Said the straight man to the late man
Where have you been
I've been here and I've been there
And I've been in between.

I talk to the wind
My words are all carried away
I talk to the wind
The wind does not hear
The wind cannot hear.

I'm on the outside looking inside
What do I see
Much confusion, disillusion
All around me.

You don't possess me
Don't impress me
Just upset my mind
Can't instruct me or conduct me
Just use up my time

I talk to the wind
My words are all carried away
I talk to the wind
The wind does not hear
The wind cannot hear.



Lyrics submitted by capitol76

Track duration: 04:38

"I Talk to the Wind" as written by Robert Fripp, Michael Rex Giles, Greg Lake, Ian Mcdonald, Peter John Sinfield

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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I Talk To The Wind song meanings
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26 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:IMHO
    Late man= Hasatan, Lucifer, Beelzebub
    Straight man= God, Yaweh, Elohim
    Flag PowderedToatManon January 26, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:ANd if your wondfering my name is a typo, supposed to be PowderedToast*man :D I LOVE CRIMSON!
    Flag PowderedToatManon January 26, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:A story very similiar to the earlyorigins of Hasatan, Satan, in the BIble. Not trying to be a holy roller just pointing out the fact that King Crimson is also an acronym for Beelzebub. Also wanted to post this bc I saw no similiar comment. I could be wrong I didnt read them all. Its the first connection that popped into my head bc I use to be a little bit of a theology buff :P Check out the beginning chapters of the book of Job if you want to see the connection for yourself.
    Flag PowderedToatManon January 26, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think this song is about someone who lost a close person to him and trying to deal with it.
    "said the straight man to the LATE man".

    "I've been here and I've been there
    And I've been in between."
    - the ghost which travels between this world and the afterlife.

    he misses his late friend (the wind - his spirit) and tries to talk to him but he realizes that he cant hear him because he is dead and his words simply blows in the wind to nowhere.

    "I'm on the outside looking inside
    What do I see
    Much confusion, disillusion
    All around me."
    -the straight man imagine to himself what does his late friend sees when he look at the world from the next life/heaven, or maybe this is how the straight man sees the world after his lost, he feels confused, that he is not part of the world and nothing feels real.


    "You don't possess me
    Don't impress me
    Just upset my mind
    Can't instruct me or conduct me
    Just use up my time."
    -the straight man is upset because he feels alone and confused and there's no one that can guide
    him and show him the way. he wish to stop wasting his time on talking to someone who cannot answer him nor hear and to be able of letting him go.




    Flag spiritualathieston October 22, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is about using drugs, very straight meaning;

    The straight man is some person who is not on drugs, while the late man is the drug user. Been here, there and between is what he experienced while tripping. The chorus is about hallucinating while on drugs, telling that he seeing his own vocal sound. Next is that I feel that he is on the outside (reality) looking inside (his mind) and he sees confusion and disillusion. Don't possessed and impressed him means that he thinks that he cannot be controlled by this drug and it just upset his mind, and used up his time. And as the chorus repeat again about how he talk to the wind to me means that in the end he take that drug again.
    Flag Rais321on August 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:That's really good piece of work you made, guys. One suggestion - maybe the 3rd verse (You don't possess me...) contains words said by wind. It makes sense - we cannot possess wind, nor impress it, distract or conduct it. Talking to it is just wasting its time.
    So what do you say about theory, that the lyrics are about a man and the nature? The late man is the man, who cares about mother earth and so on, but he's late, it's too late to change people's mind and save the earth.
    Of course, this theory have large gaps - is this guy talking to wind, or is wind a metaphore of people who don't listen to him? If it's wind, why would it talk to him like that?
    Hope you (or I) find some bright solution.
    Sorry for my english
    Flag goodsavageon November 05, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think that the song is all about a person who comes from a standpoint of enlightenment. Namely the "late man". They have reached their understanding about the world but realize that it doesn't really matter. Because no matter what they cant pass it on to any other. Every word they say to pass on their understanding gets carried away in the wrong direction or is ignored much like the wind blowing it out of their hands. When the Late man explains his thoughts to the straight man, the straight man is but wind which cannot be impressed or possessed and simply blows away.
    Flagged scrutorumcaputon August 18, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think the "you" in the third verse is the wind. He gets frustrated. This song is absolutely amazing. Such a feeling. I love it.
    Flag DJgifon June 17, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:all of you are missing the central reference, and only some of you are actually touching on the theme:

    Said the straight man to the late man
    Where have you been
    I've been here and I've been there
    And I've been in between.

    Job 1:7
    And the Lord said unto Satan
    "Whence comest thou?"
    Then Satan answered the Lord and said
    "From going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it..."

    It should be obvious. King Crimson. "You don't impress me, don't possess me."

    YOU are the wind. The chaff.
    Flag user35won September 02, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this is about a guy who disagrees with society and goes to the beat of the wind and I think thestamp had a good idea. In that when the man talks to people about his views they are biased against him so they do not listen and he might as well be talking to the wind
    Flag soadreptileson July 21, 2007   Link

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