The Sky Moves Sideways (Phase One)

Incidentally, I figured out what the really faint voice near the beginning is saying.

In three sequential parts, it's

"I don't understand, my lord." (I'm not sure about the "my lord" bit, but it's definitely "I don't understand".)

"In the way of circumstances and background I had everything an artist could possibly want."

"It was practically a blueprint."

The latter two are part of a quote from English writer, playwright and humorist Alan Bennett. The full quote is as follows.

• "I was an only child. I lost both my parents. By the time I was twenty I was bald. I'm homosexual. In the way of circumstances and background to transcend I had everything an artist could possibly want. It was practically a blueprint. I was programmed to be a novelist or a playwright. But I'm not."

I'd say that's reflective on Steven Wilson's views of art, probably.

i feel like this song is about some type of psychadelic drug... in which many peculiar, drug related feelings were felt. drifted into blank space, I find that im not there...

To me, this song is about the modern industrial era and how there's no mystery to life anymore:

"We lost the skyline We stepped right off the map"

This refers to the invention of airplane and being able to fly. The sky is no longer something to look and marvel at, hence "we lost the skyline"

"Drifted in to blank space And let the clocks relapse"

-refering to spacetravel and so forth

A lot of the porcupine tree songs are deep

Whenever I see a plane in the sky I think of these lyrics.

I think a lot of porcupine tree's lyrics are defying the rational explanation of things, that is that everything these days seems to have some scientific or reasonable divination...but they are still looking at everything as though they know of none of this, and interpreting it all for themselves. I like that.

Yeah, Ogre seems right. I think the lyrics describe a drug trip and what someone senses during it.

esp. the title "the sky moves sideways"

--it's such a simple thing, but when I read that I thought, wow... why have I never seen it that way? if you look at the sky for what it is, the clouds, and everything in it, from the human perspective, appear to always be moving sideways.

Wow. I got the remastered The Sky Moves Sideways yesterday, and it is incredible. Simply amazing. Currently, the extended version of TSMSW is my favourite track... Even topping Pink Floyd's Echoes, and that's close to blasphemy. In my opinion, this album has already beat it past Wish You Were Here and Dark Side Of The Moon, and is currently battling Animals and In The Court Of The Crimson King for my favourite album.

I also bought Up The Downstair and Stars Die: The Delerium Yeats, although I've been so preoccupied with Sideways that I haven't gotten around to listening to them yet.

Shine On

bloodandsoil, I think that your explanation is the most probable. It makes sense entirely.

I frankly think it's about air travel.

We lost the skyline: No skyline in the air. We stepped right off the map: The map is the ground. You're off it. Drifted into blank space: Obvious. And let the clocks relapse: Time zones. In travelling far, the clocks relapse.

We laughed the rain down: Flying above the rain. Slow burn on the lawn: Airplane landing or take off. Ghosts across the lawn: Don't know about this. Swallowed up the storm: Nither this. But storms and air travel sorta go together.

Wow, this is a really abstract song. Remotely understandable. Strangely beautiful.