Harold The Barrel Lyrics

Lyric discussion by mcwryter 

Cover art for Harold The Barrel lyrics by Genesis

I'm impressed by how the music leaves us in no doubt at all that Harold does jump in the end. At 2:38+ it is just excellent in how the sound can create an equivalent movie scene in your mind. It's like the camera panning and focusing on Harold and then showing him jump in slooooooooow motion. Great how the music conveys that tragic last moment of the sad story.

Good point by carrotkins about mom's cynical attitude, worrying only about her son's appearance while disregarding him as a person! Makes me think of: "Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life."

@mcwryter

It's a very English mother thing. Small boys were told to change their underpants "in case you got knocked down by a car" Therefore exposing the family to shame as a greater crisis than the traffic accident.