Originally I misheard the climactic verse of 'Apocalypse In 9/8', and I sort of prefer my mishearing.
'666 is the name of the law'. Everything on Earth has now become corrupted - it won't be easy - evil has complete power and the people are subjugated on pain of the worst Earthly punishments for speaking truth.
'He's getting out the metal [rather than marrow] in your backbone' - much the same really except with an added connotation of becoming a machine or cybernetic slave.
'In fact, he's writing the lyrics [of this song] - Oh, they grabbed you too!' where this is said by the male narrator to the songwriter, who is maybe also his female companion with whom he is reunited.
'He' is either the Beast, or Pythagoras who is into the numerology and mythos of the Beast (as I said elsewhere, Gabriel consciously used the numerology of 'Fox'=666). By building the fear of the evil and tyranny through song we have been aiding its power. This seems to be the ultimate defeat and hopelessness until we hear the tubular bells bring redemption. (See also Breakfast of Champions where the writer is implicated in the plot; this was supposedly influential on LLDOB and incidentally provided the title for 'Blue Monday'.)
'the lyrics of a brand new tune' still makes less sense to me: it would be lyrics for a tune, and the tune that follows is actually a reprise of 'Lover's Leap'. Or is this verse, rather than continuing the dramatic threat as it appears to be musically, actually the resolution, and the new tune is the love of God? I find that interpretation less satisfactory in terms of telling the story of Revelation, where the supper of the mighty one (which comes later) is the resolution.
Note the hypothesis that St John experienced his apocalypse under the influence of psilocybin (see John Allegro) - Genesis's songbook was not written under the influence of psychedelics except by proxy!
Originally I misheard the climactic verse of 'Apocalypse In 9/8', and I sort of prefer my mishearing.
'666 is the name of the law'. Everything on Earth has now become corrupted - it won't be easy - evil has complete power and the people are subjugated on pain of the worst Earthly punishments for speaking truth.
'He's getting out the metal [rather than marrow] in your backbone' - much the same really except with an added connotation of becoming a machine or cybernetic slave.
'In fact, he's writing the lyrics [of this song] - Oh, they grabbed you too!' where this is said by the male narrator to the songwriter, who is maybe also his female companion with whom he is reunited.
'He' is either the Beast, or Pythagoras who is into the numerology and mythos of the Beast (as I said elsewhere, Gabriel consciously used the numerology of 'Fox'=666). By building the fear of the evil and tyranny through song we have been aiding its power. This seems to be the ultimate defeat and hopelessness until we hear the tubular bells bring redemption. (See also Breakfast of Champions where the writer is implicated in the plot; this was supposedly influential on LLDOB and incidentally provided the title for 'Blue Monday'.)
'the lyrics of a brand new tune' still makes less sense to me: it would be lyrics for a tune, and the tune that follows is actually a reprise of 'Lover's Leap'. Or is this verse, rather than continuing the dramatic threat as it appears to be musically, actually the resolution, and the new tune is the love of God? I find that interpretation less satisfactory in terms of telling the story of Revelation, where the supper of the mighty one (which comes later) is the resolution.
Note the hypothesis that St John experienced his apocalypse under the influence of psilocybin (see John Allegro) - Genesis's songbook was not written under the influence of psychedelics except by proxy!