They where not underrated why would you underage a band that you chose to see especially double shaxphone through wha wha you’d have to be as mad as a light house keeper’s parrot wearing sun glasses
Pure poetry...And the music rises from the poem. And at last , the music gains its own identity. VDG is one of the most powerful and unique musical projects of the century.
Yes, because they made it through the piece, and it was no.l in Italy, more importantly they'd made a masterpiece. That's success all round in my book, oh, and they never sold out or otherwise compromised. Quality!
I saw Van der Graaf many times in the mid 70s but they never played Lighthouse. I always assumed this was because it was too complex to play live so it's wonderful to see this video. I actually roadied for them (sort of). I was sitting in the Poly bar at Newcastle when they came in looking for volunteers to bring their gear up from the truck. That would have been late 74 or early 75....
I'm lucky enough to have seen them do it, albeit as a three-piece, on the Grounding in Numbers tour. The opening was genuinely the most spine-tingling thing in my long and extensive gig-going life.
I like the fact that Peter Is clearly already baked a bit (they were notoriously oriented in that fashion) but when he sings and bangs the keys you dont even notice. Great guys, must have been histerical to hang out with at those times.
Legend has it that they were completely caught off guard when the TV station requested this song be played, and they had to completely relearn it. As we can see they were able to do so.
It was the only time they played the complete piece, requested out of the blue by the programme makers. Most Bands would've refused, as it was risky, but V.D.G.G. are rather exceptional, as we know!
magic. pure magic. simple fact: there are parts in this performance that surpasses everyting that any band on earth delivered in brutality and devastating, controlled, beautifiul and simply unbearable power. that done without a guitar and/or bass player is simply beyond reason
Hard to believe that someone in 1972 actually knew how to properly video record a band playing music of this dramatic complexity, without (actually, some, but not too many) silly camera "accents". The cameras actually hit the right instruments at the right time, which leads me to believe that the producer actually knew the music. An incredible proposition.
yeah, makes a real difference, doesn't it! The bane of my life as a kid was watching Top of the Pops and the BBC camera man would always do something dumb like a close-up on the drummer when I wanted to watch the synth solo.
This is what music is about - This is the base line of everything we are looking for in music - we are not alone, our solitude is shared ... we are one!
Much better live than recorded. I finally saw them in Milan two days ago. Nothing to share with the young bands. The magical Peter is 73 years old, Banton too, while Evans is 74. A concert like only VDGG can do, and fifty and more years lafer. Unbelievable! Forever young, forever love 🎶🎹💙💜
I saw 3 quarters of them live in Birmingham 2 days ago and of course they didn`t play it , but I will never forget the experience of seeing one of the greatest groups ever -better late than never. An absolute masterpiece of an album ,hairs on the back of the neck.
Van Der Graaf Generator - A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers (1972) Live for Belgian TV, March 21st 1972 Drums, Percussion - Guy Evans Keyboards, Backing Vocals - Hugh Banton Saxophone, Flute, Backing Vocals - David Jackson Voice, Piano, Electric Piano, Acoustic Guitar - Peter Hammill
Jackson and Banton aren't singing any backing vocals, ya fule - they don't even have vocal mics! Peter is singing and playing a Hohner Pianet N - no piano, no acoustic guitar. Guy is playing a drum kit. :)
"If you were after a girlfriend, by the time you’ve got ten minutes into A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers she’s usually jumped out the window." Bruce Dickinson on his prog heroes VanderGraafGenerator
I'm a guitar player and total guitar geek or dork or whatever. For me to dig a band that so little of their output contains any guitar shows how badass these guys are. I know they had Robert Fripp on a couple of their things but I bet some Steve Hackett or Howe would sound amazing.
from Wikipedia entry on this piece: Robert Fripp provided a cameo appearance on electric guitar, which can be heard from 8:10-10:20 into the song and near the end of the song. // not shown in this video as David Jackson plays the guitar solo notes on his sax.
Such an adventurous time for music it was. While bands like King Crimson and Yes were filling arenas, music of such audacity as this was also being made. I'm not sure anyone ever combined piano and organ to such dramatic effect since Benjamin Britten. The periods of glorious chaos in this piece have me laughing hysterically, only to stand in awe at its glorious conclusion.
@@dihh7230 Not at all! Yes and King Crimson were the moon and the stars of my youth. But they managed to succeed in the all too fickle world of the music business. Too often, the truly great are overlooked and forgotten.
I sense this TV broadcast was in proximity to Genesis playing at the same venue. Perhaps the Belgium TV station contracted the two Charisma label bands for showcasing their unique talents. VDGG was so original as was Pete Hammill's vocal. When I think of the prog years, Pete had the most unique vocal style of them all.
Sadly very few people listen to prog rock anymore. At 41 I feel like I’m alone talking about this. Luckily my husband is likeminded, and our son is growing up listening to our collection.
it's fascinating to know, they were highly influenced by an alternate state of reality when composing this masterpiece, infact the whole of "pawn hearts". a true "one off" classic.
@@Katehowe3010 If I'm not mistaken I'd say that this emanated from a conversation with Neil in The Great Frog in London in the mid 1970s, in fact, if I found the right diary I would have written this down.
@@Katehowe3010 è palese sia così continua a guardare altro dei vdgg se non ne sei sicuro qui c'è una quadratura del cerchio impressionante. non lasciarti ingannare dal fatto che non abbiano fatto brani più in linea con i tempi. ovviamente nessuno vuole né può parlare negativamente di neal peart sarebbe un ignorante o un idiota comunque io amo il jazz rock ma non penso sia la sede di parlare di peter erskine con gli steps ahead né di phil collins con i brand x o di chuck burgi....
What a Group. Easily should have been bigger. They were on Charisma records in the early 70’s with Early Genesis and Barclay James Harvest..., What a trio just for Fog on The Tyne and The Musical Box. VDGG are on another planet and so damn good. It so touches me. Awesome band and Peter Hammil is incredible as are the whole group( Jackson, Banton & Evans ).
quelle epoque fantastique je suis ne trop tard (1965 ) cette musique me le rappele cruellement j adore ce "rock progressif" j ai ete fan de uk king crimson mais ce groupe inconnu avait l air d etre vraiment en avance.....
Un gruppo che si discosta da tutti i loro contemporanei il non perseguire il commerciale dona una libertà di ricerca unica e impareggiabile volutamente rumorosi caotici connessi nella trama
*A PLAGUE OF LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS* I. Eyewitness Still waiting for my saviour, storms tear me limb from limb my fingers feel like seaweed...I'm so far out, I'm too far in I am a lonely man...my solitude is true my eyes have borne stark witness and now my knights are numbered too. I've seen the smiles on dead hands, the stars shine, but they're not for me. I prophesy disaster and then I count the cost.... I shine but, shining, dying, I know that I am almost lost. On the table lies blank paper and my tower is built on stone I only have blunt scissors, I only have the bluntest onde I've been the witness, and the seal of death lingers in the molten wax that is my head. When you see the skeletons of sailing-ship spars sinking low You'll begin to wonder if the points of all the ancient myths are solemnly directed straight at you. II. Pictures/Lighthouse (Eddies/rocks/ships/collision/remorse.) III. Eyewitness No time now for contrition, the time for that's long past. The walls are thin as tissue and if I talk I'll crack the glass. So I only think on how it might have been, locked in silent monologue, in silent scream Anyway, I'm much too tired to speak and, as the waves crash on the bleak stones of the tower, I start to freak.... ...and find that I am overcome... IV. S.H.M. 'Unreal, unreal!' ghost helmsmen scream and fall in through the sky, not breaking through my seagull shrieks... no breaks until I die the spectres scratch on window-slits hollowed faces, mindless grins only intent on destroying what they've lost. I craw the wall till steepness ends in the vertical fall; my pail has sailed into the sea, no joking hopes at dawn. White bone shine in the iron-jaw mask lost mastheads pierce the freezing dark and parallel my isolated tower no paraffin for the flame no harbour left to gain. V. The Presence of the Night 'Alone, alone, ' the ghosts all call, pinpoint me in the light. The only life I feel at all is the presence of the night. Would you cry if I died? Would you cry if I died? Would you catch the final words of mine? Would you catch my words? I know that there's no time I know that there's no rhyme... (false signs find me) I don't want to hate, I just want to grow; why can't I let me live and be free? but I die very slowly alone. I know no more ways, I am so afraid, myself won't let me just be myself and so I am completely alone. VI. Kosmos Tours The maelstrom of my memory is a vampire and it feeds on me now, staggering madly, over the brink I fall. VII. (Custard's) Last Stand Lighthouses might house the key but can I reach the door? I want to walk on the sea so that I may better find ashore... but how can I ever keep my feet dry? I scan the horizon I must keep my eyes on all parts of me. Looking back on the years it seems that I have lost the way Like a dog in the night, I have run to a manger now I am the stranger I stay in. All of the grief I have seen leaves me chasing solitary peace but I hold experience in my head I'm too close to the light I don't think I see right, for I blind me. VIII. The Clot Thickens WHERE is the God that guides my hand? HOW can the hands of others reach me? WHEN will I find what I grope for? WHO is going to teach me? I am me/me are we/we can't see any way out of here. Crashing sea/atrophied history: Chance has lost my Guinevere. I don't want to be one wave in the water But sea will drag me deep One more haggard DROWNED MAN... I can see the Lemmings coming, but I know I'm just a man; Do I join or do I founder? Which can is the best I may? IX. Land's End (Sineline) Oceans drifting sideways, I am pulled into the spell I feel you around me, I know you well Stars slice horizons where the lines stand much too stark I feel I am drowning, hands stretch in the dark. Camps of panoply and majesty, what is Freedom of Choice? Where do I stand in the pageantry...whose is my voice? It doesn't feel so very bad now, I think the end is the start. Begin to feel very glad now: ALL THINGS ARE A PART ALL THINGS ARE APART ALL THINGS ARE A PART X. We Go Now Oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh...
What a criminally underrated band
Amen to that
They were beyond incredible
\m/ ....Yup
They where not underrated why would you underage a band that you chose to see especially double shaxphone through wha wha you’d have to be as mad as a light house keeper’s parrot wearing sun glasses
Найпотужніша група всіх часів і народів!
Pure poetry...And the music rises from the poem. And at last , the music gains its own identity. VDG is one of the most powerful and unique musical projects of the century.
This is not progressive rock.
It heart , soul and head of Peter getting together with the
fellow musicians of Van der Graff Generator.!!
Literally one of the best performances I've ever seen in my 40 years of life. Pawn Hearts is life changing and Peter Hammill is one of the greats.
It's a masterpiece of contemporary music. No word more to say.
man, when he raises that wine glass at 22 mins.......that's what success looks like
Yes, because they made it through the piece, and it was no.l in Italy, more importantly they'd made a masterpiece. That's success all round in my book, oh, and they never sold out or otherwise compromised. Quality!
They did it there way and we are all better for it. TU VDGG!
Stunning performance
Nice to see you here. Btw i recommend listening to vdgg’s album previous to H to He called the least we can do is wave at each other.
@@123agidee_2 any album is recomended if it is ok listen vdgg
I saw Van der Graaf many times in the mid 70s but they never played Lighthouse. I always assumed this was because it was too complex to play live so it's wonderful to see this video. I actually roadied for them (sort of). I was sitting in the Poly bar at Newcastle when they came in looking for volunteers to bring their gear up from the truck. That would have been late 74 or early 75....
I'm lucky enough to have seen them do it, albeit as a three-piece, on the Grounding in Numbers tour. The opening was genuinely the most spine-tingling thing in my long and extensive gig-going life.
Pure Magic! Van der Graaf Generator was the first band I ever saw live, back in 1975. Loved them then and love them now.
the coolest thing ever is at 22:00 when Peter takes a sip of wine, toasts to the camera and walks away to let the band play on.
He didn’t spill a drop either when he got up sharply and was walking around. 🍷 🎼😂
I like the fact that Peter Is clearly already baked a bit (they were notoriously oriented in that fashion) but when he sings and bangs the keys you dont even notice. Great guys, must have been histerical to hang out with at those times.
This still brings up the goosebumps every single time I hear it. Timeless.
timeless yes, goosebumps yes, and makes tears flow down my skinny face every time. Hamill is just a force of nature
I've loved this band for over 50 years now.... Totally underrated. Amazing fantastic.
Absolutely amazing. This suite still makes an electrifying impression after so many years.
And the voice is pretty much still there !.
I know everything is amazing about this performance, but his singing is something magnificent.
Brilliant band. One of the best ever.
the final scene with the glass of wine haha such a genius
A very ambitious piece to perform live!
they were are van del graaf generator
Absolutely love this. I'm amazed that they were able to play it live. bearing in mind all the cross-fades on the studio version.
They split the execution in two parts.That still doesn't take anything away from this stunning performance!
Legend has it that they were completely caught off guard when the TV station requested this song be played, and they had to completely relearn it. As we can see they were able to do so.
It was the only time they played the complete piece, requested out of the blue by the programme makers. Most Bands would've refused, as it was risky, but V.D.G.G. are rather exceptional, as we know!
@@nmk8475 True. The actual lyric insert from Pawn Hearts is on PH's keyboard to remind him of the lyrics.
@@lemming9984 Well it's pretty long
As a Prog fanatic, this is one of the greatest things I've ever seen in my entire life!
What is the next down the line?
@@barakcohen3612 there is nothing else. this is it
Peter Hammil, Hugh Banton, Jackson with his two saxos, are all pals from my youth and they will be forever
2 pirates a lynyrd skynyrd reject and a 19th century insane man make one of the greatest songs of all time
I like "a lynyrd skynyrd reject".
I just laughed like a mad man
Hilariously accurate
The more I listen to this band the more I love there music 🟤
Love it at the 3.30 mark candles to sparklers! But seriously with all the ideas that went into the writing this, it is a compressed opera.
magic. pure magic. simple fact: there are parts in this performance that surpasses everyting that any band on earth delivered in brutality and devastating, controlled, beautifiul and simply unbearable power. that done without a guitar and/or bass player is simply beyond reason
You're right, but Banton plays bass and keyboards etc Auth its magical organ... And they are unique, Peter a genius 💙🎶🎹
Unique and True Genius’
Agree
@@SilviaAMaestri strange that they don't show him in the video
@@andreassorg7294@ 2:49
Hard to believe that someone in 1972 actually knew how to properly video record a band playing music of this dramatic complexity, without (actually, some, but not too many) silly camera "accents". The cameras actually hit the right instruments at the right time, which leads me to believe that the producer actually knew the music. An incredible proposition.
yeah, makes a real difference, doesn't it! The bane of my life as a kid was watching Top of the Pops and the BBC camera man would always do something dumb like a close-up on the drummer when I wanted to watch the synth solo.
Love the bit at rhe end where peter has played his part,takes a sip of wine and strolls around lost un the aura that vdgg produce
Pure class. Music so beautifully composed and played. I never tire of this album.
One of the most inspiring bands ever! Or one of the top bands ever!
Totally agree!
Amazing Group
One of the greatest songs ever by one of the greatest bands ever.
Best thing ever. I've been watching the dvd version religiously.
Peter has some amazing poetry published.........bought some in London ages back........
All the different groups that came out from late 60 and up to mid 70 was a wide music heaven...so many...
This is what music is about - This is the base line of everything we are looking for in music - we are not alone, our solitude is shared ... we are one!
Much better live than recorded. I finally saw them in Milan two days ago. Nothing to share with the young bands. The magical Peter is 73 years old, Banton too, while Evans is 74. A concert like only VDGG can do, and fifty and more years lafer. Unbelievable! Forever young, forever love 🎶🎹💙💜
Mindblowing, this track really got me into their music along with Theme One. I can't stop playing this track as it is musical perfection.
I check in on this every so often - Always delivers.
I saw 3 quarters of them live in Birmingham 2 days ago and of course they didn`t play it , but I will never forget the experience of seeing one of the greatest groups ever -better late than never. An absolute masterpiece of an album ,hairs on the back of the neck.
Grandissimi... Pawn Hearts è un disco da isola deserta!
Beyond phenomenal and incredibly musical!
Van Der Graaf Generator - A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers (1972) Live for Belgian TV, March 21st 1972 Drums, Percussion - Guy Evans
Keyboards, Backing Vocals - Hugh Banton
Saxophone, Flute, Backing Vocals - David Jackson
Voice, Piano, Electric Piano, Acoustic Guitar - Peter Hammill
Jackson and Banton aren't singing any backing vocals, ya fule - they don't even have vocal mics! Peter is singing and playing a Hohner Pianet N - no piano, no acoustic guitar. Guy is playing a drum kit. :)
So is no one going to point out that glass of red at the end 22 minutes in? A whole mood right there.
How can something so amazing have so little views?
One word: normies.
Because we're in the Kali Yuga...everything turned on its head! Values, ethics...and the masses are lost like the Lemmingz, slaves to the Algorithms.
A video thats now removed had lots of views
Because normies are stupid and are incapable of appreciating great works of art like this
"If you were after a girlfriend, by the time you’ve got ten minutes into A Plague Of Lighthouse Keepers she’s usually jumped out the window."
Bruce Dickinson on his prog heroes VanderGraafGenerator
Well, they kept me wanting more. Stunning.
Super GREAT Legends !!! ART thank You!! Share
The Hohner Pianet. Not just an excellent electric piano, but aesthetically pleasing as well.
Wow, amazing footage! VDGG one of the best prog-group ever!
Obra cumbre de esta maravillosa banda.
concuerdo con usted
Uno se da un buen viajaso con esta rola
@@666migueledward En verdad que sí
I was searching the url of deleted videos from my playlist just to find this masterpiece again, ty god i found it
perhaps the best live performance ever recorded
Wow! What an unexpected treat
Guy Evans is such an underrated drummer. He is perfect here.
È veramente pazzesco! Conosci la sua performance in "Gog", da "In Camera" di P.H.? ❤
I'm a guitar player and total guitar geek or dork or whatever. For me to dig a band that so little of their output contains any guitar shows how badass these guys are. I know they had Robert Fripp on a couple of their things but I bet some Steve Hackett or Howe would sound amazing.
long electric guitar solo in "Meyrglus iii The Songwriter's guild" from World Record album. so-called "reggae section"
from Wikipedia entry on this piece: Robert Fripp provided a cameo appearance on electric guitar, which can be heard from 8:10-10:20 into the song and near the end of the song. // not shown in this video as David Jackson plays the guitar solo notes on his sax.
so very good, and might I add, such a tasteful production!
Such an adventurous time for music it was. While bands like King Crimson and Yes were filling arenas, music of such audacity as this was also being made. I'm not sure anyone ever combined piano and organ to such dramatic effect since Benjamin Britten. The periods of glorious chaos in this piece have me laughing hysterically, only to stand in awe at its glorious conclusion.
You make it sound like Yes and King Crimson(!) weren't audacious, ha!
@@dihh7230 Not at all! Yes and King Crimson were the moon and the stars of my youth. But they managed to succeed in the all too fickle world of the music business. Too often, the truly great are overlooked and forgotten.
King Crimson never filled arenas in the 70s.
I sense this TV broadcast was in proximity to Genesis playing at the same venue. Perhaps the Belgium TV station contracted the two Charisma label bands for showcasing their unique talents. VDGG was so original as was Pete Hammill's vocal. When I think of the prog years, Pete had the most unique vocal style of them all.
Mon chanteur et mon groupe préférés !
Uno dei più grandi momenti della musica d'autore da sempre. Incredibile vederlo dal vivo dopo quasi cinquant'anni con delle immagini così vive
c'è il dvd con questo e godbluff e w 65 minuti da sturbo
A masterpiece like this with only 910 views?
I know right? And only one comment. One of the best songs ever written.
Wonderful
In my top 10 all time songs...and such beautiful sympathetic drumming
Sadly very few people listen to prog rock anymore. At 41 I feel like I’m alone talking about this. Luckily my husband is likeminded, and our son is growing up listening to our collection.
@@georgianagligor2350 at least we are three
Holy shit did they ever kick ass
Gloriously dark!
The best video on youtube imo
a good DVD! I saw them in Naples 1972....
Impresionante!!!que obra maravillosa, gracias!!!
it's fascinating to know, they were highly influenced by an alternate state of reality when composing this masterpiece, infact the whole of "pawn hearts". a true "one off" classic.
it does not get better than this. Live with motion pictures more accesible. Once you are into vdGG you are addicted.
Agreed - just started listening to VDGG - only 50 years too late- but buying all I can. Amazing!
superb musicianship and sonic sensitivity !!!
still love your sounds!!
Guy Evans is the drummer's drummer. Neil Peart knew this. Peerless stuff. I once saw him on a train to Exeter. Speechless.
Neil Peart knew this? According to which source?
@@Katehowe3010 If I'm not mistaken I'd say that this emanated from a conversation with Neil in The Great Frog in London in the mid 1970s, in fact, if I found the right diary I would have written this down.
@@callycallomon867 Fair play. My favourite is Pierre Moerlin!
@@Katehowe3010 moerlin ? ekkekatz....
@@Katehowe3010 è palese sia così continua a guardare altro dei vdgg se non ne sei sicuro qui c'è una quadratura del cerchio impressionante. non lasciarti ingannare dal fatto che non abbiano fatto brani più in linea con i tempi. ovviamente nessuno vuole né può parlare negativamente di neal peart sarebbe un ignorante o un idiota comunque io amo il jazz rock ma non penso sia la sede di parlare di peter erskine con gli steps ahead né di phil collins con i brand x o di chuck burgi....
Quel souvenir ! L'émission Pop Shop de la RTB, Van Der Graaf Generator m'avait boulversé
Magnifique!
Wow! Thank you so much for uploading this! Really takes me back...
Awesome!!! Class and genius...Great VDGG!!!
What a Group. Easily should have been bigger. They were on Charisma records in the early 70’s with Early Genesis and Barclay James Harvest..., What a trio just for Fog on The Tyne and The Musical Box. VDGG are on another planet and so damn good. It so touches me. Awesome band and Peter Hammil is incredible as are the whole group( Jackson, Banton & Evans ).
I think you mean Lindisfarne, not BJH?
And Barclay James were on Harvest 😊
13:49 the chaos of the music manifests symbolically in the real world
There is prog rock..............and then there's VAN DER GRAAF
Yeh.............even a young john lydon liked VDGGG.,........proves their genius........loved by so many & so varied fans............
magnificent
the intro with all the candles is just perfect.
Unbelievable, just unbelievable..
OMG! 50 years ago in 2022.
Progressive rock has a fairly broad definition. If you have to pin it down to one moment and one song only then this one pretty much defines the genre
Magic! epic !
Saw them live, probably 1972, in Watford, and they were great.
Amazing band...........
Amazing
the lack of views disturbs me
Grande el sr.Peter
A Plague is their magnum opus. The same as "Supper's Ready" for Genesis or "Close To The Edge" for Yes
Quite simply BRILLIANT
I've always thought they had an element of punk in their music.
I’m so far out, I’m too far in
quelle epoque fantastique je suis ne trop tard (1965 ) cette musique me le rappele cruellement j adore ce "rock progressif" j ai ete fan de uk king crimson mais ce groupe inconnu avait l air d etre vraiment en avance.....
Thanks for this; really amazing
wonderful saxophone
Un gruppo che si discosta da tutti i loro contemporanei il non perseguire il commerciale dona una libertà di ricerca unica e impareggiabile volutamente rumorosi caotici connessi nella trama
The most important discovery I've EVER found. I was forever 'changed'.
So sick. I'm floored right now.
*A PLAGUE OF LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS*
I. Eyewitness
Still waiting for my saviour, storms tear me limb from limb
my fingers feel like seaweed...I'm so far out, I'm too far in
I am a lonely man...my solitude is true
my eyes have borne stark witness
and now my knights are numbered too.
I've seen the smiles on dead hands,
the stars shine, but they're not for me.
I prophesy disaster and then I count the cost....
I shine but, shining, dying, I know that I am almost lost.
On the table lies blank paper and my tower is built on stone
I only have blunt scissors, I only have the bluntest onde
I've been the witness, and the seal of death lingers in the molten wax that is my head.
When you see the skeletons of sailing-ship spars sinking low
You'll begin to wonder if the points of all the ancient myths
are solemnly directed straight at
you.
II. Pictures/Lighthouse
(Eddies/rocks/ships/collision/remorse.)
III. Eyewitness
No time now for contrition, the time for that's long past.
The walls are thin as tissue and if I talk I'll crack the glass.
So I only think on how it might have been, locked in silent monologue, in silent scream
Anyway, I'm much too tired to speak
and, as the waves crash on the bleak
stones of the tower, I start to freak....
...and find that I am overcome...
IV. S.H.M.
'Unreal, unreal!' ghost helmsmen scream and fall in through the sky,
not breaking through my seagull shrieks... no breaks until I die
the spectres scratch on window-slits hollowed faces, mindless grins
only intent on destroying what they've lost.
I craw the wall till steepness ends in the vertical fall;
my pail has sailed into the sea, no joking hopes at dawn.
White bone shine in the iron-jaw mask
lost mastheads pierce the freezing dark
and parallel my isolated tower
no paraffin for the flame
no harbour left to gain.
V. The Presence of the Night
'Alone, alone, ' the ghosts all call,
pinpoint me in the light.
The only life I feel at all is the presence of the night.
Would you cry if I died?
Would you cry if I died?
Would you catch the final words of mine?
Would you catch my words?
I know that there's no time
I know that there's no rhyme...
(false signs find me)
I don't want to hate, I just want to grow;
why can't I let me live and be free?
but I die very slowly alone.
I know no more ways, I am so afraid,
myself won't let me just be myself and so I am completely alone.
VI. Kosmos Tours
The maelstrom of my memory
is a vampire and it feeds on me
now, staggering madly, over the brink I
fall.
VII. (Custard's) Last Stand
Lighthouses might house the key
but can I reach the door?
I want to walk on the sea
so that I may better find ashore...
but how can I ever keep my feet dry?
I scan the horizon
I must keep my eyes on all parts of me.
Looking back on the years
it seems that I have lost the way
Like a dog in the night, I have run to a manger
now I am the stranger I stay in.
All of the grief I have seen
leaves me chasing solitary peace
but I hold experience in my head
I'm too close to the light
I don't think I see right, for I blind me.
VIII. The Clot Thickens
WHERE is the God that guides my hand?
HOW can the hands of others reach me?
WHEN will I find what I grope for?
WHO is going to teach me?
I am me/me are we/we can't see
any way out of here.
Crashing sea/atrophied history:
Chance has lost my Guinevere.
I don't want to be one wave in the water
But sea will drag me deep
One more haggard DROWNED MAN...
I can see the Lemmings coming, but I know I'm just a man;
Do I join or do I founder? Which can is the best I may?
IX. Land's End (Sineline)
Oceans drifting sideways, I am pulled into the spell
I feel you around me, I know you well
Stars slice horizons where the lines stand much too stark
I feel I am drowning, hands stretch in the dark.
Camps of panoply and majesty, what is Freedom of Choice?
Where do I stand in the pageantry...whose is my voice?
It doesn't feel so very bad now, I think the end is the start.
Begin to feel very glad now:
ALL THINGS ARE A PART
ALL THINGS ARE APART
ALL THINGS ARE A PART
X. We Go Now
Oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh...
Best band ever!! Peter Hammil is very close to genius
Brilliance at its best.
Manic prog rock at its best.