart of stone" part is thought to be the uranium which fuels nuclear submarines, but this is all SPECULATION, including the part about the submarine.
I once heard that the heart of stone might refer to the core of a nuke sub. However, how do u explain the "hair of brown". I am thinking it is some kinda of creature.
I once heard that the heart of stone might refer to the core of a nuke sub. However, how do u explain the "hair of brown". I am thinking it is some kinda of creature.
@BlimpyJones I believe that the "hair of brown" refers to seaweed that sometimes has to be removed after the sub surfaces.... As for the "fear of fire"...... Fire and water are the most dangerous things on a ship/sub.... If a fire breaks out while submerged, there's nowhere to run... You have to fight it...
@BlimpyJones I believe that the "hair of brown" refers to seaweed that sometimes has to be removed after the sub surfaces.... As for the "fear of fire"...... Fire and water are the most dangerous things on a ship/sub.... If a fire breaks out while submerged, there's nowhere to run... You have to fight it...
The second part of the track ("Lurker") is about a submarine. I read on a fan site at one point that the fire mentioned in the song is not a projectile attack, but the reaction fire. Fire consumes oxygen and therefore depletes sailors' air supply faster. As for the "heart of stone", it has been suggested that it is the uranium core that powers a nuclear sub.
This is a non-sense song. Banks wrote it and, if my memory is correct, wrote alot of the lyrcis on the basis that they rthymed.
This is a non-sense song. Banks wrote it and, if my memory is correct, wrote alot of the lyrcis on the basis that they rthymed.
This is a non-sense song. Banks wrote the lyrcis, and said eh wrote them as a rhyme. Much the same the beatles. Did I think it's pure genius. Banks being an excellant lyricist every one assumes that whatever he writes has got to mean something. Hoewever it's just nonsense.