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Bored of the life on the city of gold
He'd left and let nobody know.
Gone were the towers he had known from a child,
Alone with the dream of a life
He traveled the wide open road,
The blinkered arcade,
In search of another to share in his life.
Nowhere.
Everyone looked so strange to him.
They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence.
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried
And wept as they led him away to a cage
Beast that can talk, read the sign.
The creatures they pushed and they prodded his frame
And questioned his story again.
But soon they grew bored of their prey
Beast that can talk?
More like a freak or publicity stunt.
Oh
No.
They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence.
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried
And broke down the door of the cage and marched on out.
He grabbed a creature by the scruff of his neck, pointing out:
There, beyond the bounds of you weak imagination
Lie the noble towers of my city, bright and gold.
Let me take you there, show you a living story
Let me show you others such as me
Why did I ever leave?
They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried
And wept.
And so we set out with the best and his horns
And his crazy description of home.
After many days journey we came to a peak
Where the beast gazed abroad and cried out.
We followed his gaze and we thought that maybe we saw
A spire of gold - no, a trick of the eye that's all,
But the beast was gone and a voice was heard:
They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance
Hello friend, welcome home.
He'd left and let nobody know.
Gone were the towers he had known from a child,
Alone with the dream of a life
He traveled the wide open road,
The blinkered arcade,
In search of another to share in his life.
Nowhere.
Everyone looked so strange to him.
They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence.
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried
And wept as they led him away to a cage
Beast that can talk, read the sign.
The creatures they pushed and they prodded his frame
And questioned his story again.
But soon they grew bored of their prey
Beast that can talk?
More like a freak or publicity stunt.
Oh
No.
They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence.
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried
And broke down the door of the cage and marched on out.
He grabbed a creature by the scruff of his neck, pointing out:
There, beyond the bounds of you weak imagination
Lie the noble towers of my city, bright and gold.
Let me take you there, show you a living story
Let me show you others such as me
Why did I ever leave?
They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance, he cried
And wept.
And so we set out with the best and his horns
And his crazy description of home.
After many days journey we came to a peak
Where the beast gazed abroad and cried out.
We followed his gaze and we thought that maybe we saw
A spire of gold - no, a trick of the eye that's all,
But the beast was gone and a voice was heard:
They've got no horns and they've got no tail
They don't even know of our existence
Am I wrong to believe in a city of gold
That lies in the deep distance
Hello friend, welcome home.
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae
Track duration: 04:35
"A Trick of the Tail" as written by Tony Banks
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I believe, this being the first album after peter left, and with tensions between the remaining members and peter this was a song about him leaving for "bigger and better things".(city of gold)
horns and tail - peters zany outfits worn that seemed tobe getting him the most attention of all during the final years of his tenure with the band.
i believe - he is the "beast" - the tabloids and press are the pokers/jabbers and "publicity stunt" same.
Everytime I listen to it, I immediately picture the beast and his city and his journey. For me, this song is made to remind us there is more between heaven and earth than we know or dare to imagine.
I also see it as an homage to man's phantasy and imagination. I think even grown-ups in this modern, reason-based world, as we are, need phantasy and the pictures or stories that it creates. If we keep our mind open and our imagination alive, we may one day be rewarded by being shown "a living story". ; )
PS: What do you think the beast looks like? I know it says "horns", but I can't help thinking of a beautiful unicorn. I think it's the melody, it sounds like a trot or canter.
the city of gold i think it's the animal kingdom,
and the road, it's different parts of world history
FWIW, I think this is the best "pop" song Genesis ever did.