Great lyrics in Prog songs ~ what they are all about

[Don Arnold]

....subtitle: A guide for the non-listeners of lyrics!

Piggy-backing on the Good songs with bad lyrics thread, the post below got me thinking....I've been a Prog listener for 35 years, yet have never paid all that much attention to the lyrics (and don't plan on starting ). It's the music that has always been the focus of my listening. However, that being said, I'd love to read about what I've been missing out on.

So, if you care to take the time, toss in some of your favourite lyrics by Prog artists, and offer up an explanation of their meaning, and perhaps how they have impacted you personally (if at all).

I can't imagine listening to something like "Cheyenne Anthem" and not paying attention to the lyrics. Seems like I'd be missing most of the song.

[bill g]

The music is foremost to me too. Lyrics are like the surface sometimes, but the real depth, going deeper than the words, is the melody of course. Having said that, I do appreciate good lyrics.

One For The Vine, is of course a time loop, which I always enjoy.

Twin Age's 'Lialim High' album is a story that I think also involves time, but it is difficult to decipher.

Big Big Train often utilizes history, putting peoples stories to music.

Pete Sinfield's lyrics to 'Islands' evokes pictures that match the mood exactly. Love that.

Just a few there...

[Man In The Mountain]

I can't imagine listening to something like "Cheyenne Anthem" and not paying attention to the lyrics. Seems like I'd be missing most of the song.

Cheyenne Anthem has lyrics?

[GuitarGeek]

I think most of the time it's more about what the words sound like than the literal meaning. A lot of the Yes stuff is like that, apparently likewise for Magma.

As for Genesis, Supper's Ready, in general, is about the battle between good and evil, with lots of scattered allusions throughout. It's famously been said that Gabriel was inspired by the demonic possession of his first wife, which is what Lover's Leap is essentially about. The Biblical allusion at the end ("Lord of lords/King of kinds/He's come take his children home/To take them to the New Jerusalem") came about because in order to drive the demon from the young lady, he had to read the Book Of Revelations aloud. And I guess to get from point A (ie Lover's Leap) to point B (ie As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs) in an interesting fashion, he came up with all the stuff about false prophets, holy wars, Narcissus, Armageddon (ie Apocalypse In 9/8), etc.

[ThomasKDye]

Well, I'll start with my favorite song of all time...

"Another time, it might have been so different...
Oh, if only we could do it all again.
But now it's just another fading memory...
Out of focus, though the outline still remains.

Another chance hello, another goodbye..
And so many things we'll never see again.
All the days of life that seemed so unimportant...
They seem to matter now, seem to count much later on."

Maybe I'm just a melancholy person, but these words stab hit me in the solar plexus, twist the knife, and leave me helpless. And the music assists the words just fine.

[flowerking]

My take on prog and lyrics is this: I love great vocals but I really don't care what they are singing about or what the words are. If the lyrics are thought provoking, so much the better, but bad lyrics don't tend to detract from my enjoyment if the music and vocals are great (unless the lyrics are truly hideously bad). Bad vocals on the other hand, no matter how great the music is, will ruin a song for me.

Probably my favorite lyric comes from Man-erg. Each verse builds on the different aspects of man, the killer, the angel, the person. Here's the first verse which can be very chilling.

The killer lives inside me: yes, I can feel him move.
Sometimes he's lightly sleeping
in the quiet of his room,
but then his eyes will rise and stare through mine;
he'll speak my words and slice my mind inside.
Yes the killer lives.

[Rarebird]

Van Der Graaf Generator - House with no door

[Obarmoth]

VdGG - 'Still Life'...

[Sputnik]

Two of my favorites:

ELP – Tarkus

The Tarkus is a symbol of some un-named force (totalitarianism/fascism/modern technocratic bureaucracy?) that destroys history, religion, cultural iconoclasts, and possibly even culture itself (each represented by one of the creatures that faces the Tarkus, and by one of the musical movements of the piece). Tarkus is only held at bay by the Minotaur, the only fully “organic” creature, and a symbol of man’s imagination and inner strength. The Minotaur blinds the Tarkus, which washes away to sea, but the threat of its return is ever present.

Yes – Close to the Edge

A person is having a spiritual crisis and embarks on a spiritual journey to find meaning in his life. He visits a shaman, who teaches him to look inward, and he makes many great discoveries. But then he begins to have doubts, and begins asking questions (I Get Up, I Get Down). Eventually he emerges from these doubts and is able to see the big picture. In the end, he realizes that the state of spiritual ascension is the state of constant questioning, and the song ends with that refrain, I Get Up, I Get Down.

I think both of these pieces show how 70s Prog lyrics were trying to deal with themes as epic as the music itself. And for rock lyrics, they succeed admirably in communicating their message, once it has been “decoded.”

I think these lyrics go to the heart of what most people in modern industrialized states deal with at some level. How do you find “spiritual” happiness in a sea of commercial glitz and materialism? How do you resist succumbing to the bureaucratic/technocratic mindset that modernity forces at you, and is so easy to slip into? These are questions I ask myself, and issues I grapple with, so they resonate with me at that level, while presenting their message in a (relatively) succinct and enjoyable way.

The music is also kicks ass!

Bill

[Don Arnold]

Well, I'll start with my favorite song of all time...

"Another time, it might have been so different...
Oh, if only we could do it all again.
But now it's just another fading memory...
Out of focus, though the outline still remains.

Another chance hello, another goodbye..
And so many things we'll never see again.
All the days of life that seemed so unimportant...
They seem to matter now, seem to count much later on."

Maybe I'm just a melancholy person, but these words stab hit me in the solar plexus, twist the knife, and leave me helpless. And the music assists the words just fine.

I'm likely hilighting my lack of lyrics listening with this question: which song/band is this from? Thanks.

[Don Arnold]

....Having said that, I do appreciate good lyrics. One For The Vine, is of course a time loop, which I always enjoy....

.....As for Genesis, Supper's Ready, in general, is about the battle between good and evil, ....

....Probably my favorite lyric comes from Man-erg. Each verse builds on the different aspects of man, the killer, the angel, the person.....

Two of my favorites:

ELP – Tarkus...a symbol of some un-named force.....

Yes – Close to the Edge. A person is having a spiritual crisis and embarks on a spiritual journey to find meaning in his life....

Thanks for enlightening me on the lyrics for these pieces, which I've heard countless times over the years without really hearing the words. I'm sure the next time I spin these I'll have a new appreciation.

[Zonefish]

I'm likely hilighting my lack of lyrics listening with this question: which song/band is this from? Thanks.

Fading Lights by Genesis

[Zeuhlmate]

Good idea / initiative, but I fear it wont work on me. Dunno why.
I call them tunes not songs, especially if nobody sings.

[PotatoSolution]

As someone who has always struggled with social anxiety, I've always related to the lyrics in the Jethro Tull song "The Clasp". The song is all about how humans beings have so much trouble reaching out to each other for comfort and companionship.

"We travelers on the endless wastes in single orbits,
Gliding cold-eyed march towards the dawn behind
Hard-weather hoods a-hiding.
Meeting as the tall ships do, passing in the channel
Afraid to chance a gentle touch,
Afraid to make the clasp."

I don't give a shit what anyone says, that is fantastic lyric writing.

[ThomasKDye]

As someone who has always struggled with social anxiety, I've always related to the lyrics in the Jethro Tull song "The Clasp". The song is all about how humans beings have so much trouble reaching out to each other for comfort and companionship.

The last verse is especially good. It shows that we can be fooled into thinking that the phony gestures of politicians and celebrities are the alpha and omega of human contact:

"Synthetic chiefs with frozen smiles, holding unsteady courses,
Grip the reins of history, high on their battle horses.
And meeting as good statesmen do, before the TV eyes of millions.
Hand to hand, exchange the lie,
Pretend to make the clasp."

[PotatoSolution]

Kevin Gilbert was a terrific lyricist, one of the best of his generation. Most of his stuff has a cheeky cleverness to it, which is indicative of a guy in his 20s (which he was). If he had lived, I feel he would have matured into a truly exceptional wordsmith. He showed some glimpses of this in one of his greatest songs, "A Long Day's Life":

When I was a boy I would sit by the sea
And ambition's sirens would sing to me
Songs of a future both noble and grand
Now here I stand with my back to the wall
Errant in some ways and tired in all
Life is what happens while your making plans
At the end of a long day's life

[presdoug]

I find all the lyrics to Triumvirat's concept album Spartacus deeply moving and sort of relevant in a symbolic way, you know, the story of a victim of "The System" (in this case Spartacus the gladiator and Imperial Rome) organising a rebellion against that decadent rule. I've always been a fan of the underdog, and feel that "the system" stinks.

"In the night, we lie awake,
And see the hazy shades of dawn,
There's no rest, for those who die,
The deadly angel, greets the morn"

"I have a dream that we can change it,
You need just a glimpse of hope and I
Will be your leader in the fight against Rome,
We're united, so you don't stand alone"

Simply put, but somehow so powerful.
Now, the real Spartacus was defeated, crucified on the Appiian Way, but he deserves credit for trying to fight what he did.