The grey of evening fills the room
There's no need to look outside
To see or feel the rain
And I reach across to touch her
But I know that she's not there
Rain keeps running down the window pane
Time is running out for me
Can't you see what you are doing to me?
Can't you see what you have done?
As I try to pass another long and sleepless night
A hundred crazy voices call my name
As I try to pass them by
I almost can believe that she is here
In the glow of the night
Do you know what you have done?
Do you know what you've begun?
Do you see we shall never be together again?
All of my life
For the lonely people, empty rooms
And all the pointless violence, silent tombs
Could it be that we shall be together again?
Sheets of double glazing help to keep outside the night
Only foreign city sirens can cut through
Nylon sheets and blankets help to minimize the cold
But they can't keep out the chilling sounds
Will the nightmare soon give way to dreaming
That she is here with me?
Here in the glow of the night
Do you know what you have done?
Do you know what you've begun?
Do you see we shall never be together again?
All of my life
For the lonely people, empty rooms
And all the pointless violence, silent tombs
Could it be that we shall be together again?
Could it be that we shall be together again?
In silence and darkness
We held each other near that night
We prayed it would last forever
Blood on the windows
Millions of ordinary people are there
They gaze at the scenery
They act as if it is perfectly clear
Take a look at the mountains
Take a look at the beautiful river of blood
The liquid surrounds me
I fight to rise from this river of hell
I stare round about me
Children are swimming and playing with boats
Their features are changing
Their bodies dissolve and I am alone
Now see what you've gone and done
Now see what you've gone and done
Well now you never did see such a terrible thing
As was seen last night on TV
Maybe if we're lucky, they will show it again
Such a terrible thing to see
But there's nothing you can do when you're the next in line
You've got to go domino
Now I'm one with the living and I'm feeling just fine
I know just what I got do
Play the game of happiness and never let on
That it only lives on in a song oh
There's nothing you can do when you're the next in line
You've got to go domino
Do you know what you have done?
Do you know what you've begun?
In silence and darkness
Hold each other near tonight
For will it last forever
Will it last forever?
Forever
There's nothing you can do when you're the next in line
You've got to go domino
Do you know
Do you know
Do you know what you have done?
Do you see what you've begun?
'Cause there's nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing
There's nothing you can do There's nothing you can do
Do you see, do you see what you've done?
is a song about the repurcussion over people's action have on other's lives - like a domino!
anyone that does remember phils 'domino principal' audience participation stuff from 1987 will probably know word for word the whole 'something happens to the people at the front which effects this which effects that which effect this which effects the people at the back'... but yeah its pretty much just the knock on effects of someone actions. in the songs literal sense its a realisation by the narrator that everyone is oblivious to the fact what they see happening and think nothing of is gonna somehow effect them in the end.
In silence and darkness We held each other near that night We prayed it would last forever.
that part makes my spine tingle, its so beautiful, then it dives into the aggresive second part. awesome song
That part always gives me chills.
That part always gives me chills.
Tony Banks wrote this song from the viewpoint of being stuck in a lonely hotel room in Beirut during the Lebanon war. He mentions this on the When In Rome documentary DVD extras. By the way, the live version from the European 2007 tour is way, way better than the album version. Much more imposing...
I always thought this song was about LSD, mostly because the singer says "windowpane" (slang for LSD), and also because the song seems to be about a lengthy and unsettling drug trip.
@planthorr Interesting tidbit, had never heard that slang. The rain may be tears, and he turns to acid to escape his reality. Instead he finds a greater horror.
@planthorr Interesting tidbit, had never heard that slang. The rain may be tears, and he turns to acid to escape his reality. Instead he finds a greater horror.
A story of his missing love interest and what seems to be a violent nightmare are told in this duology.
In the beginning of the Part 1, he's been sitting at a window for some time, anxiously anticipating the return of his partner. It's late at night, and he tries to sleep before his parter comes home (perhaps without knowing where she is). His anxiousness drives him to believe she is standing outside the window for him. He remembers a moment of intense intimacy before he falls asleep as we enter Part 2 of the song.
Terror dominates his mind as the concern for his parter inflates. Apocalyptic scenes are described, as the image of playing children appear, suggesting the terrors belong to him, and do not apply to anyone else. Intense loneliness phases him. In the next stanza he's watching the news (this may be the next morning or a memory from the night before) he worries that his parter has been involved a tragic event being reported, and is looking for her in the footage as insanity creeps over his mind. The dominos may be creating a theme of inevitability or fate.
Strange interpretation about god... as for me this song is about unfavorable consequences of my love :-(
The first part sounds like a guy trying to get used to sleeping alone after having shared his bed with a woman for a while. It's like he blames her for whatever reason they're not together, and he's filled with regret at it.
The second part sounds like he's having some sort of nightmare. I'm not sure if there's a meaning or just drawing a picture. After the nightmare, he wakes up to an ugly world. There's still regret at her absence.
This is probably just another one of my crazy interpretations, but... does the singer strike anyone ELSE as some kind of Batman-type figure?
Okay, hold on while I try to explain.
With all the talk of "blood on the windows" and "pointless violence, silent tombs" and talking about the girl who is almost there, and a couple of bits that make it look like the speaker is just barely holding on to sanity, it makes me think of a person who has lost someone else to violence.
"Hold each other near tonight, for will it last forever?"
And then he's also talking about the apathy of the "millions of ordinary people" and the "children... playing with boats" while the "river of blood" rises.
So now the speaker has decided "I know just what I gotta do" to "fight to rise from this river of Hell." He's gonna take back the night. He's probably going to die. "time is running out for me" and he's talking to himself, AND to whoever is responsible for the violence "can you see what you have done? Do you know what you've begun?" as well as to "her." "Could it be that we shall be together again?"
Like I said, just my crazy interpretation of the images this song puts into my head.
This interpretation is really good. I like it.
This interpretation is really good. I like it.
I think we need to take what Tony said about this song on When In Rome (at least what Wikipedia says he said) word for word: this was inspired by the civil war in Lebanon. Reading the lyrics, it's clear that understanding everything there is to know about the war won't help you understand this song very much. It seems to follow the Titanic formula: a momentous historical event intertwined w/a soap opera. I'd like to know exactly what it was that Tony said.
I used to boink a Leb who lived through that war as a kid. 'Pity we ended badly. I'd like to know what she thought of the song. Not that she liked being reminded of it.