Anthony Phillips began his solo career in the 70's after departing as Genes… Read Full Bio ↴Anthony Phillips began his solo career in the 70's after departing as Genesis' lead guitarist in 1970 due to stage fright. Since 1977, he has released several albums taking on different moods, from his poppy Sides to the ambience of his Private Parts and Pieces collections, from the anthemic pieces like "Tarka" or "Slow Dance" to the rock opera of 1984.
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Anthony PHILLIPS was one of the original founding members of GENESIS featuring Peter GABRIEL, Tony BANKS, and Michael RUTHERFORD. Following "Trespass", GENESIS' second album, PHILLIPS left (purportedly due to stage fright) and was replaced by Steve HACKETT. Nothing was heard again from Anthony until 1977, when he favored us with his first solo, "The Geese and the Ghost", although PHILLIPS wasn't the first member of the band to release a solo album (that honor goes to Steve HACKETT, by releasing "Voyage of the Acolyte", in 1975). A more commercial audience was courted on "Wise After The Event" and "Sides", to no avail, and PHILLIPS spent much of his time releasing instrumental pieces (both old and new) under the "Private Parts & Pieces" series. Steeped in classical, pre-Baroque, and folk influences, he was able to record entire albums featuring only his acoustic instrument. He is one of the world's masters on the twelve string guitar and piano compositions that hark back to GENESIS' original lost innocence. His studio recordings reveal a distinctive character to his compositions on those instruments as well.

Some of his albums are more "progessive" than others, especially "Sides" (INTERESTING CD), "Private Parts and Pieces II" (A MUST! for fans of early GENESIS), "PP&P IX", and "Wise After the Event" (A MASTERPIECE); others are more "classical" in style like "PP&P III", "PP&P V", "PP&P VI" or "poppy" like "Invisible Men" and a few tracks on "Sides". Anthony PHILLIPS' 1977 debut album is one of the best works, but all of them are excellent. This album (1977) by Ant is my second favorite PHILLIPS album after "Wise After the Event". Even more its a jewel for every Rock collection, but in its own particular genre (a mix of those quiet moments of "Trespass" of GENESIS+the medieval folkprog style by GRYPHON). As you well have gathered, "Anthology" (1995) is an album that has a compilation of tracks from his solo career. This album is the perfect introduction to the world of Anthony PHILLIPS.

Stranger
Anthony Phillips Lyrics

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Now that you don't know me,
Is it gone forever, past?
Now my rock has crumbled
In the stormy winter blast.
Now the world is darkening
As I watch the farewell train,
Though once she spoke within me –
Strange, may never see you again.

Now the wind is asking:
How a rock so firm can fall.
Then the breeze he murmurs:
She rose not to save death's call.
Now the leaves are rustling,
Do I hear them speak a name
That waits round every corner –
Strange, may never see you again.

Little girl, lilting lilac,
Autumn Queen, by this quiet brook,
Once you lay, breathing softly –
Now I watch the ashes burn,
A stranger who may not return
Rose with the dawn,
Sailed on the morning tide.
Take this, shining acorn,
Treasure it, through joy and sorrow
When you're old, tired and lonely,
Open it – a voice will sigh,
A memory that went drifting by
Upon the tide that swept you from my side.

Now the bells are calling,
I must tread the homeward track.
Leave the whispering ripples
For the next part I must act.
Though I gave the whole world,
She remembers not my name.

That star beneath the bright lights –
Strange may never see you again.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Anthony Phillips's song "Stranger" describe the feeling of loss after a relationship has ended. The singer acknowledges that now that the person they no longer know each other, it feels like it is gone forever. The metaphor of the "rock" crumbling in the "stormy winter blast" is used to represent the solidity of the relationship suddenly breaking apart. The world is perceived as growing darker as the farewell train departs, while the singer hears a voice reminding them that they may never see the person again, which adds to the sense of finality.

The wind asks how something so stable could fall apart, but the breeze murmurs that the person did not rise to save the relationship from the call of death. The leaves rustle with a name that waits around every corner, which could be interpreted as the memory of the person lingering. The second stanza is a recollection of a past moment with the person, described as a "little girl, lilting lilac, Autumn Queen." They watched her breathe softly, but now the ashes are burning, and the person is a stranger who may not return.

The final stanza is the singer's realization that they must move on and tread the homeward track. They must leave behind the whispering ripples of the past and act on their next part, even though they once gave the whole world to the person. The person does not remember their name, and now they remain a star beneath the bright lights that the singer may never see again.

Overall, "Stranger" portrays the longing and sadness that comes with the end of a relationship. The lyrics use nature metaphors to represent the ephemerality of life, relationships, and memories.

Line by Line Meaning

Now that you don't know me, Is it gone forever, past?
After being separated, does our love belong to the past now that you don't recognize me anymore?

Now my rock has crumbled In the stormy winter blast.
My emotional support has been destroyed by difficult circumstances.

Now the world is darkening As I watch the farewell train, Though once she spoke within me – Strange, may never see you again.
The world is becoming a depressing place as I watch my lover leave, although she's still with me in spirit, which makes me realize that we might never meet again.

Now the wind is asking: How a rock so firm can fall.
The wind wonders how something as stable as our love has weakened.

Then the breeze he murmurs: She rose not to save death's call.
But the breeze admits that she didn't abandon me to escape death as I feared.

Now the leaves are rustling, Do I hear them speak a name That waits round every corner – Strange, may never see you again.
I think I can hear the leaves whispering a name that might be hers, but it's uncertain whether I'll ever see her again.

Little girl, lilting lilac, Autumn Queen, by this quiet brook, Once you lay, breathing softly – Now I watch the ashes burn, A stranger who may not return Rose with the dawn, Sailed on the morning tide.
I remember a beautiful moment when my love laid by the river, but now I am watching her ashes burn and wondering if a part of her will ever return.

Take this, shining acorn, Treasure it, through joy and sorrow When you're old, tired and lonely, Open it – a voice will sigh, A memory that went drifting by Upon the tide that swept you from my side.
I want to give you this acorn as a symbol of our memories, so you can turn to it for comfort when you're feeling down and hear my voice whispering lovingly.

Now the bells are calling, I must tread the homeward track. Leave the whispering ripples For the next part I must act.
Now it's time to go home since the bells are ringing and I must move on from my past love.

Though I gave the whole world, She remembers not my name. That star beneath the bright lights – Strange may never see you again.
Even after giving everything I had to offer, she doesn't remember me, but I'll still hold onto the hope that we might run into each other in a strange twist of fate.

Contributed by Owen O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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TRACKS