Best Prog Rock Lyricist

Sorry that I forgot Jon Anderson. I like his lyrics but they are really REALLY hard to follow at times.

Nice one ... although I'm pretty sure Fripp used outside lyricists for KC certainly I Sinfiield and Palmer-James (I think that's his name) were doing lyrics during the group's first run from 68-76 ...

Had to vote for Waters, even though I really admire Gabriel's imagery ... Waters is the one who consistently connects emotionally

I've always thought Anderson's lyrics were the weakest point of classic-era Yes ...

Spine-tingling railway sleepers
Sleepy houses lying four-square and firm.
Orange beams divide the darkness
Rumbling fit to turn the waking worm.
Sliding through Victorian tunnels
where green moss oozes from the pores.
Dull echoes from the wet embankments
Battlefield allotments. Fresh open sores.

In late night commuter madness
Double-locked black briefcase on the floor,
like a faithful dog with master
sleeping in the draught beside the carriage door.
To each Journeyman his own home-coming
Cold supper nearing with each station stop.
Frosty flakes on empty platforms
Fireside slippers waiting. Flip. Flop.

Journeyman night-tripping on the late fantasic
Too late to stop for tea at Gerard's Cross
and hear the soft shoes on the footbridge shuffle
as the wheels turn biting on the midnight frost.
On the late commuter special
Carriage lights that flicker, fade and die
Howling into hollow blackness
Dusky diesel shudders in full cry.
Down redundant morning papers
Abandon crosswords with a cough
Stationmaster in his wisdom
told the guard to turn the heating off.

WHY IS IAN ANDERSON NOT ON THIS POLL?!

er why aint Peter Hammill or Jon Anderson not on the list Jon Anderson is the best prog lyricist! oh Reedy Fish rocks!!!!

Trouserpress wrote: WHY IS IAN ANDERSON NOT ON THIS POLL?!

Not to jump on the "never satisfied" wagon, but neither are Peter Hammil nor Adrian Belew.

Waters is the best on the list.

the great jon anderson, before he started embracing the mother nature lovey dovey stuff he wrote some of the best lyrics ever, and even today he can still write good lyrics, jon is a lyrical genius...so is that crazy scot Fish!!!

Peter Hammill is also a serious contender, IMO.

 

 

 

What No David Lee Roth? 

 "I like the Simple Life It's so Simple"

 

Ooops wrong forum.

 

Cygnus, you may have forgotten the great Jon Anderson, but you have also forgotten the great Peter Hammill, which totally devalues your poll as both, especially Hammill of today and Anderson of Yesterday are contenders in this field. But my favourite now is most definitely the 'Fish Man' his talent has been terribly ignored over the last decade. So much so that he has decided to call it quits - unconfirmed as yet - but what a loss to the music scene. He cannot be allowed to simply vanish. Theres a new thread in this somewhere.

Cinema wrote: What, no Jon Anderson? He's one of the best there's ever been.

"So soon the evening comes
And with it runs the aching fear of hate
Could someone still remain
Who thinks he still could gain by escaping fate?
It’s much too late
Don’t underrate
Appreciate"

What next? "Kiss me kate", "Constipate" or "Procreate"?

I seriously love Yes and some of the lyrics are cool ... like Close To The Edge and the Your Move part of I've Seen All Good People ... but they often sail over my head too ... or maybe JA just did the cosmic thing so often that it eventually became too much (in the same way Ronnie James Dio overdid his references to chains/wheels/stars/rainbows )