The most clever thing you've heard in prog lyrics

Two other examples i  must refer to

      The ending of the song "Good Lord Knows" by Quatermass

                "Go and fight your war, rich fight till your poor
                     Good Lord knows they won't be coming home,
                        Still they ask for more"

          and also my favorite one liner is from the song "Playin' This Song Together" by the late Helmut Koellen, which is referred to as my signature quote below

Beardfish's Destined Solitaire has lots of clever lines in their songs, perhaps also one of the highest cleverness/lyrics rate in modern prog.

Here goes one from the song Until You Comply, with one of the best cynical lyrics I've ever heard:

could I be blind
To the fact that we are all one
All a part of this big vibrant whole
citizens of the ant farm
My thoughts are me
But they spin out of control

And I feel estranged
Are we all wannabes?
oh so hot and cool, ah feared
and at the same time loved
making blatant attempts to fit in
There is nothing living left
Life is a long queue to the urinal

Ba Ba black sheep is about as profound as it gets

when i speak to you it's in the language of the 20th century people
the ones who are the stars of stage and screen
everything i say has been taught to me by my favourite tv programme
the one that i watch each and every week

turn on tune in drop out

if i concentrate i can break through the wash but only for a moment
my lucid thoughts are lost and out of reach
i would rather fall back into my familiar comfortable persona
the one that my tv was bought to teach

turn on tune in drop out

 

Gerinski wrote: Gabriel's Get 'Em Out by Friday is fun, but with the exponential growth of population we are experiencing, I hope not prophetic...   EXTRACT FROM CONVERSATION OF JOE ORDINARY IN LOCAL PUBORAMA: "I hear the directors of Genetic Control have been buying all the properties that have recently been sold, taking risks oh so bold. It's said now that people will be shorter in height, they can fit twice as many in the same building site."

I love that as well. It leaves such a bizarre image in your mind.

Some nice ones here :)
I think most of the ITCOTCK album counts as pretty clever, epitaph has been mentioned, but I also like quite a few other passages, like

Nothing he's got, he really needs

Simple as it is, but belted out with such rage, and quite a good description of the 21st century man - or probably any man in most times

Also the DSOTM, for me it's Us&Them especially:

Forward he cried, from the rear, and the front rank died And the general sat, and the lines on the map Moved from side to side

Is such an insightful yet poetic description of what happens at war

I also like Kevin Gilbert's lyrics quite a lot, like in the Suit Fugue (about a musicians correspondences with A&R men)

Back when I was in a band We used to sound like this And I loved your songs They reminded me Of myself

that last line :)
or:

Hi, Joe about publicity Thought about the photo op with the cripple No, we need a sharper hook - like a scandal Maybe you could rape a nun Or better still a priest Some androgyny could be interesting.

By the way, if anybody doesn't know that song, I have no idea how popular Kevin Gilbert is, click here
Or the whole lyrics of When You Give Your Love To Me, most clever and fun love song I know.

Other than that, there's quite a lot lyrics that I find very poetic and that I like to read, like real poetry does. Admittedly it's not as good most times, but sometimes how it fits with the music makes it sound so much better. Doesn't really count as "clever", though.

Peter Gabriel could have been a rapper 

Ambient Hurricanes wrote: "And you begin to wonder if the points of all the ancient myths are solemnly directed STRAIGHT!    AT!    YOU!"

"If you think that it's pretentious, you've been taken for a ride."-It-The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway-Genesis

"cuz its only knock and knowall....but I like it."