One thing I value a lot in music is its artistic qualities. Specifically, I admire complex and unique music; to understand what I enjoy, one can consider three types of complexity in music: melodic, instrumental, and lyrical complexity.
Melodic complexity refers to the variation and innovation in a song’s melody and rhythm. Works that score high in melodic complexity use interesting and engaging features. I despise, for example, pop music that creates ‘fullness’ through an artificially full electronic sound from a monophonic composition. Works I love, like Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven don’t simply use a monophonic combination of common instruments; they use a network of multi-voice homophonic accompaniments or polyphonic counter-melodies to provide musical depth. Naturally, piano music, having the use of voice and more “full” instrumentation restricted, uses highly complex melodies (think two and three part inventions). Rhythm also falls in this category of complexity; rhythm, though, is less important. There is nothing wrong with plain 4/4; more complex time signatures and rhythms, though can score bonus points here, like Steely Dan’s Reelin’ In the Years, which, without the unusually syncopated lyrical lines, is quite ordinary and unremarkable.
Instrumental complexity concerns the use of a diverse set of instrumentation and effects. Thus, ordinary rock music with a drum set, guitars, one voice, and perhaps a piano score unfavorably, whereas studio albums utilizing a full orchestra score more favorably. Even better, though, is the use of more unique instruments: Donald Fagen’s use of a electric organ that sounds like a theremin in his album Sunken Condos, and even David Bowie playing the steam train (not an actual steam train though) in Station to Station.
Finally, Lyrical complexity is quite simply described: the lyrics have to mean something. I look at lyrics in the same way that one would look at literature; it should have multiple layers of symbolism or meaning, be well though out and include everything for a reason, and in general be a finely crafted work. Thus, I also see literary analysis of music as a good way to understand a given work and find meaning within.
My current favorite song of all time is Genesis’ 23 minute long epic Supper’s Ready, featuring a combination of all sorts of unique complexity.
Don’t just skim this 4,000 word post. Set aside 23 minutes to read this annotated and analyzed lyric while listening to the song. Even better, pull up the live version (does not have some musical details though), and get this transcription for piano and voice. Arrange this analysis on one half your screen, the sheet music on one fourth, and the live video on the remaining fourth, and immerse yourself in this masterpiece.
Supper’s Ready is divided into seven sections. We begin here, at Lover’s leap.
Lover’s Leap
The narrator finds himself in his living room watching television with his girlfriend, accompanied by soft guitars and the voice of Peter Gabriel moving along at a slow tempo. Something bothers him though: he sees his girlfriend, who he associates with homeliness and safety — “guardian eyes” — appear to change; her “guardian eyes” of reassurance and peacefulness change to something that is hardly that.
The first interesting detail occurs immediately: if you listen closely, you can hear Peter Gabriel simultaneously singing the first two verses at one octave higher, creating an unsettling feeling.
Walking across the sitting-room, I turn the television off.
Sitting beside you, I look into your eyes.
As the sound of motor cars fades in the night time,
I swear I saw your face change, it didn’t seem quite right.
…And it’s hello babe with your guardian eyes so blue
Hey my baby don’t you know our love is true.Coming closer with our eyes, a distance falls around our bodies.
Out in the garden, the moon seems very bright,
Six saintly shrouded men move across the lawn slowly.
The seventh walks in front with a cross held high in hand.
…And it’s hey babe your supper’s waiting for you.
Hey my baby, don’t you know our love is true.I’ve been so far from here,
Far from your warm arms.
It’s good to feel you again,
It’s been a long long time. Hasn’t it?
Next, the first biblical reference appears. The alliterated “six saintly shrouded men” with a seventh holding a cross in front clearly don’t belong to our world. Rather, they belong to Acts, Chapter 6, Verse 1:
Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.
This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism.
This reference isn’t exactly obvious; it hasn’t been acknowledged by the group either — the inspiration for this part is supposed to be a genuine vision by Gabriel of his wife. Thus, I attribute the obvious parallels to the bible (they even appear to differentiate between Stephen, who holds a cross as a man of the holy spirit, and the rest) to an inadvertently direct reference when a mere biblical feeling was desired. This sets the tone for the rest of the work. In the midst of the safe and calm world of reality, of guardian eyes and city background noise, biblical visions begin to appear and invade.
From here, quiet guitars, piano, a flute, and smooth synths guide the song to a louder, more climactic section. Here, we also note that Peter Gabriel is actually quiet skilled at the flute, which is definitely atypical for the lead singer of a rock band.
The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man
This clearly isn’t talking about the real world. We have two people: the farmer, and a “fireman” who is contrasted with him. The fireman, here, is the Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man, who is the head of some sort of Scientology-like religion.
I know a farmer who looks after the farm.
With water clear, he cares for all his harvest.
I know a fireman who looks after the fire.You, can’t you see he’s fooled you all.
Yes, he’s here again, can’t you see he’s fooled you all.
Share his peace,
Sign the lease.
He’s a supersonic scientist,
He’s the guaranteed eternal sanctuary man.
Look, look into my mouth he cries,
And all the children lost down many paths,
I bet my life you’ll walk inside
Hand in hand,
gland in gland
With a spoonful of miracle,
He’s the guaranteed eternal sanctuary man.
(We will rock you, rock you little snake,
We will keep you snug and warm.)
The GESM has fooled you all, and made you “sign the lease” to “share his peace” — things that we associate with cults above else. The criticism of “Children lost down many paths” doesn’t exactly bode well for our Narrator’s view of the GESM either, as religion is supposed to have one “path” towards salvation, and certainly not leave children to get lost. One nice detail to notice is the last two lines (“We will rock you […] snug and warm”) which are sung by a group of chil dren in the background — the children lost down many paths.
He isn’t strictly a biblical antagonist. It does, though, go against everything that the bible stands for. Thus, we shouldn’t be surprised if some biblical thing were to suddenly afflict followers of the self-proclaimed prophet, the Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man.
Note that the GESM is referred to as a “supersonic scientist.” Beyond the alliteration, this is an intriguing way to describe a scientist. What else could this mean?
Again, we go to a quiet interlude where Gabriel’s flute plays the plot onto the next section.
Ikhnaton and Itsacon and their band of Merry Men
One nice detail here is that in the official documentation of this song, Itsacon is spelled its-a-con. Also, Ikhnaton (or Akhenaton) was an Egyptian Pharaoh known for his attempt at change of Egyptian art and religion, which was quickly reversed after his death, thus making him a fitting leader for the GESM.
While the previous section was climactic and epic in scale, this part takes a fast paced, excited musical tone. This section does a really good job of creating an atmosphere of sheer chaos: every loud and full instrument available to them — guitars, drum set, electric organ, synths, and even a flute — simultaneously plays a different melody or accompaniment. See if you can identify them all (you’ll have to listen carefully to hear the more hidden instruments).
The previous section portrays the GESM’s religion as a typical religion based on one self-proclaimed prophet. In this section, the GESM’s religion does evil religion stuff.
Wearing feelings on our faces while our faces took a rest,
We walked across the fields to see the children of the West,
But we saw a host of dark skinned warriors
standing still below the ground,
Waiting for battle.The fight’s begun, they’ve been released.
Killing foe for peace…bang, bang, bang. Bang, bang, bang…
And they’re giving me a wonderful potion,
’cause I cannot contain my emotion.
And even though I’m feeling good,
Something tells me I’d better activate my prayer capsule.Today’s a day to celebrate, the foe have met their fate.
The order for rejoicing and dancing has come from our warlord.
These stanzas are a clear criticism of religiously motivated fighting. The ironic phrase “killing foe for peace” evokes the hypocrisy of the crusades; this verse could even be a direct reference to the crusades — “The children of the west” could refer to the alleged “children’s crusade.” Either way, this section of the song presents some facets of the GESM’s religion that are reprehensible by modern standards. “A wonderful potion” that causes fighters to be unable to “contain [their] emotion” is a euphemism for giving fighters mind-altering drugs to induce them to fight harder. Even worse, the prayer capsule, that one can activate and presumably send one’s prayers straight to god or whatever, is the kind of stuff that caused the protestant reformation. By modern Christian sensibilities, religion isn’t supposed to be a mechanized contraption manufacturing fighters and faith.
How Dare I be so Beautiful
Having gone through two louder and more epic parts, How Dare I be so Beautiful now fades to a contrasting depressing, quiet, and slow melody.
In this section (but not in the live version for obvious reasons) the accompaniment is played as an acoustic grand piano with each chord faded in and out, thus cutting out the piano’s sharp attack and smoothing the end of each chord far more than physically possible. Gabriel’s voice sounds distant, quiet, with just a bit of an echo.
Wandering through the chaos the battle has left,
We climb up a mountain of human flesh,
To a plateau of green grass, and green trees full of life.
A young figure sits still by a pool,
He’s been stamped “Human Bacon” by some butchery tool.
(He is you)
Social Security took care of this lad.
We watch in reverence, as Narcissus is turned to a flower.
Lively and peaceful imagery associated with nature — the trees and grass — that is not part of their pointless conflicts and thus full of life with the gruesome imagery associated with the dead young man. Thus, this is yet another criticism of the Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man by the narrator.
Note the reference to social security and the Greek myth of Narcissus. Social security “taking care” of this lad is a double entendre referring to the meaning of “took care of” as both a literal “looking after” and as an ironic euphemism for killing or incapacitating someone. In the Greek myth of Narcissus, Narcissus becomes so enamored with his reflection that he withers away and dies. Narcissus here is the young lad; of course, he dies by a “butchery tool” and not by forgetting to eat or drink and wither away. Nevertheless, as he dies, one can conjecture that he perhaps was paralyzed in self-centered pity over his injuries as he lay dying.
As will be explained next, I believe that this young narcissus figure is actually the narrator.
Next, things get weird in a whimsical, staccato, upbeat interlude to its more serious predecessors. With the shout of “a flower,” we’re off to Willow Farm.
Willow Farm
Willow Farm is by far the most finely detailed part of Supper’s Ready. As you listen to this section, look for the following musical details that enhance the section’s theme and meaning:
- The spoken lines “Fly away you sweet little thing, they’re hard on your tail / They’re going to change you into a human being!” are spoken by two similar, but different, voices. The first line, urging the bird to fly away, is spoken by a kinder voice on the right channel. The second line, detailing what is going to happen to the bird, is spoken by a harsher voice on the left channel, complete with a witch-like giggle at the end.
- When the whistle sounds at the break between the two halves of this section, you can hear “all change” in the background.
- “Mum to mud to mad to dad” shifts from a roughly female voice to a male voice; “Dad to dam to dumb to mum” shifts from the male voice back to the female voice. Also, if you’re not listening from a mono audio output, you can hear the vocals move from the left channel to the right channel and back.
- The words “whistle” and “bang” are accompanied by a corresponding whistle and bang.
On the live version, Peter Gabriel at this point dons a “flower mask” and does a weird dance. Music, after all, can also be a visual affair.
A flower?
If you go down to Willow Farm,
to look for butterflies, flutterbyes, gutterflies
Open your eyes, it’s full of surprise, everyone lies,
like the fox on the rocks,
and the musical box.
Oh, there’s Mum & Dad, and good and bad,
and everyone’s happy to be here.There’s Winston Churchill dressed in drag,
he used to be a British flag, plastic bag, what a drag.
The frog was a prince, the prince was a brick, the brick was an egg,
the egg was a bird.
(Fly away you sweet little thing, they’re hard on your tail)
Hadn’t you heard?
(They’re going to change you into a human being!)
Yes, we’re happy as fish and gorgeous as geese,
and wonderfully clean in the morning.We’ve got everything, we’re growing everything,
We’ve got some in
We’ve got some out
We’ve got some wild things floating about
Everyone, we’re changing everyone,
you name them all,
We’ve had them here,
And the real stars are still to appear.ALL CHANGE!
Feel your body melt;
Mum to mud to mad to dad
Dad diddley office, Dad diddley office,
You’re all full of ball.Dad to dam to dumb to mum
Mum diddley washing, Mum diddley washing,
You’re all full of ball.Let me hear you lies, we’re living this up to the eyes.
Ooee-ooee-ooee-oowaa
Momma I want you now.And as you listen to my voice
To look for hidden doors, tidy floors, more applause.
You’ve been here all the time,
Like it or not, like what you got,
You’re under the soil (the soil, the soil),
Yes, deep in the soil (the soil, the soil, the soil!).
So we’ll end with a whistle and end with a bang
and all of us fit in our places.
Willow Farm don’t really make sense until the end, when it’s revealed that “you’re under the soil” — now, one can make sense of this part. Willow Farm seems like some sort of psychedelic, hallucinatory experience. Line by line, it really makes no sense at all, which seems to be the intention. Thus, my guess is that this is Genesis’ interpretation of Death: whereas How Dare I Be So Beautiful is an exterior view of what then must be the narrator’s death, this section is a first person account of what dying is. So: what all does the narrator see?
Open your eyes, it’s full of surprise, everyone lies,
like the fox on the rocks,
and the musical box.
The fox on the rocks is a reference to the album’s cover. The musical box describes the first song from Genesis’ previous album, Nursery Cryme.
Oh, there’s Mum & Dad, and good and bad,
and everyone’s happy to be here.
Armed with the observation that this passage is about death, we can conclude that the narrator has ended up in heaven.
There’s Winston Churchill dressed in drag,
he used to be a British flag, plastic bag, what a drag.
Not sure what Winston Churchill is doing here, but it sure sounds odd.
The frog was a prince, the prince was a brick, the brick was an egg,
the egg was a bird.
The Frog Prince is definitely a thing. Princes, however, are most definitely not bricks, as are bricks not eggs.
(Fly away you sweet little thing, they’re hard on your tail)
Hadn’t you heard?
(They’re going to change you into a human being!)
These next lines feel like they’re backwards. Thus, we can start to see a pattern. Genesis includes some familiar elements in their lyrics — “the frog was a prince,” witches turning things to and from animals — and turn them upside down. Right when we think we know what Genesis is describing, they show us how weird and chaotic this afterlife is.
The final stanza, as noted above, gets into the reality of death.
And as you listen to my voice
To look for hidden doors, tidy floors, more applause.
You’ve been here all the time,
The oddness of Willow Farm begins to become apparent. After dying, shock, disbelief, and denial are inevitable. The vivid hallucinations are over; the main character is looking for a way out — hidden doors — until the narrator (who has now shifted for some reason) confronts him with the truth.
The loud ending of this section leads to another quiet interlude featuring soft guitars, synths, and a flute solo, before a muted trumped heralds the crescendo to the loud and chaotic climax:
Apocalypse in 9/8
Here, all hell quite literally breaks loose in this modern retelling of the Book of Revelation.
In the live version, Gabriel dons a geometrical headdress seemingly reminiscent of the Geometer Pythagoras as mentioned.
Accompanying the end times, we are greeted with a unique time signature. Count the beats: this section isn’t any remotely commonly used time signature. As the title of the section suggests, it’s written in 9/8, meaning nine eight notes are in each measure. The composition, however, gets even weirder: instead of using a more simple 3 + 3 + 3 structure (the first eight note, the fourth, and the seventh are emphasized), it uses a 3 + 2 + 4 arrangement. On top of that, the melody and vocals are arranged in 4/4.
Even though only more experienced musicians will be able to keep track of this odd combination time signature and not get thrown off, you should still definitely try.
With the guards of Magog, swarming around,
The Pied Piper takes his children underground.
Dragons coming out of the sea,
Shimmering silver head of wisdom looking at me.
He brings down the fire from the skies,
You can tell he’s doing well by the look in human eyes.
Better not compromise.
It won’t be easy.666 is no longer alone,
He’s getting out the marrow in your back bone,
And the seven trumpets blowing sweet rock and roll,
Gonna blow right down inside your soul.
Pythagoras with the looking glass reflects the full moon,
In blood, he’s writing the lyrics of a brand new tune.
This isn’t just biblical references: this is straight up a summary of the Book of Revelation. Gog and Magog causing trouble? Check. A rampaging dragon and the Beast having a bit of fun? Check. Seven Trumpets heralding the apocalypse? Check. Of course, Apocalypse in 9/8 does take some literary freedoms in retelling the Book of Revelation. Seven Trumpets somehow playing Rock and Roll (must be playing Steely Dan!) give this apocalypse a bit of a modern feel.
We noted before that the GESM was a “supersonic scientist.” Now, Pythagoras is writing a new tune. If we interpret a “supersonic scientist” to allude to music, as the GESM is trying to basically create a new world order, that music must symbolize the new world order. Pythagoras is writing a brand new tune in blood — surely this could mean only one thing: this kind of change, after all, must be made by blood and sacrifice.
We can kind of predict what’s going to happen next: the Dragon, the Beast, and the false prophet — the Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man — are going to get cast into the Lake of Fire. Gog and Magog — possibly Akhenaton and Itsacon — are defeated. In the next episode of Supper’s Ready, we clean things up. We make ends meet. No: we’ll be aching men’s feet.
As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men’s Feet)
At this point in the live version, everything goes black, just before the stage explodes in light and music.
The Book of Revelation continues. The narrator is out of his vision; now, he summarizes the end. Accompanied by a triumphant chorus of guitars, synths, organs, and chimes, Genesis brings us to a satisfying ending feeling.
(drum roll please ….)
And it’s hey babe, with your guardian eyes so blue,
Hey my baby, don’t you know our love is true,
I’ve been so far from here,
Far from your loving arms,
Now I’m back again, and babe it’s gonna work out fine.Can’t you feel our souls ignite
Shedding ever changing colors,
in the darkness of the fading night,
Like the river joins the ocean,
as the germ in a seed grows
We have finally been freed to get back home.There’s an angel standing in the sun,
and he’s crying with a loud voice,
“This is the supper of the mighty one”,
Lord of Lords,
King of Kings,
Has returned to lead his children home,
To take them to the new Jerusalem.
The narrator is finally done with his vision. Metaphorical fireworks — “our souls ignite / shedding ever changing colors / in the darkness of the fading night” — herald the triumphant end.
The final verse is quite literally Revelation 19:
And He has a name written on His robe and on His thigh:
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings and commanders and mighty men, of horses and riders, of all men slave and free, small and great.”
Thus, such is the fate of the Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man. Cast into a Lake of Fire, and his followers eaten by birds, the GESM isn’t going to be having a good time. That concludes our narrator’s vision. He sees a dystopian future and the apocalypse; he sees death from inside and out; he sees the foundation of western thought: he sees the Bible.
As the song fades out, the lights are turned off, and Gabriel holds a black light tube up like a sword, visually signifying the satisfying end of Supper’s Ready.
Musically, this song is a masterpiece, with various tempos, rhythms, time signatures, and moods. Instrumentally, their sound effects and diversity of instrumentation are impressive for a band centered around live performances. Lyrically, their song tells a story with nested and deep meaning:
This story is not just a modern retelling of the Book of Revelation; it is also the story of a relationship strengthened by a touching vision; It is an interpretation of death; It is a warning against self-proclaimed prophets. Supper’s Ready doesn’t have a single message, moral, or theme; like any literary work, it addresses many ideas — life, death, truth, lies, love, safety, religion, vision — and themes — people can do terrible things in the name of religion; we find safety in familiarity; love transcends life and death; life lies, while death reveals the truth — all these intricate and interesting.
It doesn’t matter whether you love or hate this song. Just appreciate this song for the detail and thought that it represents, as the masterpiece of art that it is.
The Null Alephant 
One thought on “From Love to Lies to Life to Death”