The path is clear
Though no eyes can see
The course laid down long before
And so with gods and men
The sheep remain inside their pen
Though many times they've seen the way to leave
He rides majestic
Past homes of men
Who care not or gaze with joy
To see reflected there
The trees, the sky, the lily fair
The scene of death is lying just below
The mountain cuts off the town from view
Like a cancer growth is removed by skill
Let it be revealed
A waterfall, his madrigal
An inland sea, his symphony
Undinal songs
Urge the sailors on
'Til lured by the sirens' cry
Now as the river dissolves in sea
So Neptune has claimed another soul
And so with gods and men
The sheep remain inside their pen
Until the shepherd leads his flock away
The sands of time were eroded by
The river of constant change
Though no eyes can see
The course laid down long before
And so with gods and men
The sheep remain inside their pen
Though many times they've seen the way to leave
He rides majestic
Past homes of men
Who care not or gaze with joy
To see reflected there
The trees, the sky, the lily fair
The scene of death is lying just below
The mountain cuts off the town from view
Like a cancer growth is removed by skill
Let it be revealed
A waterfall, his madrigal
An inland sea, his symphony
Undinal songs
Urge the sailors on
'Til lured by the sirens' cry
Now as the river dissolves in sea
So Neptune has claimed another soul
And so with gods and men
The sheep remain inside their pen
Until the shepherd leads his flock away
The sands of time were eroded by
The river of constant change
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
Firth Of Fifth Lyrics as written by Mike Rutherford Anthony Banks
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
The music is largely Tony Banks' work, and the lyrics were him and Mike Rutherford, although apparently he later said they were some of the worst lyrics he had ever been involved with!
The imagery is all watery. "He" in the second verse is a river, who flows past men's homes, but they don't even notice his beauty or power. A waterfall is the river's "madrigal" - a short song for 2-3 vocals - while an inland sea is "his" greatest achievement - a symphony.
Undines were water nymphs, while the Sirens were bird-women who lured sailors to their death. They seem to be inserted somewhat randomly to keep up the watery feel.
When the river enters the sea, Neptune (the God of the Sea) has claimed his "soul".
The stuff about gods, men and sheep? No idea. Perhaps the suggestion is that, unlike the river which carves its own majestic path to its destiny, men are like sheep - standing uselessly by until someone shows them the way to go? Oh dear, I've gone all pretentious. Sorry...
Anyway, Steve Hackett's solo is absolutely brilliant - his best work ever?
Without ever having been there, I reckon that this songs describes a (perphaps fictitious) similar landscape. There may also be religious thoughts embodied in the text, but I haven't worked that angle out yet.
i geuss combining this with the firth thing, the ditty is about a place where music meats the sea.
also on the musical note, the first and the fifth are two notes that put together make the basics for most chords. firth sounds alot like first; when i first read it i assumed it was a misprint
I think the "The mountain cuts off the town from view..." part is about how human kind destroys nature carelessly for unnecessery things (such as good view...)