King Crimson – Starless

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Sundown dazzling day
Gold through my eyes
But my eyes turned within
Only see
Starless and bible black

Ice blue silver sky
Fades into grey
To a grey hope that oh years to be
Starless and bible black

Old friend charity
Cruel twisted smile
And the smile signals emptiness
For me
Starless and bible black

Send "Starless" Ringtone to Cell


Lyrics submitted by ruben

"Starless" as written by John Kenneth Wetton, John Young

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI Music Publishing

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Starless song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • 0
    My Interpretation:For me, these lyrics reflect the hopelessness of a person affected by dementia, knowing that certain faces are familiar, yet not knowing why. The opening lyric 'Sundown', in my opinion, relates to a symptom of dementia known as sundowning.

    From Wikipedia: "Sundowning typically occurs during the late afternoon, evening, and night, hence the name. It occurs in persons with certain forms of dementia and psychosis, such as seen in Alzheimer's disease. A person who is sundowning may exhibit mood swings, become abnormally demanding, suspicious, upset or disoriented, and see or hear things that are not there in the late afternoon and evening."

    Truly a brilliant song which has been one of my favorites for years, but only recently have I perceived it as I do now.
    Flag Elemenoon December 27, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator and Genesis (with Gabriel) are my three favourite groups, and this is one of my favourite songs ever. The line "Starless and bible black" is a quote from Dylan Thomas’ "Under Milk Wood".
    Flag theosarkoudaon October 15, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Gordian, you've got 'amends' right, but it's

    To a grey hope,
    That amends to be,

    'hole' doesn't make sense, 'hope' does, and that's the lyric.

    It's about futility.
    Maybe Palmer-James met the Borg early.


    Flag shpilkon April 20, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Way, way beyond depression. Utter blackness inside of himself, to the point of nothingness. That is how I perceive it. How I feel. Here are the corrected lyrics:

    Sundown, dazzling day,
    Go through my eyes.
    But my eyes turn within,
    Only see,
    Starless and bible black.

    Old friend charity,
    Cruel, twisted smile.
    And the smile signals emptiness,
    For me.
    Starless and bible black.

    Ice blue, silver sky,
    Fades into gray.
    To a grey hole,
    That amends to be,
    Starless and bible black.
    Flagged GordianPiusIIIon July 29, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Way, way beyond depression. Utter blackness inside of himself, to the point of nothingness. That is how I perceive it. How I feel. Here are the corrected lyrics:

    Sundown, dazzling day,
    Go through my eyes.
    But my eyes turn within,
    Only see,
    Starless and bible black.

    Old friend charity,
    Cruel, twisted smile.
    And the smile signals emptiness,
    For me.
    Starless and bible black.

    Ice blue, silver sky,
    Fades into gray.
    To a grey hole,
    That amends to be,
    Starless and bible black.
    Flagged GordianPiusIIIon July 29, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Way, way beyond depression. Utter blackness inside of himself, to the point of nothingness. That is how I perceive it. How I feel. Here are the corrected lyrics:

    Sundown, dazzling day,
    Go through my eyes.
    But my eyes turn within,
    Only see,
    Starless and bible black.

    Old friend charity,
    Cruel, twisted smile.
    And the smile signals emptiness,
    For me.
    Starless and bible black.

    Ice blue, silver sky,
    Fades into gray.
    To a grey hole,
    That amends to be,
    Starless and bible black.
    Flag GordianPiusIIIon July 29, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i charge you to name a better prog-rock band than King Crimson. seriously.
    ELP? Supertramp? Yes? Rush?
    all wonderful bands, but none as inventive or original as this band.
    robert fripp is the fucking man.
    Flag sable Jesteron June 26, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I guess it´s a tendency for make sense the year of pusblishin (1974 both discs)Red/Starless And Bible Black, like siamese. In other hands it´s a brilliant song.
    So it´s satanic the verse "bible black", yes or not?
    Thanks.
    Flag elliott smithon August 12, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Why, oh why it's always the saddest and darkest songs that stick to one's mind and soul more than others? Well, mine at least.

    This is easily one of the best songs not only by KC, but by any of the classic prog-rock bands. It's hopelessness turned into art. There have been times when I listened to "Red" and wanted to skip the song just to not ruin my mood absolutely. How many times have I made it, you think? None. Zero. "Starless" always drags me in and I often find myself listening to it several times in a row.
    Flag kristaps_kon January 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is one of the best KC songs I've heard. I think it's about depression, and the lyrics represent that (but the ones here have some mistakes). It starts out slow, and gradually builds up until it gets really heavy at the end. This may represent starting out depressed, and then becoming more and more angry at everything.
    Flag Otokoon December 29, 2006   Link

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