This song is about a very lonely lighthouse keeper who is of high class. He has gone completely mad from his solitude and mental anguish that he has suffered from. His wife died and he blames himself for it and can't forgive himself. He sees hallucinations and ghosts that want to kill him. He supposedly also accidentally killed a couple of sailors by not showing them the way via the lighthouse's shining light. He feels regret towards everything he has done during his miserable life and wants to end it all. At the very end he finds potential friends (the lemmings that represent humanity), but doesn't feel like he belongs anymore. Since he is so batshit crazy and depressed, he kills himself in the end and believes that he is now with his long dead wife. What a masterpiece this song is. A very dark, depressing masterpiece...
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 nights 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 home 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 ancients myths Are solemnly directed straight at you 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 I am 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 "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 and the mindless grins Only intent on destroying what they've lost I crawl the wall 'til steepness ends In the vertical fall My pain 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 "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 The maelstrom of my memory Is a vampire and it feeds on me Now, staggering madly Over the brink, I fall Lighthouses might house the key But can I reach the door? I want to walk on the sea So that I may better find a shore 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 my 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 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? 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
I love the 'first time hearing' and 'How did I miss this' comments, gives me hope for music. I've been listening to this for 45 years, most of my friends didn't have the attention span for it, so mostly I listened whilst I was "COMPLETELY ALONE!"......
Yea.... so sad that ppl are so retarded. This and moon. In June by soft machine are my favorites songs but i can hardly think about a single person capable of enjoying them
scrolling until i see particular individuals from a particular community of scholars who all recently endured a great amount of pain at the hands of this very song (i will not elaborate until 24 hours have passed like a good kid)
This track, along with Supper’s Ready, Close to the Edge, Thick as a Brick, Song of Scheherazade, I just have no words for the experience, I love this shit, this is all I listen to, I should have been born in the 50’s.
I am actually glad that I was born in 2002 because I can easily listen to all the great old bands and also all the great new bands like Sigh, Opeth and Porcupine tree
*@Brian Parks* There was nothing funny to have been born post second world war. The few musicians who managed to put their anguish into art were few and far between .....the most of us were condemned for the treadmill or sought relief in opiates.
“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..”no more say,VDGG in one of the great textual and musical climax of the 20th century!!! Peter Hammill is one of the gifted and musical genius ever
[I. Eyewitness] [Instrumental Intro] [Verse 1] 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 [Verse 2] 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 But my tower is built on stone I only have blunt scissors I only have the bluntest hone I've been the witness, and the seal of death Lingers in the molten wax that is my head [Verse 3] 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] [Interlude] [III. Eyewitness] [Verse 4] 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 [Verse 5] 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] [Instrumental] [Verse 6] "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 and the mindless grins Only intent on destroying What they've lost [Verse 7] I claw 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] [Instrumental] [Verse 8] "Alone, alone", the ghosts all call Pinpoint me in the light The only life I feel at all Is the presence of the night [Instrumental] [Bridge] 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) [Verse 9] 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 [Instrumental] [Segue] [VI. Kosmos Tours] [Instrumental] [Verse 10] 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] [Verse 11] Lighthouses might house the key But can I reach the door? I want to walk on the sea So that I may better find a shore But how can I ever keep my feet dry? I scan the horizon I must keep my eyes on All parts of me [Verse 12] Looking back on the years It seems that I have lost my way Like a dog in the night, I have run to a manger Now I am the stranger I stay in Oh... [Verse 13] 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] [Instrumental Bridge] [Verse 14] 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 [Instrumental] [Verse 15] 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? [Instrumental] [IX. Land's End (Sineline)] [Verse 16] 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 [Verse 17] 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... [Chorus] All things are a part All things are apart All things are a part [X. We Go Now] [Instrumental] [Outro] Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh Ohhh, ohhh Ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh Ohhh, ohhh Ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh Ohhh, ohhh Ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh Ohhh, ohhh Ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ohhh...
I still can’t understand why the England Football Squad never approached VDGG to a “ World Cup “ song for them seeing as Status Quo and New Order did . 🙄❤️from Wilverley Enclosure
Dear god, thank you that the Jojo Mangaka didn't name any of his characters after van der graaf generator so we don't have those hellawful weebs flooding the comment section.
@@BraveSirRobin-hx2eq arguably not but let's say van der graaf generator would be a moneyless newcomer band of 2019, then yeah i would pressure that mangaka to put a jojo stand named after the band in his latest release lol
@@JoeyLutes hello! yes I did my own avatar doodle thing, it's a drawing I did on my desk in school a long time ago. And also yes, the name is a reference to the wonderful journey that is Music from the Snow Goose! I love each and every album by Camel, I can't decide on a favourite, their music seems to always take my mind to a mysterious and beautiful place far away from here, I love to just listen to it and drift away... Anyway, thank you for your reply, it's nice to meet you! :)
@@crimsonpost4042 do u do other doodles? i recently discovered prog (6 months ago?) and it's rekindled a creative passion in me what other prog bands do you like?
@@JoeyLutes well yes sometimes I draw some silly things, although not as often as I used to... however I am nowhere near the skill level of a real artist, haha. I could see why you say this music makes you creative, as I said, it really takes you somewhere else... do you draw too? I'm not new to prog it is something I discovered about 10 years ago (once upon a time there was an old Pink Floyd record...) so I like many bands: all the classics of course King Crimson, ELP, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Yes, Rush, Van Der Graaf of course, and then Caravan, Camel, Gong, Magma, Tool, Porcupine Tree, etc. (I could go on and on and on, so I'm.a goldmine for recommendations haha). However I like a ton of other genres as well, music is one of the few things that truly makes me happy, so I'm really passionate about it... sorry if I'm rambling too much!
@@JoeyLutes Oh wow, that's super cool! I'm sure prog will provide great inspiration for your creative process! I dont know if you were wondering but I am a bit younger (1995) and I started really listening to music around the age of 14, my first contact with prog (aside from Floyd) was stumbling upon Selling England by the Pound at the record store and just buying it... needless to say, I was sold at track 1. Well... It was a pleasure talking to you! If you allow me, maybe here's some albums you will like: if you like long beautiful instrumentals like Music from the Snow Goose you could try Mike Oldfield (Tubular Bells and Ommadawn) or Magma (Self titled and MKD), also Ocean by Eloy (which is pretty awesome) or if you prefer epic sounding albums with some rock elements (I'm thinking along the line of 2112 or Selling England) I would say Kansas (Self titled, Leftoverture, Point of Known Return) or Uriah Heep (Salisbury, Demons and Wizards)... I hope these help you discovering something new! Good luck with everything :)
I genuinely think this is the best track of all time. I have listened to so much in the past fifty years, yet I still come back to this track. It is epic.
@@alistairdrumbeat183 then how this song (really good song btw) is your favorite ? Really the best song? Seems strange to me. Either you are biased or listened not so many songs.
@@garri5108 I love all types of rock. From the Allman Bros to ZZ Top, Floyd & ELP to Porcupine Tree & the Pineapple Thief. Greenslade & Wishbone Ash to Tool & Frumpy. I could carry on.
surely I have heard those sections many times over the past 43ish years. Waiting to see what parts they are. I just paused it at about 10:38 ("would you cry if i died" whisper) so I am guessing it's the "UNREAL UNREAL..ghost helmsmen sream" part or whatever he says ;) EDIT --- no, I was wrong ;)
I was 12 and I still don't think I've recovered ! Once infected with the Hammill / VdGG virus there was no hope for me. Doomed to be a Sleepwalker forever more trapped in the cycle of needing my VdGG injection on a regular basis.
Am I the only one that can't make it to the end without crying? This is one of my favorite tracks of all time, the lyrics and the music are just so powerful and emotional, and they also hit closely to me. Peter Hammill is one of the greatest musicians of all time and him having almost not recognition at all feels so wrong
Tell me if I got this right of the full song I. Eyewitness II. Pictures / lighthouse III. Eyewitness IV. SHM V. The presence of the night VI. Custards last stand VII. The clot thickens VIII. Lands end
You're my favourite kind of UA-cam User. Someone who goes to the trouble of documenting song lyrics for the rest of us to read at our leisure. So thank YOU, internet guy. We love you.
Superb work of Peter Hammill and the likes. A stunning voice carrying all the necessary emotion (as if you were there in the lighthouse). The reeds are incredible for Jackson interacts with Evans´s drums and ALL the keys, like it was the last thing he had to say in his life . To top all of this, only one of the most inspired poems you can find in a prog-rock composition. To think that this has seen the light in 1972!!! is absolutelly stunning. The end of this masterpiece is, by far, the most compelling and inspired they have ever done. Back then, the first time I heard this in 1972, I was speachless; I still get goosebumps in the present. Enjoy!
Bruce Dickinson brought me here. Holy shit, this song is absolutely extraordinary and unlike anything ever. It's basically manic episode put to music. It's pure depressive, disturbing insanity and I love it. It stays with you from the very first listen.
absolutely a masterpiece ......the best suite of prog with "echoes" of pinky,"tarkus" of Elp ,"moon in June " of Wyatt n "Valentyne Suite" of Colosseum after me ....
There are many bands that performed more harmonically, rhythmically etc. sophisticated music, more beautiful and even music after all, but there is no band with such psycho power, with such extreme ability to astound and give goosebumps...
That key change at 12:15 is just brilliant. The song had already been building up so much tension and longing before then, a desire to resolve, to find some kind of hope and optimism, and that change just instantly launches it into abyssal nightmare territory. Considering the song is about a lighthouse keeper going mad, that's about as affective a musical means of conveying that as I could imagine anyone inventing. HP Lovecraft would be proud.
The Mellotron at the end alone in this is beyond demented Pretty sure that's a mix of some truly creative playing And some very crafty edits And with how hard it is to pull anything tuneful out of one those temperamental proto synths, just shows the skill and mastery on display here Truly a twisted prog masterwork for the ages Sublime
Damn ye! Let Neptune strike ye dead Winslow! HAAARK! Hark Triton, hark! Bellow, bid our father the Sea King rise from the depths full foul in his fury! Black waves teeming with salt foam to smother this young mouth with pungent slime, to choke ye, engorging your organs til’ ye turn blue and bloated with bilge and brine and can scream no more -- only when he, crowned in cockle shells with slitherin’ tentacle tail and steaming beard take up his fell be-finned arm, his coral-tine trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest and plunges right through yer gullet, bursting ye -- a bulging bladder no more, but a blasted bloody film now and nothing for the harpies and the souls of dead sailors to peck and claw and feed upon only to be lapped up and swallowed by the infinite waters of the Dread Emperor himself -- forgotten to any man, to any time, forgotten to any god or devil, forgotten even to the sea, for any stuff for part of Winslow, even any scantling of your soul is Winslow no more, but is now itself the sea!
As do I and being a VdGG fanatic I understand completely. To anyone else you would appear as mad as the lighthouse keeper in his strange sources of comfort. What do they know ?
I don't understand at all,this shit is distressing as fuck lol. I fucking love it though. Super brutal sounding. You can tell these guys both really did understand and care about music theory and also really were quite nerdy with the fantasy/sci-fi stuff but it all comes together in this way that feels surreal and glistening and almost alien which I would say most good progressive rock does. It's a wild intense and incredibly articulated ride with virtual no sexual themes and tons of psychological subtext which stands in stark contrast to much of more commercial music even if these bands oftentimes did actually end up being quite financially and commercially successful at times.
@@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms You certainly do understand Sir and seem very well suited to ''Keeperdom'' evermore to return to the Epic that is unlistenable to mere humans. Welcome aboard.
@@johnnyguitar8067 from what i have read it is an english exam that makes you read text from various sources and do analyses on them, so this song's lyrics were probably in the exam somewhere
Finally - I 1st heard this song in 1984 when I went to my high school friend's house to form my prog rock band. I never forgot the hooky triplet part. But years later, he couldn't recall the song, even after I hummed it to him - & he was the Hammill - Van der Graaf expert.. Well now I know.. 34 years later!
One of my favorite Long Epic Prog Masterpieces along with Close to The Edge and Awaken by Yes, Supper’s Ready and Firth of Fifth by Genesis, Atom Heart Mother and Echoes by Pink Floyd, Thick as a Brick Pt 1 and Pt. 2 from the Jethro Tull Album of the same name, Crime of The Century and Aries by Supertramp, Snow Goose Album by Camel and Epitaph and Starless from King Crimson. The Atlantis Agony Epic from Eloy is quite good as well and not Sci-Fi as Atlantis and it’s advanced Civilization around 10,000 years ago of Human and E.T. Hybrids did exist, despite very minimal archaeological evidence, but that’s another topic for a different subject. Other Groups like Focus, Egg, Caravan, Soft Machine, etc have Epic classics as well. This one by VDDGG is up there with the best and quite sophisticated and dark, which I love.
70s prog rock gave us stuff like in the court of the crimson king, fragile, n other good albums but the dark painted in this album is amazing. best of prog rock
Welp u kinda were uncapable of doing longer than that and keeping the song together, the person had to change the side of the vinyl, classical music does get longer than that cuz it was always presented live
At this dark hour of the night, it remains for me to put my helmet on my head to listen religiously this record. There are works that only support the heavy silence of the post-twilight under the benevolent gaze of the stars. From the back of the room, a delicate arpeggio of dry guitar wrapped in silky flute drowns in the roar of a scorching wind. And it's as if I entered a parallel universe, in the center of a desert first arid but gradually covered with lush swamps in the middle of which I pushed to half my legs. On an arid plateau, I do not know which path to follow so many! Some seem vaguely threatening, so I rely on my instinct! Returning then after a few hesitant steps, a valley extends to my amazed look, lit by a flashing and gibbous moon, I perceive the rattling of the arms of a black and spidery army. It is not possible for me to turn back. Stumbling I fall on the gleaming rails of an abandoned railway belt surrounded by tares of wild and hostile vegetation. A plaintive melody with a curiously metallic resonance closes my eyes. When I reopen it appears to me an ocean purple and epileptic and between two waves monstrous and roaring, rises like a rostrum a lighthouse all white! Then this clamor rising from the depths, louder and louder, that twists my eardrums and tears me away with sobs of rage and deliverance. A piano mixed with the sepulcher organ finishes my journey and I reappear in reality, trembling, my face covered with tears
Hello all. Well, I've read most of your comments. It's still 2020. I was introduced to Van Der Graaf Generator by Allison Steele from WNEW - FM in NYC many years ago. I think it was 1973. It was 72 or 73. I've gotten to see them Live as well. I know people like to say; Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop are the magic triangle. And, I DO agree to some degree. I always felt Peter Hammill, Roy Harper and Peter Gabriel were the same way. This does remind me of Henry Cow/Slapp Happy to a degree. VDGG were very under rated. I fell into Prog about 1974. Sabbath and Zep were my mainstay's previously to that. The Canterbury Scene, VDGG, Early Genisis, Hawkwind, and a host of others, Soft Machine, and others, Blood Rock, so many make up my Record collection. I stopped listening to commercial Radio around 1977. It was only College radio after that. Or, I'd just go buy more Albums. Nektar, Kraftwerk, Crimson, Eno, and so on. I back tracked from album sleeves. They used to advertise other Bands on the sleeves. So, I just started buying albums based on that. Fusion is good too. Peter Hammill is really a Genius. They all are that contributed to the musics we so dearly love. Be well. Peace.
That final triumphant instrumental passage is worthy of even Bach. The way it keeps powerfully ascending until the final dissonant chord pours water on its fire and it expires - just like the lighthouse keeper ? On another note, I wondered if you took out the hard to listen to parts and kept all the wonderfull melodic sections you could make a version for non VdGG fans ? I tried it with Man Erg as it was easier. Ended up with a lovely easy to listen to song but with all the substance and menace removed. Had to accept that VdGG is what it is and not for everyone. (My precious....)
I constantly sing this line to myself in my head, as well as ''I'm too close to the light, I don't think I see right, for I blind me'' I wish I knew what doing this meant but I just love those lines. Oh just remembered, ''would you cry if I died'' as well. Unforgettable.
the clot thickens 16:30-19:13 is so chaotic, i love it so much Having exprerienced those kinda thoughts the lighthouse keeper is having, i honestly find the song to be quite an accurate depictions of how your mind limbos between romantic and intense thoughts. Don't know if there was any intention for that. But this is a true masterpiece.
21:15 is one of the best arguments that Fripp does his best work on other people's records (the other argument being all of Eno's "Baby's on Fire" on Here Come the Warm Jets).
@@polkanietzsche5016 Ulcerate is the first band that came to mind. They're post-tech death metal, so not everyone's cup of tea, but Jamie Saint Merat is a monster drummer who plays his ass off on every single song. Aristocrats is another example in the jazz/rock fusion genre with three genuine virtuosos on their respective instruments, including Marco Minnemann on drums. Get it Like That is a great showcase of his talents. Of course there's also legends like Danny Carey from Tool who are still around.
Chiudi gli occhi, ascolta, viaggi nello spazio infinito, attraversi galassie sconosciute e avvicinandosi ad un Black Hole ti accorgi che la musica proviene proprio da laggiù. Chissà da da quale galassia provengono i VDGG...
This song is about a very lonely lighthouse keeper who is of high class. He has gone completely mad from his solitude and mental anguish that he has suffered from. His wife died and he blames himself for it and can't forgive himself. He sees hallucinations and ghosts that want to kill him. He supposedly also accidentally killed a couple of sailors by not showing them the way via the lighthouse's shining light. He feels regret towards everything he has done during his miserable life and wants to end it all. At the very end he finds potential friends (the lemmings that represent humanity), but doesn't feel like he belongs anymore. Since he is so batshit crazy and depressed, he kills himself in the end and believes that he is now with his long dead wife. What a masterpiece this song is. A very dark, depressing masterpiece...
Maximilian Bernard de wey is too hard for him to show de saylors
Also a song that realistically shows just how devastating depression can be, as someone who suffers from it.
@@YouCantDeleteDenzelLyeah me too. I think Peter Hammill may have a touch of it himself.
Thank you. A friend from Norway.
Just watched The Lighthouse by Robert Eggers, came straight to listen to this masterpiece.
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 nights 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 home
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 ancients myths
Are solemnly directed straight at you
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
I am 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
"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 and the mindless grins
Only intent on destroying what they've lost
I crawl the wall 'til steepness ends
In the vertical fall
My pain 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
"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
The maelstrom of my memory
Is a vampire and it feeds on me
Now, staggering madly
Over the brink, I fall
Lighthouses might house the key
But can I reach the door?
I want to walk on the sea
So that I may better find a shore
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 my 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
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?
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
I love the 'first time hearing' and 'How did I miss this' comments, gives me hope for music. I've been listening to this for 45 years, most of my friends didn't have the attention span for it, so mostly I listened whilst I was "COMPLETELY ALONE!"......
I got most of my family and friends listening to these guys after first hearing them about a year ago, there's hope lol
You are correct. It's not a party album, better alone so you can just enjoy it without interruption.
Yea.... so sad that ppl are so retarded. This and moon. In June by soft machine are my favorites songs but i can hardly think about a single person capable of enjoying them
@@Fittyshow Daevid Allen comes to mind as another "hard sell" with my friends. His album Good Morning is a fave.
As it should be done.
In the spirit of solidarity with all other lone lighthouse keepers.
All things are a part.
The way the song portrays loneliness and regret slowly eating you is perfect.
scrolling until i see particular individuals from a particular community of scholars who all recently endured a great amount of pain at the hands of this very song (i will not elaborate until 24 hours have passed like a good kid)
im still crying internally
Pain will we endure, community or not, we still suffer, we will bond.
The least we can do is wave to each other.
I'm sorry but I don't understand what you mean, maybe because I'm from Portugal. What happened?
elaborate? please
This track, along with Supper’s Ready, Close to the Edge, Thick as a Brick, Song of Scheherazade, I just have no words for the experience, I love this shit, this is all I listen to, I should have been born in the 50’s.
I am actually glad that I was born in 2002 because I can easily listen to all the great old bands and also all the great new bands like Sigh, Opeth and Porcupine tree
Pawn Hearts isn't my favorite VDGG album, lyrics-wise (that would be Still Life) but this is still pretty high up the ladder.
Apparently prof is thinking mans music!.
*@Brian Parks* There was nothing funny to have been born post second world war. The few musicians who managed to put their anguish into art were few and far between .....the most of us were condemned for the treadmill or sought relief in opiates.
AlSo moon in June 🌙
8:51 The Cow by Westside Gunn sample 🔥🔥🔥
Thanks for mentionning it
Man
Absolute masterpiece
Think ! P.H was only 23 when this was created .. just mind-boggling masterpiece chiseling the depths of my soul .
True. 23 years old, 23 minutes long, so is 23 a new magic number ?
Hammill, Jackson, Evans with an awesome dose of Fripp = MAGNIFICENCE !!
The Fripp epic sustain slowly drifts in at 20:20... hitting hard at 21:15! Enjoy...and thanks for uploading this awesome work.
The final movement begins at 19:13, entitled : 'We Go Now'
maybe 19:14
my bad... 20:20 is synth keys but totally sets the tone for where things are going at 21:15 with Fripp's treated sustained guitar work.
my bad...BANTON too !
“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..”no more say,VDGG in one of the great textual and musical climax of the 20th century!!! Peter Hammill is one of the gifted and musical genius ever
Best part of this song is 00.00 - 23.24
Listening to this band for the first time now.
[I. Eyewitness]
[Instrumental Intro]
[Verse 1]
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
[Verse 2]
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
But my tower is built on stone
I only have blunt scissors
I only have the bluntest hone
I've been the witness, and the seal of death
Lingers in the molten wax that is my head
[Verse 3]
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]
[Interlude]
[III. Eyewitness]
[Verse 4]
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
[Verse 5]
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]
[Instrumental]
[Verse 6]
"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 and the mindless grins
Only intent on destroying
What they've lost
[Verse 7]
I claw 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]
[Instrumental]
[Verse 8]
"Alone, alone", the ghosts all call
Pinpoint me in the light
The only life I feel at all
Is the presence of the night
[Instrumental]
[Bridge]
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)
[Verse 9]
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
[Instrumental]
[Segue]
[VI. Kosmos Tours]
[Instrumental]
[Verse 10]
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]
[Verse 11]
Lighthouses might house the key
But can I reach the door?
I want to walk on the sea
So that I may better find a shore
But how can I ever keep my feet dry?
I scan the horizon
I must keep my eyes on
All parts of me
[Verse 12]
Looking back on the years
It seems that I have lost my way
Like a dog in the night, I have run to a manger
Now I am the stranger I stay in
Oh...
[Verse 13]
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]
[Instrumental Bridge]
[Verse 14]
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
[Instrumental]
[Verse 15]
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?
[Instrumental]
[IX. Land's End (Sineline)]
[Verse 16]
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
[Verse 17]
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...
[Chorus]
All things are a part
All things are apart
All things are a part
[X. We Go Now]
[Instrumental]
[Outro]
Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh
Ohhh, ohhh
Ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh
Ohhh, ohhh
Ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh
Ohhh, ohhh
Ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh, ohhh
Ohhh, ohhh
Ohh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ohhh...
Amazing thanks so much for you effort much apreciated!
IB M22 HOW DO WE FEEL
What are these IB comments?
Il.coraggio di osare senza preoccuparsi del successo unici
ESTO ES TAN HERMOSO
I still can’t understand why the England Football Squad never approached VDGG to a “ World Cup “ song for them seeing as Status Quo and New Order did . 🙄❤️from Wilverley Enclosure
8:51 conway
Thank you was looking for this!!
Dear god, thank you that the Jojo Mangaka didn't name any of his characters after van der graaf generator so we don't have those hellawful weebs flooding the comment section.
If it gets more people to listen to this, then I'd hardly call that a bad thing.
@@BraveSirRobin-hx2eq arguably not but let's say van der graaf generator would be a moneyless newcomer band of 2019, then yeah i would pressure that mangaka to put a jojo stand named after the band in his latest release lol
@@Breakbeat90s Not gonna lie I would be pretty interested to see what a VDGG stand would look like, as well as what its powers would be.
Don't give him any ideas.
The Moon In June comment section is already ruined ....
Wonderfull..................
mega!!!!!!!!!
I don’t want to be one wave in the water!!!
Is it just me or that is Arthur Schopenhauer in bottom right corner?
indeed
why did they choose this of all songs
Это не песня, а шедевр.
Слушайте попсу. Слушайте Филиппа Киркорова и Михаила поплавского.
What do you mean? Choose for what?
8:31 the cow
We are not alone, that's the most scary part...
i really like your avi sketch, did you do it?
also, im assuming Snow Goose is a reference to Camel? it's my favorite album :)
@@JoeyLutes hello! yes I did my own avatar doodle thing, it's a drawing I did on my desk in school a long time ago.
And also yes, the name is a reference to the wonderful journey that is Music from the Snow Goose! I love each and every album by Camel, I can't decide on a favourite, their music seems to always take my mind to a mysterious and beautiful place far away from here, I love to just listen to it and drift away...
Anyway, thank you for your reply, it's nice to meet you! :)
@@crimsonpost4042 do u do other doodles?
i recently discovered prog (6 months ago?) and it's rekindled a creative passion in me
what other prog bands do you like?
@@JoeyLutes well yes sometimes I draw some silly things, although not as often as I used to... however I am nowhere near the skill level of a real artist, haha.
I could see why you say this music makes you creative, as I said, it really takes you somewhere else... do you draw too?
I'm not new to prog it is something I discovered about 10 years ago (once upon a time there was an old Pink Floyd record...) so I like many bands: all the classics of course King Crimson, ELP, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Yes, Rush, Van Der Graaf of course, and then Caravan, Camel, Gong, Magma, Tool, Porcupine Tree, etc. (I could go on and on and on, so I'm.a goldmine for recommendations haha). However I like a ton of other genres as well, music is one of the few things that truly makes me happy, so I'm really passionate about it... sorry if I'm rambling too much!
@@JoeyLutes Oh wow, that's super cool! I'm sure prog will provide great inspiration for your creative process!
I dont know if you were wondering but I am a bit younger (1995) and I started really listening to music around the age of 14, my first contact with prog (aside from Floyd) was stumbling upon Selling England by the Pound at the record store and just buying it... needless to say, I was sold at track 1.
Well... It was a pleasure talking to you! If you allow me, maybe here's some albums you will like: if you like long beautiful instrumentals like Music from the Snow Goose you could try Mike Oldfield (Tubular Bells and Ommadawn) or Magma (Self titled and MKD), also Ocean by Eloy (which is pretty awesome) or if you prefer epic sounding albums with some rock elements (I'm thinking along the line of 2112 or Selling England) I would say Kansas (Self titled, Leftoverture, Point of Known Return) or Uriah Heep (Salisbury, Demons and Wizards)... I hope these help you discovering something new! Good luck with everything :)
AHA - inspiration for The Lighthouse?
Regular humans cant create such masterpiece. They are either above-human or aliens...
I can guarantee you that Van Der Graaf Generator have transcended humankind
Approved
Peter Hammill is a alien
@@quollosuru Approved
@@tripittidy3815❤
I remember the first time hearing this song the 16:36 part scared the shit out of me!
Sounds like a dalek
@@Hal9000ize agreed
WHY THE FUCK WAS THIS ON THE IB ENGLISH EXAM
What do you mean?
un vero autentico CAPOLAVORO!!! Peter Hammill un genio con una voce unica e incredibile, una creatività immensa e i VDGG un gruppo STRAORDINARIO!!!
SIIII!!!
I've been listening to this song for over 40 years but when he sings "the parallels...." at 7:59, I still get the chills
Me too
amen to that
I genuinely think this is the best track of all time. I have listened to so much in the past fifty years, yet I still come back to this track. It is epic.
Epic is just the foreword. It is a monster :)
Listen to more music
@@garri5108 I listen to music 10 hours a day. I have seen every big band except The Doors. How much more do you want me to listen to?
@@alistairdrumbeat183 then how this song (really good song btw) is your favorite ? Really the best song? Seems strange to me. Either you are biased or listened not so many songs.
@@garri5108 I love all types of rock. From the Allman Bros to ZZ Top, Floyd & ELP to Porcupine Tree & the Pineapple Thief. Greenslade & Wishbone Ash to Tool & Frumpy. I could carry on.
To what extent does this constitute justified true belief?
How does the author use descriptive language to create atmosphere?
How and to what effect is imagery used?
Mother, will they try to break.. my balls?
Explain your answer in a 3 paragraph response. Your grade will be marked using the rubric below.
Work of genius. Just like all great music, this will never get old.
Agreed
Agreed
11:01-11:09 and 11:17-11:24 are some of the craziest vocal lines I ever heard!
For me, it's 17:48 and "One more haggard DROWNED MAN...." Well, and everything else after that.
Playing this section on the electric guitar is awesome
I always loved that part!
surely I have heard those sections many times over the past 43ish years. Waiting to see what parts they are. I just paused it at about 10:38 ("would you cry if i died" whisper) so I am guessing it's the "UNREAL UNREAL..ghost helmsmen sream" part or whatever he says ;)
EDIT --- no, I was wrong ;)
This is so groundbreaking for 1971
Still is !
Es una locura!!! Hay de todo acá. SpaceRock sobretodo.
It took three engineers to master this masterpiece, and one Peter H to dream it up. Advanced genius
This sounds nothing like how I imagined it
What'd you expect it to sound like?
@Soarel he was probably expecting something psychedelic or pink Floyd esque
This blew my 15 year old mind when I first heard it
Me to,I am 65 now...
I was 12 and I still don't think I've recovered ! Once infected with the Hammill / VdGG virus there was no hope for me.
Doomed to be a Sleepwalker forever more trapped in the cycle of needing my VdGG injection on a regular basis.
This is "The Lighthouse" but as a song.
Am I the only one that can't make it to the end without crying? This is one of my favorite tracks of all time, the lyrics and the music are just so powerful and emotional, and they also hit closely to me. Peter Hammill is one of the greatest musicians of all time and him having almost not recognition at all feels so wrong
Same emotions here❤
Better to have recognition from a small band of diehard acolytes than from millions of fairweather butterflies that flit from flower to flower.
You are not the only one...
Same Here as well. The Human Emotion if there ever was one😢
And Robert Fripp is the (guest) guitarist on this trippy album!
11:01 is the Iron Maiden Part.
Van der Graaf Generator were one of Bruce Dickinsons greatest influences.
Tell me if I got this right of the full song
I. Eyewitness
II. Pictures / lighthouse
III. Eyewitness
IV. SHM
V. The presence of the night
VI. Custards last stand
VII. The clot thickens
VIII. Lands end
You're my favourite kind of UA-cam User. Someone who goes to the trouble of documenting song lyrics for the rest of us to read at our leisure. So thank YOU, internet guy. We love you.
(I think I meant playlist.!.) I'm taking some of that high esteem back for now, I'm afraid.
I don’t know words describe this artistic masterpiece
All that remains is to enjoy it.
When you grew up with this music your mind was changed forever---for the better
Superb work of Peter Hammill and the likes. A stunning voice carrying all the necessary emotion (as if you were there in the lighthouse). The reeds are incredible for Jackson interacts with Evans´s drums and ALL the keys, like it was the last thing he had to say in his life . To top all of this, only one of the most inspired poems you can find in a prog-rock composition. To think that this has seen the light in 1972!!! is absolutelly stunning. The end of this masterpiece is, by far, the most compelling and inspired they have ever done. Back then, the first time I heard this in 1972, I was speachless; I still get goosebumps in the present. Enjoy!
1971.
Bruce Dickinson brought me here.
Holy shit, this song is absolutely extraordinary and unlike anything ever. It's basically manic episode put to music. It's pure depressive, disturbing insanity and I love it. It stays with you from the very first listen.
Scott Baldwin Did you read his autobiography?
@@riccardomatteini1472 yep! That's how I'm here.
You can also hear where the majority of Bruce's vocal influences come from here! Especially the high notes about 10 minutes in.
agreed
Bruce Dickinson actually was at the reunion concert of Van der Graaf Generator on May 6th 2005 at the Royal Festival Hall in London.
This and moon in June by SM are the best prog songs ever. YeAh also crimson king etc but these 2 are just pure musical poetry
absolutely a masterpiece ......the best suite of prog with "echoes" of pinky,"tarkus" of Elp ,"moon in June " of Wyatt n "Valentyne Suite" of Colosseum after me ....
Vero Ascolta anche "Good Bluff" del 1976 circa 4 anni dopo
godbluff...
dont forget suppers ready
"Lizard" of King Crimson
the most sophisticated, literate rock band of all time.
You fucking right, they sound like nobody else as well
I mean yeah. But there is Genesis too!
and King Crimson
And CARDIACS!
Gentle Giant is the more sophisticated of all!
"One more haggard DROWNED MAN"
There are many bands that performed more harmonically, rhythmically etc. sophisticated music, more beautiful and even music after all, but there is no band with such psycho power, with such extreme ability to astound and give goosebumps...
Brilliant masterpiece of prog.
That key change at 12:15 is just brilliant. The song had already been building up so much tension and longing before then, a desire to resolve, to find some kind of hope and optimism, and that change just instantly launches it into abyssal nightmare territory. Considering the song is about a lighthouse keeper going mad, that's about as affective a musical means of conveying that as I could imagine anyone inventing. HP Lovecraft would be proud.
Anyone here after watching The Lighthouse?
I was sure that someone was going to relate this song to the movie XDD
Matandra Gones 2 of the most eldritch pieces of music and film in history
That movie is amazing
@@rhubarbdude3347 indeed!!
Lovecraft would have undoubtedly called it "eldritch". I'll just say it's stunningly beautiful.
A lovecraftien song for sure
Totaly agree
he also called his cat-
never mind...
The Mellotron at the end alone in this is beyond demented
Pretty sure that's a mix of some truly creative playing
And some very crafty edits
And with how hard it is to pull anything tuneful out of one those temperamental proto synths, just shows the skill and mastery on display here
Truly a twisted prog masterwork for the ages
Sublime
Que obra de Arte, primera vez que escucho está canción (2021) y me está volando la cabeza. Genial!!!
Bienvenido al Rock Progresivo
Damn ye! Let Neptune strike ye dead Winslow! HAAARK!
Hark Triton, hark! Bellow, bid our father the Sea King rise from the depths full foul in his fury! Black waves teeming with salt foam to smother this young mouth with pungent slime, to choke ye, engorging your organs til’ ye turn blue and bloated with bilge and brine and can scream no more -- only when he, crowned in cockle shells with slitherin’ tentacle tail and steaming beard take up his fell be-finned arm, his coral-tine trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest and plunges right through yer gullet, bursting ye -- a bulging bladder no more, but a blasted bloody film now and nothing for the harpies and the souls of dead sailors to peck and claw and feed upon only to be lapped up and swallowed by the infinite waters of the Dread Emperor himself -- forgotten to any man, to any time, forgotten to any god or devil, forgotten even to the sea, for any stuff for part of Winslow, even any scantling of your soul is Winslow no more, but is now itself the sea!
Ye fond of me lobster?
Un capolavoro senza tempo...ha corollato l' intera mia vita. Dalle prime note dell' intro...fino al finale ' epico' con un Robert Fripp sublime
.
During times of dispair or grief I always return to this song. It comforts me.
All things are apart
As do I and being a VdGG fanatic I understand completely.
To anyone else you would appear as mad as the lighthouse keeper in his strange sources of comfort. What do they know ?
I don't understand at all,this shit is distressing as fuck lol. I fucking love it though. Super brutal sounding. You can tell these guys both really did understand and care about music theory and also really were quite nerdy with the fantasy/sci-fi stuff but it all comes together in this way that feels surreal and glistening and almost alien which I would say most good progressive rock does. It's a wild intense and incredibly articulated ride with virtual no sexual themes and tons of psychological subtext which stands in stark contrast to much of more commercial music even if these bands oftentimes did actually end up being quite financially and commercially successful at times.
@@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms You certainly do understand Sir and seem very well suited to ''Keeperdom'' evermore to return to the Epic that is unlistenable to mere humans. Welcome aboard.
This fuckin shit is so freaking awesome i want to set myself on fire and melt into the waves of pure excellance this piece of art is emitting
16:35-19:13 my god. this part is actually scarring
yes, sounds perfect for a videogame boss fight
Anyone else coming here to review bomb this song cuz of IB EnglishLitA ?
What is this IB I keep hearing about and what does it have to do with this song?
@@johnnyguitar8067 from what i have read it is an english exam that makes you read text from various sources and do analyses on them, so this song's lyrics were probably in the exam somewhere
Finally - I 1st heard this song in 1984 when I went to my high school friend's house to form my prog rock band. I never forgot the hooky triplet part. But years later, he couldn't recall the song, even after I hummed it to him - & he was the Hammill - Van der Graaf expert.. Well now I know.. 34 years later!
One of my favorite Long Epic Prog Masterpieces along with Close to The Edge and Awaken by Yes, Supper’s Ready and Firth of Fifth by Genesis, Atom Heart Mother and Echoes by Pink Floyd, Thick as a Brick Pt 1 and Pt. 2 from the Jethro Tull Album of the same name, Crime of The Century and Aries by Supertramp, Snow Goose Album by Camel and Epitaph and Starless from King Crimson. The Atlantis Agony Epic from Eloy is quite good as well and not Sci-Fi as Atlantis and it’s advanced Civilization around 10,000 years ago of Human and E.T. Hybrids did exist, despite very minimal archaeological evidence, but that’s another topic for a different subject. Other Groups like Focus, Egg, Caravan, Soft Machine, etc have Epic classics as well. This one by VDDGG is up there with the best and quite sophisticated and dark, which I love.
70s prog rock gave us stuff like in the court of the crimson king, fragile, n other good albums but the dark painted in this album is amazing. best of prog rock
yeah! first of all CAN , they are wonderful but i think that krautrock is not so similar to prog rock
@@micheleocchialini Court was 60's
@@Joe-ut3sz true, it was october '69 if i remember right, so not properly but practically 70's
@@micheleocchialini Yeah. Recording started June, so exactly half a century ago the boyz were dishing out some sassy flute solos
@@Joe-ut3sz Yeah, amazing! im gonna see them next week at Palmanova btw
Legend says if you make a 23 minute long song It becomes immediately a masterpiece
It's not the length, it's the quality!
@@lemmykay I know but my point is that many of the greatest songs of all time coincide in lasting about 23 minutes.
@@RodLD Maybe because each one of the sides of the vinyl record was around 23 minutes
@@RodLD with lizard, supper's ready, and this as an example. i can agree with that
Welp u kinda were uncapable of doing longer than that and keeping the song together, the person had to change the side of the vinyl, classical music does get longer than that cuz it was always presented live
Una de las mejores canciones que el rock progresivo ha dispuesto a nuestros oídos.
At this dark hour of the night, it remains for me to put my helmet on my head to listen religiously this record. There are works that only support the heavy silence of the post-twilight under the benevolent gaze of the stars. From the back of the room, a delicate arpeggio of dry guitar wrapped in silky flute drowns in the roar of a scorching wind. And it's as if I entered a parallel universe, in the center of a desert first arid but gradually covered with lush swamps in the middle of which I pushed to half my legs. On an arid plateau, I do not know which path to follow so many! Some seem vaguely threatening, so I rely on my instinct! Returning then after a few hesitant steps, a valley extends to my amazed look, lit by a flashing and gibbous moon, I perceive the rattling of the arms of a black and spidery army. It is not possible for me to turn back. Stumbling I fall on the gleaming rails of an abandoned railway belt surrounded by tares of wild and hostile vegetation. A plaintive melody with a curiously metallic resonance closes my eyes. When I reopen it appears to me an ocean purple and epileptic and between two waves monstrous and roaring, rises like a rostrum a lighthouse all white! Then this clamor rising from the depths, louder and louder, that twists my eardrums and tears me away with sobs of rage and deliverance. A piano mixed with the sepulcher organ finishes my journey and I reappear in reality, trembling, my face covered with tears
This comment section seems to be a bit of an echo chamber.
Hello all. Well, I've read most of your comments. It's still 2020. I was introduced to Van Der Graaf Generator by Allison Steele from WNEW - FM in NYC many years ago. I think it was 1973. It was 72 or 73. I've gotten to see them Live as well. I know people like to say; Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop are the magic triangle. And, I DO agree to some degree. I always felt Peter Hammill, Roy Harper and Peter Gabriel were the same way. This does remind me of Henry Cow/Slapp Happy to a degree. VDGG were very under rated. I fell into Prog about 1974. Sabbath and Zep were my mainstay's previously to that. The Canterbury Scene, VDGG, Early Genisis, Hawkwind, and a host of others, Soft Machine, and others, Blood Rock, so many make up my Record collection. I stopped listening to commercial Radio around 1977. It was only College radio after that. Or, I'd just go buy more Albums. Nektar, Kraftwerk, Crimson, Eno, and so on. I back tracked from album sleeves. They used to advertise other Bands on the sleeves. So, I just started buying albums based on that. Fusion is good too. Peter Hammill is really a Genius. They all are that contributed to the musics we so dearly love. Be well. Peace.
Despues de medio siglo de lo mejor del rock progresivo. Por siempre van der graaf generator! Saludos desde Mexico.
Every time I see the album cover
I click and think 'ok I just listen the beginning'
but then I can no longer detach myself from it till the end
Life long favourite.
I love from 11:11 - 13:35
Why was this on the IB exam bruh imma kms
8 mins 20 to 10 mins 30 - one of the most beautiful 2 minutes in the history of rock music. Hammill the incomparable.
That final triumphant instrumental passage is worthy of even Bach. The way it keeps powerfully ascending until the final dissonant chord pours water on its fire and it expires - just like the lighthouse keeper ?
On another note, I wondered if you took out the hard to listen to parts and kept all the wonderfull melodic sections you could make a version for non VdGG fans ?
I tried it with Man Erg as it was easier. Ended up with a lovely easy to listen to song but with all the substance and menace removed.
Had to accept that VdGG is what it is and not for everyone.
(My precious....)
Peter hammill my beloved ❤❤❤
The stars shine, but they’re not for me,,,,that’s the saddest line I’ve ever heard
I constantly sing this line to myself in my head, as well as ''I'm too close to the light, I don't think I see right, for I blind me''
I wish I knew what doing this meant but I just love those lines. Oh just remembered, ''would you cry if I died'' as well.
Unforgettable.
Welp, that first time listening through it was something special
colonna sonora per la quarantena
the clot thickens 16:30-19:13 is so chaotic, i love it so much
Having exprerienced those kinda thoughts the lighthouse keeper is having, i honestly find the song to be quite an accurate depictions of how your mind limbos between romantic and intense thoughts. Don't know if there was any intention for that. But this is a true masterpiece.
.me two so much so so thank full to sort of helps my mental health take care 🌹
Holy fucking shit. This is amazing
First time I heard this was my first week in collage, 1977. It just gets better, and never old. Amazing piece.
Maybe the saddest prog rock song ever made. Masterpiece.
his voice is the definition of prog rock
This is not prog rock.
@@anniegog What genre would you call it?
@@anniegog this is undoubtedly prog rock.
Too bad Hamill can't sing.
@@d.unknown3388 then you didn't even listen to a full song of his.
21:15 is one of the best arguments that Fripp does his best work on other people's records (the other argument being all of Eno's "Baby's on Fire" on Here Come the Warm Jets).
Fripp is the thread that weaves together most of the early 70s prog rock.
jackal59
baby on fire is lukewarmness and non-existant regards to vg, however..
now, maybe roxy music's work..
"for your pleasure"
Dont forget Paul Rudolph's contribution to 'Babys On Fire'. 😉
That is, however, not Fripp at all; it is Hugh Banton on the organ. Don't worry, I was of the same opinion until I read the VdGG book.
Who else is here from the ib exams?
What's that
@@sophiagarcia4550 nice
Sammmmmmme
I graduated 7 years ago; what happened in relation with this song?
im interested to find out what on earth could be the link between vdgg and ib exams
Sorry, - ment to say "this is music" and a very good one. Have listened to the group since the late 60s, and love them stilll
I think their music is lovecraftian. I like it!
This incredible piece of music is up there with the likes of 'Supper's Ready' as one of the greatest prog rock masterpieces
Back when they let the drummers play.
Plenty of drummers still playing today, just got to know where to look.
@@jonathanhenderson9422 Can you give us some examples?
@@polkanietzsche5016 Ulcerate is the first band that came to mind. They're post-tech death metal, so not everyone's cup of tea, but Jamie Saint Merat is a monster drummer who plays his ass off on every single song. Aristocrats is another example in the jazz/rock fusion genre with three genuine virtuosos on their respective instruments, including Marco Minnemann on drums. Get it Like That is a great showcase of his talents. Of course there's also legends like Danny Carey from Tool who are still around.
Chiudi gli occhi, ascolta, viaggi nello spazio infinito, attraversi galassie sconosciute e avvicinandosi ad un Black Hole ti accorgi che la musica proviene proprio da laggiù. Chissà da da quale galassia provengono i VDGG...
Ottimo quesito Marco
All time favorite.
Their MAGNUM OPUS
Absolutely amazing. This piece is beyond description