Minstrel In The Gallery Lyrics

Lyric discussion by kribhusus 

Cover art for Minstrel In The Gallery lyrics by Jethro Tull

to me, the minstrel in the gallery is a metaphor for the "god that lives in you and me" mentioned in "My God" on the aqualung album

the gallery is the upper landing so to speak and the minstrel is the upper you so to speak

up in the gallery observing looking down from on high, the ancient metaphor that your conciousness is really god having an experience in your body, he is thus the minstrel in the gallery, he makes the music, he leads the band it's all metaphor.

he looks down on the "rabbit run" referenced in the song "skating away" in the line "you're a rabbit on the run" a metaphor for someone lost in their lower self so they are "on the run" or in fear as they are not understanding their own fears and terrors while lost in a lower mode of conciousness so to speak

he throws away his looking glass

he "falls awake" he wakens or rather we waken to him in us

and we realise that he is in fact all of us

once we let go of our attachment to the separateness of body and ego etc etc we learn that we are indeed all one, god having a separate experience in all of us but that ultimately

he will call the band down to the stage and look on all the friends he made

like the lyric

when all is one and one is all

or here in this lyric

the pretender is barred & cannot enter while the true son is welcome anytime two men in the field but only one has a hope the other is blind and has more than enough rope when push comes to shove you'll know who is who but wrap your mind around this both of them are you!

yes minstrel in the gallery to me is masterful metaphor for the idea that we are part animal part god

and this minstrel, this god in us, look at what he does in the song

through all the quirky ugliness and ambiguity of life he brings forth his son

his band of merry men

his friends

his very own