I've been listening to quite a bit of Peter Gabriel-era Genesis as of late, and while I'm more a "music" guy (as opposed to a "lyrics" guy), I've actually taken the time recently to read the lyrics out of context of the music. What I've found is that Peter Gabriel was a heck of a lyricist, and tremendously original one at that. Below I've cut/pasted the words to a tune called "Counting Out Time" which I think are pretty indicative of the man's lyrical abilities. I think it more than humorous that anyone would want to write a song about a kid's inability to successfully apply sexual techniques that he learned in a book, but that's Peter Gabriel for you. Read it, and hopefully you'll enjoy:
I'm counting out time,
Got the whole thing down by numbers
All those numbers!Give my guidance!
O Lord I need that now.
The day of judgement's come,
And you can bet that I've been resting,
For this testing,
Digesting every word the experts say.
Erogenous zones I love you.
Without you, what would a poor boy do?
Found a girl I wanted to date,
Thought I'd better get it straight.
Went to buy a book before its too late.
Dont leave nothing to fate
.And I have studied every line,
every page in the book,
And now Ive got the real thing here,
I'm gonna take a look, take a look.This is Rael!
I'm counting out time,
hoping it goes like I planned it,
'cos I understand it.
Look! I've found the hotspots, Figs 1-9.
Still counting out time,
got my finger on the button,
Dont say nuttin-just lie there still
And Ill get you turned on just fine.
Erongenous zones I love you.
Without you, what would a poor boy do?
Touch and go with 1-6.
Bit of trouble in zone No. 7.
Gotta remember all of my tricks.
There's heaven ahead in No. 11!
Getting crucial responses with dialation of the pupils.
Honey get hip! Its time to unzip, to unzip. Whipee!Move over Casanova!
I'm counting out time,
reaction none to happy,
Please don't slap me,
I'm a red blooded male and the book said I could not fail.
I'm counting out time,
I got unexpected distress from my mistress!
I'll get my money back from the bookstore right away.
Erongenous zones I question you-Without you, what would a poor boy do?
Without you, mankind handkinds thru the blues.
2 comments:
(Spitfire)
What I've found is that Peter Gabriel was a heck of a lyricist, and tremendously original one at that. Below I've cut/pasted the words to a tune called "Counting Out Time" which I think are pretty indicative of the man's lyrical abilities. I think it more than humorous that anyone would want to write a song about a kid's inability to successfully apply sexual techniques that he learned in a book, but that's Peter Gabriel for you. Read it, and hopefully you'll enjoy: <<
I did!
(that's from " The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway)
Recently I have become a BIG fan of GENESIS and have bought almost all of the early Genesis work on CDs.
I AM a lyrics person myself and am totally captivated by the complex and unique lyrics I find in the music of Genesis!
Sometimes I listen to 2 CDs at one setting and just devour the music-
AND the lyrics!!
JunieRose
I'm not a lyrics person at all, though I do have a hard time listening to music with really bad lyrics, like say...Warrant's "Cherry Pie" or early Van Halen w. David Lee Roth. But given the choice between something with great lyrics but mediocre song contruction, versus listening to an instrumental tune that kicks ass, I'll go with the latter every time. "Counting Out Time" is a cute little tune, hardly one of Genesis' classics, but lyrically it is pretty funny. I thought it was pretty clever as he traces Rael's progress following the diagrams in the book, but then nothing wound up working, so he'll demand his money back from the bookstore at some point. Very original, even out of the context of the wider concept of the Lamb.
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