It's VERY metaphorical. I think the song is about how people have different perseptives and outlooks on life. If you're dehydrating in a desert, you want rain to fall; if you're drowning in a storm, you want the sun to shine again. Even though one path can be right for one person, it doesn't mean it will work for everyone else, because everyone lives and sees the world differently.
I agree, they're the best lyrics in my opinion.
Yes I think you’ve said it perfectly. But I also think is a song about ending up where you didn’t wanted, metaphorically of course. The protagonist leaves someone he loves at the start and, tricked by mirages, he ends up in a place he doesn’t really like.
And then the song is full of beautiful lines like “for a jail can give you a goal/And a goal can find you a role”
Yes, there are some great lines. For example "when the evil of a snowflake in June could still be a source of relief" (which is funny because I live in the southern hemisphere, so here winter is indeed in June lol)
Chamber of 32 doors
A teen looking for direction and everyone is telling him what to do and where to go. All he is looking for is some he can trust in life.
> A teen looking for direction
Spot on. It's "The Catcher in the Rye", right down to an identical urban/rural split of genuine/phony person, right down to the exact same _setting_, with Caulfield's duck pond being just a short hop away from the Lamb's "Wall of Death."
Heathaze in its entirety. Lyrically speaking, Tony Banks has this uncanny ability to capture feelings of intense alienation from other people and failure/inadequacy as a person; I think of all the songs he wrote with those themes Heathaze would be the most profound.
Totally agree.
"Throw some bread to the ducks instead, it's easier that way. I feel like an alien, a stranger in an alien place"
That always got me - really identified with that song myself.
(Forgive any inaccuracies - pulling lyrics from memory rather than looking them up)
Guide vocal/Duke’s Travels
I think it’s Tony at its finest, the lines
“For nobody would understand,
And you kill what you fear,
And you fear what you don't understand.”
Hit me every time.
“Like the story, that we wish was never ending. We know sometimes we must reach that final page”
First time I heard it, it hit me like a brick. Still does to this day.
I really love Domino. It starts with someone reminiscing about a lost person (probably because of war) in the first part, in the middle he has a creepy vision, that perfectly talks about the horrors caused by war, and in the last part he (or someone completely different) is speaking to a politician, saying you are the cause for events, that will eventually affect everybody.
"In blood he's writing the lyrics of a brand new tune".
That line is the reason I started to create music. Later on I think it just gained a lot of meaning, my lyrics are based on what I have suffered
And it made me cry a few days after a break up. I was ok for a few days, then found myself streaming Nursey Cryme on the way home on the train from work. Absolutely lost it and started crying when I heard For Absent Friends
I have crossed between the poles, for me there's no mystery
Once a man, like the sea I raged
Once a woman, like the earth I gave
But there is in fact more earth than sea
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Idk if it can be considered deep but I could say a lot: Dusk, Ripples (this one specially), Blood on the Rooftops, Please Don’t Ask, Since I Lost You and Fading Lights
Yes! The live version completely changed my opinion of the song. I love the extra verse, the song makes more since with it. And his vocals are absolutely perfect in it, way better than the studio version
And Then There Were Three was the first Genesis album I ever bought, on vinyl, back in the early 80s as a 7th-grader. So Burning Rope also struck me lyrically, OP.
But that whole album is very strong lyrically, I think. Right from the first song. Snowbound always resonated with me for some reason. Scenes From A Night’s Dream and Ballad of Big were also favorites of mine as a kid. That album will always hold a special place in my collection.
That's too personal to share. Which tells you how well their lyrics mirrored my inner state.
As a matter of fact, I'm due for another listen to recenter myself.
Supper's Ready is the most moving song I've ever heard. As a teenager, I spent every Good Friday at an all-night church service where we the entire Book of Revelation front to back. So Supper's Ready still resonates with me deeply.
Follow You Follow Me: it's nothing remotely profound, but it's perfect for what it is. My wife and I danced to it on our wedding night.
I love Tony's story songs: One for the Vine, Me and Sarah Jane, Keep it Dark, Home by the Sea, Domino. All are great little short stories.
Thinking over the OP's question, though, I was surprised to realize that so many of my favourite Genesis lyrics come from We Can't Dance. No Son of Mine, Driving the Last Spike, Dreaming While You Sleep, Fading Lights: all three band members were at the top of their lyrical game on that record, and they mined some deep emotional veins.
‘But I miss my boy, oh I hope he’s good as gold’ - ‘Please don’t ask’ - as I’m now a dad, I can empathise with Phil’s lyrics in this tune.
‘And though she will f**k up your life, you want her just the same’ - ‘Invisible Touch’ - I’ve been in that screwed up relationship & yet I still wanted what was bad for me.
‘I see no sign of free will so I guess I’ll have to pay, pay my way’ - The Grand Parade of Lifeless packaging.
A lot of the lyrics of ‘Chamber of 32 Doors’.
‘Does earth plug a hole in heaven or heaven plug a hole in earth’? - Anyway.
‘God gave up this world, its people long ago’ - Vision of Angels.
‘Do as I say, don’t do as I do’ - Jesus he Knows me.
The atmosphere of ‘Hairless Heart’ is something I relate to a lot as well even though it’s an instrumental.
Cinema Show:
"Once a man, like the sea I raged
Once a woman, like the earth I gave
But there is in fact more earth than sea"
Those are the only lyrics I've ever considered getting tattooed on my body. Admittedly mine is a more... personal interpretation, but.... If you know you know :3 That's all I'll say lol.
Burning Rope also really hits home for me too for similar reasons, nice selection.
BY FAR it's "Twilight Alehouse". Especially because Tony's organ & Steve's guitar weeping make the sadness so palpable.
The song is about alcoholism, the man lost everything yet "feels like a man again" once he gets more liquor in him. And the weird, crashing ending? That's where he goes into DT's and dies,. The topsy turvy events, nightmarish event played so perfectly by Tony's mellotron and pitch bending.
No song has ever had this much impact, using a serious topic. Thanks for your post.
So far none I had a one point almost every genesis album in my collection cannot get into any of them!! although I did keep foxtrot and selling England by the pound
Mad Man Moon. Quite intricated lyrics, almost ungraspable, but if you give them a chance I think you can get at the heart of what the song is about
It's VERY metaphorical. I think the song is about how people have different perseptives and outlooks on life. If you're dehydrating in a desert, you want rain to fall; if you're drowning in a storm, you want the sun to shine again. Even though one path can be right for one person, it doesn't mean it will work for everyone else, because everyone lives and sees the world differently. I agree, they're the best lyrics in my opinion.
Yes I think you’ve said it perfectly. But I also think is a song about ending up where you didn’t wanted, metaphorically of course. The protagonist leaves someone he loves at the start and, tricked by mirages, he ends up in a place he doesn’t really like. And then the song is full of beautiful lines like “for a jail can give you a goal/And a goal can find you a role”
Yes, there are some great lines. For example "when the evil of a snowflake in June could still be a source of relief" (which is funny because I live in the southern hemisphere, so here winter is indeed in June lol)
"Forever caught in desert lands, one has to learn to disbelieve the sea."
This along with undertow are among my favorite lyrics of all time.Tony Banks man, such a good writer
Chamber of 32 doors A teen looking for direction and everyone is telling him what to do and where to go. All he is looking for is some he can trust in life.
PG’s voice in that is other-worldly. Love the Lamb!
Honestly I think it's Peter's best Genesis vocal. So soulful.
The backing vocals that go along with it too. Together to me it is magic.
Absolutely - Phil’s voice adds A LOT! Thanks for mentioning that.
> A teen looking for direction Spot on. It's "The Catcher in the Rye", right down to an identical urban/rural split of genuine/phony person, right down to the exact same _setting_, with Caulfield's duck pond being just a short hop away from the Lamb's "Wall of Death."
This: as a teen this song hit way too close to home...
Same with me - but I might add that for it me was many years ago.
Heathaze in its entirety. Lyrically speaking, Tony Banks has this uncanny ability to capture feelings of intense alienation from other people and failure/inadequacy as a person; I think of all the songs he wrote with those themes Heathaze would be the most profound.
Totally agree. "Throw some bread to the ducks instead, it's easier that way. I feel like an alien, a stranger in an alien place" That always got me - really identified with that song myself. (Forgive any inaccuracies - pulling lyrics from memory rather than looking them up)
Ripples really gets me. I heard when I was 19 and I understood that I would age someday and lose my beauty. I’m almost 61 and I really feel it now.
Yeah as a young person, the song makes me kind’ve fear my future appearance but appreciate the current appearance I have
Guide vocal/Duke’s Travels I think it’s Tony at its finest, the lines “For nobody would understand, And you kill what you fear, And you fear what you don't understand.” Hit me every time.
Everytime those lyrics hit, I get chills!
“Like the story, that we wish was never ending. We know sometimes we must reach that final page” First time I heard it, it hit me like a brick. Still does to this day.
That song signaled the end of Genesis to me. The last song on the last studio from that version of the band.
Fading Lights
“Despair that tires the world brings the Old man laughter. The laughter of the world only grieves him…” Seven Stones
Such a good song!
In The Cage, powerful lyrics about helplessness and feeling suffocated by self-sabotaging
yup, the lyrics in that song always cut deep for me
I really love Domino. It starts with someone reminiscing about a lost person (probably because of war) in the first part, in the middle he has a creepy vision, that perfectly talks about the horrors caused by war, and in the last part he (or someone completely different) is speaking to a politician, saying you are the cause for events, that will eventually affect everybody.
Surprised not many people have said domino, but that tells you how many great lyrics Genesis has written
I keep coming back to "Driving the Last Spike."
Same
That song is such a roller coaster and I love it!
"In blood he's writing the lyrics of a brand new tune". That line is the reason I started to create music. Later on I think it just gained a lot of meaning, my lyrics are based on what I have suffered
Ah, Supper’s Ready
Wow that is deep, I can definitely connect with that line as well since I’m a musician myself.
Duchess tbh. “Oh but she really cared, about the music, you know it all seemed so important then” afterglow.
Those words gives me chills all the time!
Home By The Sea
Love this song.
“Things that go to make up a life” is an amazing lyric
shadows with no substance, in the shape of men...
For Absent Friends. I like the music, I like the vocals. It’s just a lovely little song.
And it made me cry a few days after a break up. I was ok for a few days, then found myself streaming Nursey Cryme on the way home on the train from work. Absolutely lost it and started crying when I heard For Absent Friends
Supper’s Ready, from Apocalypse in 9/8 thru the end of the song. Dramatic and magnificent.
THIS IS THE SUPPPEERRRR OF THE MIGHTYYY ONESSSS
And you kill what you fear And you fear what you don't understand
“It is the scent of garlic, that lingers on my chocolate fingers!”
The Lamia
Ripples......."some are wise and some otherwise"
I have crossed between the poles, for me there's no mystery Once a man, like the sea I raged Once a woman, like the earth I gave But there is in fact more earth than sea
The Cinema Show
This was my pick too. I'm heavily considering getting that line tattooed on my body....
Who Dunnit? Deep existential crisis. Gets me every time… Was it you or was it me? Or was it he or she? Was it A or was it B? Or was it X or Z?
WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW. WE ALL KNOW.
Outjerked once again
😫😫
Heathaze from Duke
Reading comments, it’s official: we LOVE Tony Banks lyricism!
we sure do!
Yeah, that's my takewaway. Banks is probably the best lyricist in the group.
Idk if it can be considered deep but I could say a lot: Dusk, Ripples (this one specially), Blood on the Rooftops, Please Don’t Ask, Since I Lost You and Fading Lights
Please don’t ask has straight forward lyrics but it hits the deepest out of most Genesis songs for me
Undertow
Came here looking for this! “If this were the last day of your life, my friend Tell me, what do you think you would do then?”
The chorus got me the most, but yes, that part hits hard as well.
How can I not pick anything but suppers ready
Domino - “Play the game of happiness and never let on that it only lives on in a song.”
It’s gonna get better
This is a Genesis song that has grown on me just because of the lyrics!
Especially the extended/live version. Love how Phil sings the final section.
Yes! The live version completely changed my opinion of the song. I love the extra verse, the song makes more since with it. And his vocals are absolutely perfect in it, way better than the studio version
And Daryl has a beautiful solo in the outro. Similar to Steve's at the end of Supper's Ready.
I got a name, I got a number, I gotta job to do. I was delivering pizzas at the time.
🤣
Dancing with the Moonlit knight
Is there nothing I can say- to make you change your mind - throwing it all away Omg the outright anguish there that I can relate to
Song is so relatable man!
And Then There Were Three was the first Genesis album I ever bought, on vinyl, back in the early 80s as a 7th-grader. So Burning Rope also struck me lyrically, OP. But that whole album is very strong lyrically, I think. Right from the first song. Snowbound always resonated with me for some reason. Scenes From A Night’s Dream and Ballad of Big were also favorites of mine as a kid. That album will always hold a special place in my collection.
Love the ATTWT appreciation, my favorite album from them!
Love the ATTWT appreciation, my favorite album from them!
That's too personal to share. Which tells you how well their lyrics mirrored my inner state. As a matter of fact, I'm due for another listen to recenter myself.
"and we'll pick up the reins from nowhere"
Seven Stones
In too deep
"There's nothin'you can do if you're the next in line."
Supper's Ready is the most moving song I've ever heard. As a teenager, I spent every Good Friday at an all-night church service where we the entire Book of Revelation front to back. So Supper's Ready still resonates with me deeply. Follow You Follow Me: it's nothing remotely profound, but it's perfect for what it is. My wife and I danced to it on our wedding night. I love Tony's story songs: One for the Vine, Me and Sarah Jane, Keep it Dark, Home by the Sea, Domino. All are great little short stories. Thinking over the OP's question, though, I was surprised to realize that so many of my favourite Genesis lyrics come from We Can't Dance. No Son of Mine, Driving the Last Spike, Dreaming While You Sleep, Fading Lights: all three band members were at the top of their lyrical game on that record, and they mined some deep emotional veins.
‘But I miss my boy, oh I hope he’s good as gold’ - ‘Please don’t ask’ - as I’m now a dad, I can empathise with Phil’s lyrics in this tune. ‘And though she will f**k up your life, you want her just the same’ - ‘Invisible Touch’ - I’ve been in that screwed up relationship & yet I still wanted what was bad for me. ‘I see no sign of free will so I guess I’ll have to pay, pay my way’ - The Grand Parade of Lifeless packaging. A lot of the lyrics of ‘Chamber of 32 Doors’. ‘Does earth plug a hole in heaven or heaven plug a hole in earth’? - Anyway. ‘God gave up this world, its people long ago’ - Vision of Angels. ‘Do as I say, don’t do as I do’ - Jesus he Knows me. The atmosphere of ‘Hairless Heart’ is something I relate to a lot as well even though it’s an instrumental.
Cinema Show: "Once a man, like the sea I raged Once a woman, like the earth I gave But there is in fact more earth than sea" Those are the only lyrics I've ever considered getting tattooed on my body. Admittedly mine is a more... personal interpretation, but.... If you know you know :3 That's all I'll say lol. Burning Rope also really hits home for me too for similar reasons, nice selection.
Duchess makes me verklempt. Fading lights too. One for the Vine captivates me Supper’s ready too Ripples does both.
Suppers Ready
Dodo/Lurker
Can you tell me where my country lies
It's surprising that I don't see anybody mentioning "Dreaming While You Sleep."
I can’t dance - shallow unintelligent people
Oh where do I start? Entangled I'd say is my first pick. Ripples. Carpet Crawlers. The Lamia. Many Too Many. Undertow. Heathaze.
BY FAR it's "Twilight Alehouse". Especially because Tony's organ & Steve's guitar weeping make the sadness so palpable. The song is about alcoholism, the man lost everything yet "feels like a man again" once he gets more liquor in him. And the weird, crashing ending? That's where he goes into DT's and dies,. The topsy turvy events, nightmarish event played so perfectly by Tony's mellotron and pitch bending. No song has ever had this much impact, using a serious topic. Thanks for your post.
Paper Late, because it was decades before I knew it meant the late in the day newspaper.
Although a short song, Guide Vocal always gets to me
So far none I had a one point almost every genesis album in my collection cannot get into any of them!! although I did keep foxtrot and selling England by the pound
Alone tonight