Best and Worst prog lyrics

The best and the worst lyrics all in one song....

Psychedelic Paul wrote: The best and the worst lyrics all in one song.... ELP - Still You Turn Me On Every day a little sadder A little madder Someone get me a ladder

The ELP ladder thing has some other deeper significance. I don't remember the details but if you google it it might pop up.

I often don't pay much attention to lyrics, but the good lyrics quoted for Rush do stand out. I like the lyrics from Between the Wheels:

You know how that rabbit feels
Going under your speeding wheels
Bright images flashing by
Like windshields towards a fly
Frozen in the fatal climb
But the wheels of time
Just pass you by
Wheels can take you around
Wheels can cut you down

And I have a hard time with the lyrics in Dog Years:

In the dog days
People look to Sirius
Dogs cry for the moon
But those connections are mysterious

It seems to me
While it's true that every dog will have his day
When all the bones are buried
There is barely time to go outside and play

Dog years, it's the season of the itch
Dog years, with every scratch it reappears
Dog years, for every sad son of a bitch
Dog years, with his tail between his ears

I prophesy disaster wrote: Logan wrote: cstack3 wrote: Why do so many prog-critics complain about lyrics regarding "Fairies," "Elves" etc.?? I'm hard-pressed to think of any prog music with those lyrics!  Because nothing screams Prog as much as Blind Guardian. Prog, and I think Prog fans, have often been very associated with the fantasy genre generally by people. So you have things like Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards, Hawkwind music, numerous references to Lord of The Rings (Camel with Nimrodel..., Rush with Rivendell...). I heard someone once ask something like, "As you like Prog, does that men you are also into Dungeons & Dragons?" I think it's broad fantasy stereotype associated with Prog, and with kinds of heavy rock and power metal.... And I think the cape and costumes add to that fantasy image.   Even Van der Graaf Generator had "Necromancer". Actually, I find the association of prog with fantasy somewhat off-putting, though I'm ok with science fiction in prog.

Hugh Manatee wrote: Personally I cringe when I hear: "How did he lose Six Million Jews."

IMO, any lyrics Dave Cousins (Strawbs) writes are a cut above most anything else out there.

There are so many awful Prog Rock lyrics that I don’t know where to start.

Being a tiger means your mate when overfed
will defecate in places least expected.
Jethro Tull-Tiger Tune

Not sure whether to say it’s best or worst. To each his own I guess. Nothing like some warped potty humor from Jethro Tull.

- not a terrible lyric, its more the ''even though your flesh has crystallized'' bit I don't like personally and in general its just very heavy handed. For me most of Lake's best lyrics are on Trilogy including the excellent From The Beginning especially showed that he could write a great lyric as well as the pseudo hymn The Endless Enigma. I also enjoy the romanticism of Trilogy a lot. However as good as they tracks were on the album, ELP though struggled to get these songs across live and so I think a more theatric approach beckoned. Context is important here.

cstack3 wrote: Psychedelic Paul wrote: The best and the worst lyrics all in one song.... ELP - Still You Turn Me On Every day a little sadder A little madder Someone get me a ladder  “Somebody get me a ladder” refers to hitting rock bottom and wanting help to climb out.

Edited by Hugh Manatee - September 18 2023 at 22:58