My interpretation is allowing an ego to grow.

Since you meantioned Lizards are harmless, "Rupurt" still harms the little lizard.

drg55 wrote: What is Sinfield getting at with this term? "Stake a lizard by the throat"

It is a reference to performing an act of sympathetic magic.  Literally nailing a lizard to a tree (or board or door or wall) with the nail driven through it's throat.  A tree is the most likely place in this case as we learn "across his rain tree shaded lawn, lizard bones become the clay".

Note that a swan (either a spell, or a literal bird) is going to be born from the bones (turned to clay) of this lizard. 

Anyway; "burn a bridge and burn a boat, stake a lizard by the throat" is a magic spell to keep someone from getting somewhere or doing something.  You can't cross the river after all, if the bridge is burned and there's no boat, eh?

Gonghobbit wrote: Wow Stormcrow!

Well what can I tell you?  I had a weird childhood.

I forgot to mention that the killing of the lizard in that way was the activation of the spell.  I.e. the painful taking of the life of the lizard is payment to the spirits/underword/evil gods/ etc. for the activation of the spell.

Certain animals: bats, cats, toads & frogs, lizards, chickens, salamanders & newts, goats & sheep had more "currency" towards spell activation than what some others did.

danbo wrote: So is this a form of Wicka?

You have to realize that all attempts at doing magic, going back to the Druids of what is now England (who Julius Caesar tried to stamp out 2000+ years ago), the Egypt of the Pharaohs and the Baal worshipers of Assyria and Sumer are all trying to do the same thing, for the same reasons.

Wicca, though it claims to be the representation of ancient rites and rituals from the dawn of civilization, not to mention the classic "witch" of Salem, MA; is only 80 - 90 years old as a "religion" and has to my knowledge added nothing to the occult practices other than a certain modern chic. 

The elements of sympathetic magic haven't changed for 6 - 7000 years at the minimum.  Anyone with access to the right (or wrong, as it were) books, including Pete Sinfield, could easily do enough research in an hour to write a song lyric with a proper representation of a magic spell.

Jim Garten wrote: Well, speaking as a lizard owner...... I own 3 of the little buggers, Dylan, the Australian Bearded Dragon, and the 2 leopard gekkos, Topaz & Tarkus - I wouldn't dream of staking any of them to a tree, wicca or not

GOOD! 

Understand that I am just explaining it.  I AM NOT condoning it!

fascinating topic! 

As much as sympathetic magic may play a part in forming sinfield's metaphor here, I tend to cut to the chase and ask, "What is the song actually about?"    Lizard is a song about some kind of medieval battle, written with a kind of ironical self-consciousness about such themes developing in prog-rock songs.  I think that "stake a lizard by the throat" is Prince Rupert's challenge to himself, like "go kill the dragon."  He's not actually going to kill a dragon, but going to war, but a dragon is just a symbol for a feared enemy.  St. George wasn't just a fairy tale for kids, but a popular image of fighting "evil," whatever that evil was construed to be (Usually Moors and Saracens).