The Crimson King is not Satan, but rather 13th century Holy Roman Emporer Frederick II. I won't waste bandwidth here, but anyone interested in reading the lengthy exposition of these lyrics can do so at Pete Sinfield's website, songsouponsea.com.
I will say I always felt that these lyrics are highly evocative. Take, for instance, all the colors: "purple piper," "yellow jester," "black queen," "evergreen," "gray mornings," and of course... "Crimson King." The verses are filled with sound and taste ("sweet and sour"). There's also a lot of crying, singing, juggling, etc.: the Crimson King = verbs & action.
I think that Sinfield strives more toward poetry than he does lyric writing, but ultimately succeeds on both accounts. Few writers of rock lyrics have pulled this off successfully, IMO (Dylan comes to mind).
Thanks, Karl,
As an old rocker who has sang this song on stage a few times...
It always evoked an analogy or multiple double entendre of ...
'The fire in a man's blood as he journeys through the stages of his life'
and that's the way I always sang it and it worked.
The Court = The Body, The Crimson King = The Blood is the ruler of life itself.
Interesting posts as to meanings.
Sorry, to those of you wishing to demonize my generation but we were quite a bit deeper than that ... even when we were all getting stoned together or suffering witches to...
Thanks, Karl,
As an old rocker who has sang this song on stage a few times...
It always evoked an analogy or multiple double entendre of ...
'The fire in a man's blood as he journeys through the stages of his life'
and that's the way I always sang it and it worked.
The Court = The Body, The Crimson King = The Blood is the ruler of life itself.
Interesting posts as to meanings.
Sorry, to those of you wishing to demonize my generation but we were quite a bit deeper than that ... even when we were all getting stoned together or suffering witches to live :)
Looking forward to hearing the 'real' story.
The Crimson King is not Satan, but rather 13th century Holy Roman Emporer Frederick II. I won't waste bandwidth here, but anyone interested in reading the lengthy exposition of these lyrics can do so at Pete Sinfield's website, songsouponsea.com.
I will say I always felt that these lyrics are highly evocative. Take, for instance, all the colors: "purple piper," "yellow jester," "black queen," "evergreen," "gray mornings," and of course... "Crimson King." The verses are filled with sound and taste ("sweet and sour"). There's also a lot of crying, singing, juggling, etc.: the Crimson King = verbs & action.
I think that Sinfield strives more toward poetry than he does lyric writing, but ultimately succeeds on both accounts. Few writers of rock lyrics have pulled this off successfully, IMO (Dylan comes to mind).
Thanks, Karl, As an old rocker who has sang this song on stage a few times... It always evoked an analogy or multiple double entendre of ... 'The fire in a man's blood as he journeys through the stages of his life' and that's the way I always sang it and it worked. The Court = The Body, The Crimson King = The Blood is the ruler of life itself. Interesting posts as to meanings. Sorry, to those of you wishing to demonize my generation but we were quite a bit deeper than that ... even when we were all getting stoned together or suffering witches to...
Thanks, Karl, As an old rocker who has sang this song on stage a few times... It always evoked an analogy or multiple double entendre of ... 'The fire in a man's blood as he journeys through the stages of his life' and that's the way I always sang it and it worked. The Court = The Body, The Crimson King = The Blood is the ruler of life itself. Interesting posts as to meanings. Sorry, to those of you wishing to demonize my generation but we were quite a bit deeper than that ... even when we were all getting stoned together or suffering witches to live :) Looking forward to hearing the 'real' story.
@CrimsonKarl How could you say that king crimson is not Satan. I just listen "Thrak" and appreciate their mind.
@CrimsonKarl How could you say that king crimson is not Satan. I just listen "Thrak" and appreciate their mind.