This is probably my favorite Genesis song, by a long shot...it's an absolutely beautiful song with wonderful melodies and a prime example of how Genesis was so great during the 70s. Most of the points I could make have already been made, but overall its lyrics present a classic "power corrupts" kind of story about a defector who gets lost on his voyage away from his twisted king, and finds a secluded tribe of primitive people in a cold, snowy wasteland. He fulfills their prophecy or whatever and he ends up leading them on a conquest. He later realizes he's no better than the king that he was running from in the first place.
The meaning can be taken as kind of simple or rudimentary i suppose, but the lyrics and delivery offer the story in such a beautifully haunting way...this song is a wonderful journey through the chaos of this man's values as he meets a culture by whom he is regarded as a savior—or a god, even. The lyrics do a nice job of providing a good amount of ambiguity to the ending.
One part I've never really understood fully (or at least been able to fit any logical meaning in with the rest) is the "There he talked with water/and then with the vine" line. I suppose it's a bit of introspective self-reflection on this man's part, considering "do I take advantage of these people's dreams or just dash their hopes and leave?"
This is probably my favorite Genesis song, by a long shot...it's an absolutely beautiful song with wonderful melodies and a prime example of how Genesis was so great during the 70s. Most of the points I could make have already been made, but overall its lyrics present a classic "power corrupts" kind of story about a defector who gets lost on his voyage away from his twisted king, and finds a secluded tribe of primitive people in a cold, snowy wasteland. He fulfills their prophecy or whatever and he ends up leading them on a conquest. He later realizes he's no better than the king that he was running from in the first place.
The meaning can be taken as kind of simple or rudimentary i suppose, but the lyrics and delivery offer the story in such a beautifully haunting way...this song is a wonderful journey through the chaos of this man's values as he meets a culture by whom he is regarded as a savior—or a god, even. The lyrics do a nice job of providing a good amount of ambiguity to the ending.
One part I've never really understood fully (or at least been able to fit any logical meaning in with the rest) is the "There he talked with water/and then with the vine" line. I suppose it's a bit of introspective self-reflection on this man's part, considering "do I take advantage of these people's dreams or just dash their hopes and leave?"