SEBTP Lyrics--Um....

Then what's with Father Tiresias and the whole "Once a man...Once a woman..." bit? There's more water than land Gabriel, don't you ****ing lie to me! :)

I think finding a deeper meaning in CTTE would be difficult while sane, because I'm pretty sure that Jon was just making it up as he went along. :)

TOD KREMER wrote: What does any poetry actually "mean".  Perhaps the more ambiguous and open to interpretation, the more enduring the Art.  eg. What is the Mona Lisa smiling about?

That's very different though; it doesn't matter what she's smiling about; the painting is enjoyed just by looking at it and appreciating its beauty. You can't do that with lyrics.
Poetry does have meaning, unless it's impressionist crap like The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams. It may be very obtuse, like The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock by TS Eliot; but it does have a meaning.

Gabriel was all about narrative and imagery.  There needs to be a "suspension of disbelief" when you encounter fantasy.  (There is probably some Gothic English subtext but I never worried about it on that level).  Interpret it for yourself and accept it.  Ogres don't exist either and they certainly don't battle.  I must be trying deconstruct that Queen song literally.

That's different. I don't know what Queen song you're talking about, but I'm just trying to get it to make any sort of sense at all; taking simple metaphors and mythical creatures literally isn't the problem here.

Edited by Ghandi 2

stonebeard wrote: Cygnus X-2 wrote: stonebeard wrote: Ah well, Gabriel probably just read a book or two on English history, read a newspaper, and wrote an album! I think it's more about the vocal melodies and imagery than the literal meaning of the words. Kind of like how Jon Anderson really just wrote words that sounded good together to make lyrics?  So "Close to the Edge" doesn't have a deeper meaning? Well there goes my college application essay!

Well if you think about it enough, Close to the Edge does have a meaning... it's just the lyrics are so dense that one may not see the true meaning until they've gone mentally insane.

But back on topic, I believe that The Cinema Show is a simple story about hormone-fueled lovers.

Edited by Cygnus X-2

stonebeard wrote: Ah well, Gabriel probably just read a book or two on English history, read a newspaper, and wrote an album! I think it's more about the vocal melodies and imagery than the literal meaning of the words.

Kind of like how Jon Anderson really just wrote words that sounded good together to make lyrics? 

What the hell? The music is good, but what do Dancing with the Moonlit Knight, Firth of Fifth, The Battle of Epping Forest, The Cinema Show, and Aisle of Plenty actually mean? I get that Dancing... is lamenting the downfall of England, but I'm not sure what the dancing captain and knights have to do with it. The lyrics on Firth seem rather pointless, and lots of the lyrics for The Battle... seem even more pointless. ("And Harold Demure, still not quite sure, fired an acorn from out of his sling...") I also have no idea what it's about: what are East-End protection rights, and why are the gangs fighting over them? What does the story of the Reverend have to do with anything at all? I have no idea what Aisle of Plenty is about either. A return to the opening theme is interesting (and I suppose more original in 1973 than it is now), but the confused marketplace speaking trailing off was an exceptionally poor way to end the album. It would have been better if at the very end after everything had trailed off Gabriel had spoken "It's scrambled eggs." like the lyrics sheet says.

All help is appreciated. It's kind of annoying that prog lyricists seem to think that they have failed if it's possible for the listener to figure out what the hell he's talking about. :( (Jon Anderson, Ian Anderson on APP and to a lesser extent TAAB, King Crimson, etc.)