Prog often Plagued by Poor Lyrics?

Lyrical content eh? Apart from Neal Morse's preaching most prog has adequate lyrical content and covers far more topics than typical pop - which is some geezer singing about some girls eyes and heart when he's really just interested in her tits and fanny......or some bint singing about how she's in love now she;s found out the size of his wallet.....

prog058 wrote: This could also be called the Fish appreciation thread. Prog bands, while excelling musically, are often lackluster in the lyrical department. Most prog musicians probably don't take an interest in language and literature, and this is probably the reason why. What are your thoughts?

Personally I think the last few Dream Theater albums have been plagued by really awful lyrics. But they're just nowhere near as good as they used to be in general.

Steve Hackett has some pretty fine lyrics.

Sometimes Jon Anderson gets away with his absurdist lyrics. Other times, I feel they are a waste of a great voice (and band). However, he's far from being alone. The other day, a boy band suddenly appeared on a TV programme I was watching and started to perform lyrics along the lines of, 'You and I are like a missiles in the sky, we go up, up, up.' Their curiously affected singing style and 'harmonies' were massively inferior to Jon Anderson's, but they are probably making pots of money.    

The main reason why one would find more bad (and good) lyrics in pop than he would in prog is simply that there is more pop than prog. If I dig through pop music, sure, I'll find a lot of bad lyrics, but I'll also find some of the best lyrics. Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, Sufjan Stevens, Jeff Tweedy are some of the greatest lyricists ever. Just take a look at Sufjan's lyrics on Casimir Pulaski, Chicago, or pretty much everything on "Illinoise." His ability to tell a simple story, yet effortlessly layer it with meaning, is to die for. On the other hand, generally, you will find better lyrics in prog than you will in pop. There are very few great lyricists in prog (Tim Smith from Midlake is the only one I can think of), but generally they are better. I actually enjoy Jon Anderson's lyrics from time to time. On the other hand, prog does have some of the worst lyrics. While I really enjoy the music of Comus, Gentle Giant, and Spirogyra, I lose my lunch at their lyrics.

'Rotten eyeballs feet between/Hanging down the cheese machine/Hew it strew it do it too/Say it slay it just to do/Try to call yourself on the phone/Surely you are not at home/Sweep the swept floor once again/Stab yourself and feel the pain/Then stand and watch the speed/Clean your eyeballs wash your feet/Listen and repeat'. Or from "Stop These Lines": 'Morning peace dusty air/Clean your teeth comb your hair/Dressed in clothes you always wear/Go to work I won't be there/Lunchtime snackbar eating chips/Ketchup's running down your lips/Deadeyed waiters selling bibs/Which you have to fix with clips/Sitting waiting find an end/Meaningless with no comment/Is this life in your own hand/People are like grains of sand/Pick up streets and pull down skylines/Ravish women blast the mines/Burn the whiskies spill

Horizons wrote: Stevo wrote: coolerking wrote: I remember Q magazine reviewing (I think) Big Generator and they said Jon Anderson's lyrics would struggle to get a pass in A level English. He definitely comes up with certain phrases that fit beautifully to certain passages of the music but in general I find his lyrics incomprehensible. That used to really bother me about YES, until I started to think of his lyrics like I would an impressionistic painting. They are very effective at creating a mood , or a suggestion of a scene.   That's how they're supposed to be interrupted. Not all lyrics have to be blatant stories, or have zero subtlety. They can be ambiguous, mysterious, abstract. Too me, lyrics are another instrument. They can just sound good to make me connect to them, not talk about losing a love one or whatever.

RedNightmareKing wrote: I'm a huge Dream Theater fan, yes. But sometimes... the lyrics just make me cringe. I mean, "The Count of Tuscany" is such a brilliant piece instrumentally, even if there is a bit of Petrucci/Rudess noodling. The lyrics, however, are just a completely different story... They don't work for me. Same for some of the material on Systematic Chaos. Too cheesy! I mean, I miss the DT songs that are a little deeper, not the ones talking about a pharoah's wrath or warmongering general. Save that for the power metal people. But in general, progressive rock lyrics (outside of some DT stuff) are really top-notch, ESPECIALLY Peter Sinfield.

Hi folks, can anyone help me identify the song from the opening lyrics below? It's from around 1970 by a guitar/bass/piano/drums/vocal combo. My dad taped it onto his old reel-to-reel but never remembered who it was by!

I walk the crowded pavements
The people I see
All trying to be what they're not
They act just like me (x4)