Great lyricists

HELLO PEOPLE>>>>>>omar rodrigez-lopez/cedric bixler zavala
nothing is as deep and meaningful as their work..you cant even compare most of the cheesy garbage that most of the prog bands mentioned produce.

Neil Young
Jon anderson

Sinfield definitely doesn't produce cheesy garbage.... same for Ian Anderson and Jon Anderson

Neil Peart

Jon Anderson

Peter Sinfield

Prog is so full of great lyrics, but the ones that really stand head and shoulders above the rest for me are:

Neil Peart
Roger Waters
Pete Sinfield
Peter Gabriel
Ian Anderson
Steven Wilson

My favorite is Jon Anderson, and here's an example of why:

Master of Images
Songs cast a light on you
Hark thru dark ties
That tunnel us out of sane existence
In challenge as direct
As eyes see young stars assemble

Master of Light
All pure chance
As exists cross divided
In all encircling mode
Oh closely guided plan
Awaken in our heart

Master of Soul
Set to touch
All impenetrable youth
Ask away
That thought be contact
With all that's clear
Be honest with yourself
There's no doubt no doubt

Master of Time
Setting sail
Over all our lands
And as we look
Forever closer
Shall we now bid
Farewell farewell...

And my second favorite is Peter Gabriel, and here's an example of why:

There is lambswool under my naked feet.
The wool is soft and warm,
-gives off some kind of heat.
A salamander scurries into flame to be destroyed.
Imaginary creatures are trapped in birth on celluloid.
The fleas cling to the golden fleece,
Hoping they'll find peace.
Each thought and gesture are caught in celluloid.
There's no hiding in my memory.
There's no room to void.

The crawlers cover the floor in the red ochre corridor.
For my second sight of people, they've more lifeblood than before.
They're moving. They're moving in time to a heavy wooden door,
Where the needle's eye is winking, closing in on the poor.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."

There's only one direction in the faces that I see;
It's upward to the ceiling, where the chambers said to be.
Like the forest fight for sunlight, that takes root in every tree.
They are pulled up by the magnet, believing that they're free.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."

Mild mannered supermen are held in kryptonite,
And the wise and foolish virgins giggle with their bodies glowing bright.
Through a door a harvest feast is lit by candlight;
It's the bottom of a staircase that spirals out of sight.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."

The porcelain mannikin with shattered skin fears attack.
The eager pack lift up their pitchers- the carry all they lack.
The liquid has congealed, which has seeped out through the crack,
And the tickler takes his stickleback.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."

Roger Waters

Peter Gabrial

Adrain Belew

Ian Anderson

Too many repeated names, and no mention of Mikael Akerfeldt and only one mention of Daniel Gildenlow! For shame...I swear prog metal isn't just Dream Theater!

Not prog, but one of my favourites is Martin Walkyier of Skyclad (although he's no longer part of the band).

Syzygy wrote: Unlike a lot of people on here I can't say that many prog lyricists really do it for me. Robert Wyatt and Peter Blegvad both write superb lyrics, but for me most of the best lyricists are outside the prog canon - Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Morrissey, Shane MacGowan, Dylan and Neil Young all spring to mind. In terms of mainstream prog, Peter Gabriel and Peter Hammill bith write some excellent stuff, more as solo artists than in bands for some reason. Ian Anderson has written some great lyrics as well, although in the early to mid 70s (up to Minstrel...) he had a tendency to over write which could get a bit tiresome. King Crimson, my second favourite prog band after Magma, have consistently had some of the worst lyrics in history supplied by a variety of different but equally trite wordsmiths, which must be some kind of record. Damo Suzuki of Can and Magma's Christian Vander avoided the lyrics issue by writing in languages they invented themselves, a fine example more recently followed by Sigur Ros and Ruins.

It's rare that I disagree with you on an issue, but I would NOT call Peter Hammill "mainstream prog". His oeuvre is far too varied for that. Examples of him which are definitely NOT mainstream:

Loops and Reels
The Fall of the House of Usher
Sonix
The Appointed Hour (with Roger Eno)
Spur of the Moment (with Guy Evans)
The Union Chapel Concert (with Guy Evans)