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Niki ( IO ) 
Forum Senior Member 
Joined: January 20 2007 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 172 |
 Topic: YES's lyricsPosted: March 12 2007 at 16:07 |
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What do you think of Jon Anderson's lyrics contents and poetry/sound?
Do you like them? Understand them? Does they make sense? What's sense?
...I have a lot of doubts...
Gratefull for any post...
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IO
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Mascodagama
Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator Joined: December 30 2006 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 5111 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 16:11 |
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Personally I find most of his lyrics to be utter piffle. I still manage to like Yes though (early period), and Jon's voice is an important part of the sound. I listen to it as an instrument, mainly.
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Soldato of the Pan Head Mafia. We'll make you an offer you can't listen to.
Bandcamp Profile |
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Phil
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 17 2005 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 1881 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 16:12 |
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What d'ya mean piffle....they are deep and meaningful!!
Seriously though sometimes they do appear to have ameaning - and in any event as you say, Anderson's voice is a great instrument.
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Ian C Williams
Forum Newbie 
Joined: March 10 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 24 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 16:21 |
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As an instrument and something to facilitate the addition of timbre to the music, Anderson's voice is top notch. He has professed that his lyrics mean little, but when I listen to them they evoke a semi-spiritual response. The prime example is, of course, "Close to the Edge", with lines such as: ' getting over all the time I had to worry, leaving all the changes far from far behind; we relieve the tension only to find out the master's name'. Now come on; that MUST mean something, right?
My favourite Yes lyric is 'On the hill we viewed the silence of the valley, called to witness cycles only of the past', evoking inside me IMAGES. These images are of a small group of adventurers atop a cliff; after having journied for years, they find this place and call look across all time in some endless valley. I cannot really explain what the feeling is when I hear this (and the music in that part fits well), but it's a mixture of imagination, awe, grandiosity, and the entire Universe packed into one piece of music. Anderson's lyrics and the voice he uses to convey them speak to me of so much, and paint many pictures. I think they'd be quite successful if the Romantic era had been started with electric guitars and keyboards. |
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A Desert Island?
[IMG]http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i101/Penumbran/INMYTREE.png" border="0 |
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StyLaZyn
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 22 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 4079 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 16:24 |
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When I listen to his lyrics I think to myself he is either on a natural high or totally oblivious. He certainly doesn't need Prozac.
Such people with that kind of spirituality can be annoying, at least if you are around it too much.
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Ghandi 2
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 17 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1494 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 16:26 |
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I find them extremely annoying, except on Relayer.
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OGTL
Forum Groupie 
Joined: December 02 2006 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 50 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 16:48 |
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You people need to take more drugs, his lyrics are excellent.
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chessman
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 01 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 974 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 17:05 |
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Depends on the song, really.
Tunes like 'Turn Of The Century' and 'Gates Of Delirium' actually make sense and are very good.
Others verge on the edge of total nonsense, and are obviously written just to fit the music.
The lyrics have always been the weak point of Yes. (For me, of course!)
But I love the band musically. They are still in my top five, and have been for over thirty three years!
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Moogtron III
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 26 2005 Location: Belgium Status: Offline Points: 10616 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 17:08 |
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Didn't Jon once say that he uses words like sounds? I like it, it's completely original. Eddie Offord, the producer of some of the first albums once said that the rest of the band gave him a hard time with his lyrics, saying things like: "Jon, what's all this river / mountain stuff?" Eddie liked it, and so do I.
Bill Bruford once said about Jon's lyrics: "He means it! I have absolutely no idea where he is talking about, but he means it"
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BroSpence
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 05 2007 Status: Offline Points: 2614 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 17:13 |
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I think they tend to be a little corny, but I don't pay attention to lyrics a whole lot.
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Snow Dog
Special Collaborator 
Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 23 2005 Location: Caerdydd Status: Offline Points: 32995 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 18:07 |
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I love his lyrics. They don't always make "real" sense, but they are abstract and paint a picture in the mind.
Cosmic.
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chopper
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: July 13 2005 Location: Essex, UK Status: Offline Points: 20030 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 18:54 |
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Absolutely right. Jon has freely admitted that he often goes for the "sound" of words rather than the meaning. If I remember rightly he quoted "Your Move" as an example - "is time in time with your time" etc. |
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Chris H
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 08 2006 Location: Charlotte, NC Status: Offline Points: 8191 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 18:57 |
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I also remeber him sayign most of the "Close To The Edge" album lyrics were sounds rather than meanings.
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Beauty will save the world.
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Ghandi 2
Forum Senior Member
Joined: February 17 2006 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1494 |
Posted: March 12 2007 at 22:16 |
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If you need to take drugs, then they're bad lyrics.
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el böthy
Prog Reviewer
Joined: April 27 2005 Location: Argentina Status: Offline Points: 6336 |
Posted: March 14 2007 at 17:08 |
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I love Jons lyrics, and think Tales is one of the best lyrics-album in all prog
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"You want me to play what, Robert?"
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laplace
Prog Reviewer
Joined: October 06 2005 Location: popupControl(); Status: Offline Points: 7606 |
Posted: March 14 2007 at 17:10 |
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yes lyrics are irritatingly optimistic and cod-meaningful. i'd sooner read emo poetry blogs
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Snow Dog
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 23 2005 Location: Caerdydd Status: Offline Points: 32995 |
Posted: March 14 2007 at 18:06 |
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*cough*
Not really, lyrics can just take on different "levels",man . Doesn't mean they were bad in the first place. You dig?
*toke* Edited by Snow Dog - March 14 2007 at 18:06 |
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 30 2006 Location: Pearland Status: Offline Points: 65266 |
Posted: March 14 2007 at 18:10 |
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like wow, we reach |
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Snow Dog
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator Joined: March 23 2005 Location: Caerdydd Status: Offline Points: 32995 |
Posted: March 14 2007 at 18:12 |
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We touch, dude! Edited by Snow Dog - March 14 2007 at 18:12 |
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YES's lyrics
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Moogtron III wrote: