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Best and Worst prog lyrics

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richardh View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 06:12
such a cynic when there are so many great options

what about?

''Curse my inadequate bladder''

or 

''Damn, nearly stood on an adder''


or even

'' yadda, yadda, yadda!''

(ok not enough syllables in that last one but why spoil a good 'joke' Wink)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Spacegod87 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 06:23
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

However, the lyrics of Yes, King Crimson and Genesis, although fanciful, do not go down the rabbit hole of fantasy in the form of Dungeons & Dragons etc.   Beats the hell out of me how that started!!

 I reckon a lot of prog SOUNDS nerdy to people who aren't into prog.

I remember my younger brother walking into the room while I was playing 'Karn Evil 9' and his exact words were: "What the hell is this nerd sh*t?"  lol.

And what do people associate nerds with? High fantasy, D&D, etc.
Levitating downwards,
atomic feedback scream.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 12:35
Originally posted by Spacegod87 Spacegod87 wrote:

Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

However, the lyrics of Yes, King Crimson and Genesis, although fanciful, do not go down the rabbit hole of fantasy in the form of Dungeons & Dragons etc.   Beats the hell out of me how that started!!

 I reckon a lot of prog SOUNDS nerdy to people who aren't into prog.

I remember my younger brother walking into the room while I was playing 'Karn Evil 9' and his exact words were: "What the hell is this nerd sh*t?"  lol.

And what do people associate nerds with? High fantasy, D&D, etc.

Good point, mate!  

I guess that, upon casual listening, early KC (ITCOTCK for example) went close to the fantasy realm....

The rusted chains of prison moons 
Are shattered by the sun, 
I walk a road, horizons change
The tournament's begun....

etc. etc. 

Plus the artwork, especially "Lizard" (drawing more from medieval England than Tolkien).  It still featured a few "worms" aka dragons etc.  


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Frets N Worries Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 12:36
I'm surprised no one has mentioned 'Time Table' it's pretty fantasy
The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 15:10
Originally posted by Frets N Worries Frets N Worries wrote:

I'm surprised no one has mentioned 'Time Table' it's pretty fantasy

Actually, I view it as more of a lens through history!  Gabriel is pining about the days of King Arthur & knights of the round table. 

"Time Table" does not seem to be the most popular Genesis song on this website, but I think it is sublime! 

A carved oak table, 
Tells a tale 
Of times when kings and queens sipped wine from goblets gold, 
And the brave would lead their ladies from out of the room to arbors cool. 
A time of valor, and legends born 
A time when honor meant much more to a man than life 
And the days knew only strife to tell right from wrong 
Through lance and sword. 
Why, why can we never be sure till we die 
Or have killed for an answer, 
Why, why do we suffer each race to believe 
That no race has been grander 
It seems because through time and space 
Though names may change each face retains the mask it wore. 
A dusty table 
Musty smells 
Tarnished silver lies discarded upon the floor 
Only feeble light descends through a film of grey 
That scars the panes. 
Gone the carving, 
And those who left their mark, 
Gone the kings and queens now only the rats hold sway 
And the weak must die according to nature's law 
As old as they. 
Why, why can we never be sure till we die 
Or have killed for an answer, 
Why, why do we suffer each race to believe 
That no race has been grander 
It seems because through time and space 
Though names may change each face retains the mask it wore.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Frets N Worries Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 15:17
Here's a REALLY hot take, I like it more than Watcher of the Skies. (as of now, but that'll probably change)

An underrated gem for sure!

On an unrelated note, Cstack joined prog archives the same day my brother was born! Day, Month, and Year!!


Edited by Frets N Worries - September 19 2023 at 15:18
The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 18:25
Originally posted by Frets N Worries Frets N Worries wrote:

Here's a REALLY hot take, I like it more than Watcher of the Skies. (as of now, but that'll probably change)

An underrated gem for sure!

On an unrelated note, Cstack joined prog archives the same day my brother was born! Day, Month, and Year!!

An auspicious event for sure!  Clap
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Frets N Worries Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 19:58
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

Originally posted by Frets N Worries Frets N Worries wrote:

Here's a REALLY hot take, I like it more than Watcher of the Skies. (as of now, but that'll probably change)

An underrated gem for sure!

On an unrelated note, Cstack joined prog archives the same day my brother was born! Day, Month, and Year!!

An auspicious event for sure!  Clap

Indeed!
The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Frets N Worries Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 20:08
Here, I'll do my own (Atmos)

Picking a worst one was hard, they're all not great...

(Taken from Part 8 of 'The Stardust Medley')

VIII. BACK

Please come back

Why did you go

Don’t fade into black

We hope you enjoyed the show

Of radiation seeping into his soul

There’s no way he could’ve survived

Please come back

Come Back

Come Back

Come Back…


That needs a re-write... well, making a debut is a learning experience.

Taken from "Hole in the Wall"

The end does not come quickly

As we are drifting here alone

The officer with open casket

The frozen child with no home


None of em are great, check the album's comments on YouTube for all the lyrics. everyone can pick out a least favorite then LOL



The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 19 2023 at 23:51
Hi,

The sad side for me, as a writer, is that there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" and every day I look at this thread, I get sadder yet some more.

Thousands of years of literature and stuff has a lot of different ways to saying things, but we think some is good and the rest is bad ... and in the end, that is an illusion ... since a bad actor and singer can make one lyric sound right and better than it might be.

Some folks think that Prufrock is nuts and an ideal in poetry ... others think Shakespeare is ... and in the end, that is not the point ... the expression that it brought out is ... and there is no better or worse, but I get really sad seeing this commercially minded thing consistently putting down material that has a right to be there ... regardless of what we think!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cstack3 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 20 2023 at 11:56
Originally posted by moshkito moshkito wrote:

Hi,

The sad side for me, as a writer, is that there is no such thing as "good" or "bad" and every day I look at this thread, I get sadder yet some more.

Thousands of years of literature and stuff has a lot of different ways to saying things, but we think some is good and the rest is bad ... and in the end, that is an illusion ... since a bad actor and singer can make one lyric sound right and better than it might be.

Some folks think that Prufrock is nuts and an ideal in poetry ... others think Shakespeare is ... and in the end, that is not the point ... the expression that it brought out is ... and there is no better or worse, but I get really sad seeing this commercially minded thing consistently putting down material that has a right to be there ... regardless of what we think!

Thanks for bringing up literature! 

I've always considered Jon Anderson of Yes to be an English poet in the mold of the famous "Romantic" movement (Shelley, Keats, Byron etc.).  Sure, some (much) of his stuff is a confusing hash, but when he is on, he is sublime!  

Not far behind Anderson is Peter Gabriel.  The sign of good lyrics is that they stand on their own as poetry, without the music.  

Prog is fortunate to have many excellent poets contributing.  Peter Sinfield, Richard Palmer James and others were visionaries.  I'd add Ian Anderson to the mix.  

Thoughts?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Frets N Worries Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 20 2023 at 11:59
^ Hamill? Waters?
The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 20 2023 at 18:23
Originally posted by Frets N Worries Frets N Worries wrote:

^ Hamill? Waters?

Hi,

I wonder if he knows of Roy Harper? ... heck, even Bob Dylan! Robin Williamson! Heck, Jim M even has books of poetry available.

One of our old favorites in the 60's started their material with a poem ... and we thought it was cool, too!


Edited by moshkito - September 20 2023 at 18:25
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Frets N Worries Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 20 2023 at 18:25
^ ALL those are great, I'm a huge Dylan fan myself, but these are prog lyricists only sadly.
The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages come and pass. What was, what will be, and what is, may yet fall under the shadow.

Let the Dragon ride again on the winds of time...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Heart of the Matter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 20 2023 at 21:22
Drink up dreamers, you're running dry            (love this)

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Lady kiss that frog                                        (hate this)



Edited by Heart of the Matter - September 20 2023 at 21:30
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 21 2023 at 02:54
I like a lot of Al Stewart's lyrics. He was on the fringe of prog perhaps but he researched a lot of historical stuff. I love Roads To Moscow  especially

They crossed over the border, the hour before dawn
Moving in lines through the day
Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground where they lay
Waiting for orders we held in the wood
Word from the front never came
By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away
Ah, softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees
Crossing their lines in the mists in the fields on our hands and on our knees
And all that I ever was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red, silhouetting the smoke on the breeze
All summer they drove us back through the Ukraine
Smolensk and Viasma soon fell
By autumn we stood with our backs to the town of Orel
Closer and closer to Moscow they come
Riding the wind like a bell
General Guderian stands at the crest of the hill
Winter brought with her the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads
Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground while the sky filled with snow
And all that I ever was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the snow on the breeze
In the footsteps of Napoleon the shadow figures stagger through the winter
Falling back before the gates of Moscow, standing in the wings like an avenger
And far away behind their lines the partisans are stirring in the forest
Coming unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise
You'll never know, you'll never know which way to turn, which way to look you'll never see us
As we're stealing through the blackness of the night
You'll never know, you'll never hear us
And the evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming
The morning roads leads to Stalingrad, and the sky is softly humming
Two broken Tigers on fire in the night
Flicker their souls to the wind
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin
It's been almost four years that I've carried a gun
At home it will almost be spring
The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin
Ah, quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can't slow us down
And all that I ever was able to see the eyes of the city are opening
Now it's the end of the dream
I'm coming home, I'm coming home, now you can taste it in the wind, the war is over
And I listen to the clicking of the train-wheels as we roll across the border
And now they ask me of the time that I was caught behind their lines and taken prisoner
"They only held me for a day, a lucky break, " I say they turn and listen closer
I'll never know, I'll never know why I was taken from the line and all the others
To board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia
And it's cold and damp in the transit camp, and the air is still and sullen
And the pale sun of October whispers the snow will soon be coming
And I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers "Never"
And the evening sighs, and the steely Russian skies go on forever
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote moshkito Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 21 2023 at 06:01
Originally posted by Heart of the Matter Heart of the Matter wrote:

Drink up dreamers, you're running dry            (love this)

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Lady kiss that frog                                        (hate this)
...

Hi,

I'm not sure that this person knows what the joke is about ... let me tell you in a comedic sort of way, since it would be inappropriate to say it here.

It's about the "peche a la frog" or the "frog a la peche" ... and if you don't know what it means ... sorry ... the joke is not new and wasn't then!
Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Heart of the Matter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 21 2023 at 07:04
^ Really? What do you smoke? Kiss that frog, and you will get your prince..., C'mon!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote richardh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 21 2023 at 07:10
Originally posted by Heart of the Matter Heart of the Matter wrote:

Drink up dreamers, you're running dry            (love this)

C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon
Lady kiss that frog                                        (hate this)


Stunning photo. Sinead is gorgeous beyond reproach and PG almost looks like a proud dad with his progeny. Thanks!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote axeman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 21 2023 at 13:43
Originally posted by cstack3 cstack3 wrote:

“Somebody get me a ladder” refers to hitting rock bottom and wanting help to climb out.
Ah. Somebody who gets it. 
-John
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