The band's first two albums, End of the World and It's Five O'Clock, combined a very '60s sounding Euro-pop-rock with Greek folk music elements. The former album featured the song "Rain and Tears", a reworking of Pachelbel's Canon in D major. The song was a minor hit in the United Kingdom, but did far better in France, where the band was based, as well as the rest of Europe. Other European hits included "Marie Jolie", "I Want to Live", and "Spring, Summer, Winter, and Fall" from 1969 and 1970 respectively.
The band began to record their crowning achievement in 1970: a musical adaptation of the biblical Book of Revelations, entitled 666 - The Apocalypse of St. John. Relations between Roussos, Vangelis and Sideras were not good at the time, and continued to worsen before the album's creation. However, the group was contractually obligated to release a third album, and went into the studio in 1970 to create 666.
Essentially, 666 was Vangelis' concept, created with an outside lyricist, Costas Ferris. The music that Vangelis was creating for 666 was much more psychedelic and progressive rock oriented than anything the band had done before. This did not sit well with the other band members, who wished to continue in the pop direction that had brought them success. Further, Roussos was being groomed for a solo career, and pressure from the record company for the band to produce another hit single did not help. In essence, the band broke up during the completion of 666. Vangelis finished the album primarily on his own with assistance from studio musicians.
Immediately afterwards, Vangelis engaged in a long fight with Mercury over the content of the album. The record company, in particular, objected to the song "∞" (infinity), which consisted of actress Irene Papas chanting the words "I was, I am, I am to come" in various stages of orgiastic ecstasy, while Vangelis accompanied her on percussion. However, the double-album length of 666 and the musical experimentation, as well as the subject matter, also exacerbated Mercury's ire. After Roussos and Sideras had already embarked on solo careers, Mercury finally agreed to release 666 two years after its completion, and it came out in 1972.
Strangely enough, 666 was the only Aphrodite's Child album to make any impact in America. The blood-red cover with the letters 666 prominently displayed in black and white was striking, and brought immediate accusations of occultism from various quarters. Any suspicions of occultism could be dispersed by simply reading the lyrics, which were fairly faithfully based around the Book of Revelations, but the accusations undoubtedly helped sell the album in the United States. The album met with less controversy overseas and sold reasonably well on its own merits.
The music itself was an impressive display of Vangelis' abilities, combining psychedelic and progressive rock with ethnic instruments, choral chanting, recitations, and very advanced use of synthesizers and keyboards for the time. In time the album became recognized as one of the most important early progressive rock works, and a defining example of the concept album. 666 also made Vangelis an underground name to watch, and earned him an offer from Jon Anderson to join Yes. Vangelis turned down the offer in order to concentrate on a solo career. However, he and Anderson later created several duet albums in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
After the band split, both Vangelis and Demis Roussos pursued successful solo careers, Roussos as a pop singer and Vangelis as one of the pioneers in progressive electronic music. Kolouris worked with both on occasion. Lucas Sideras pursued a less successful solo career, releasing the single "Rising Sun" after the break-up.
Discography
End of the World (1968)
It's Five O'Clock (1969)
666 (The Apocalypse Of John,13/18) (1971)
Best Of Aphrodite's Child (1980)
Aphrodite's Child's Greatest Hits (1995)
The Complete Collection (Aphrodite's Child) (1996)
Babylon the Great (2002)
Song Highlights:
"Four Horsemen", from the album 666, was a minor hit on FM radio in the United States, receiving AOR airplay to this day. "Babylon", from the same album, was released as a single, and found similar acceptance on AOR radio in the 1970's. "Hic and Nunc" and "Break", from the same album, were also tried out as singles but did not chart well at the time.
"Spring, Summer, Winter and Fall" - the final single before the release of 666 and the last of the band's singles to chart significantly in their European home base.
"Rain and Tears" - based on Pachelbel's Canon in D major, this song was probably their biggest hit as a single release.
"It's Five o Clock" and "Such a Funny Night" also charted in Europe. All of the above songs can be found on various compilation/greatest hits discs. The band's singles were aimed squarely at the pop market, and do not bear any significant resemblance to the music on 666.
It's Five O'Clock
Aphrodite's Child Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and I walk through the empty streets
thoughts fill my head
but then still
No one speaks to me
My mind takes me back
to the years that have passed me by
It is so hard te believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him
I find sympathy thus so
And so I go back to the years that have past me by
[interlude]
It is so hard to believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this is the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him I find sympathy
He gives me day
gives me hope
and a little dream too
The lyrics to "It's Five O'Clock" by Aphrodite's Child describe the thoughts and reflections of the singer as they walk through empty streets at night. The first stanza establishes a feeling of isolation and loneliness as the singer notes that no one speaks to them. The second stanza reveals that their mind is occupied with memories of the past as they struggle to come to terms with the present. The interlude serves as a break in the narrative, allowing the listener to absorb the emotions expressed in the first half of the song before transitioning to the second.
The third stanza of the song parallels the first, with the singer again walking through the empty streets and finding solace in the night. However, this time they note that the night "gives" them something - day, hope, and a little dream. These final lines suggest a sense of optimism or hopefulness, as if the singer has found some measure of comfort in the world around them.
Overall, "It's Five O'Clock" is a poignant reflection on loneliness, memory, and the ways in which we connect with the world around us. The repetition of certain lines and phrases throughout the song lends a sense of structure and coherence to the lyrics, while the interlude helps to punctuate and reinforce the emotional content.
Line by Line Meaning
It's five o'clock
It's already late in the day.
and I walk through the empty streets
I am walking alone in quietness.
thoughts fill my head
My mind is occupied with deep thoughts.
but then still
Yet, even in stillness, I am alone.
No one speaks to me
There is no one who wants to talk to me.
My mind takes me back
My thoughts drift to the past.
to the years that have passed me by
I recollect the years that I have left behind.
It is so hard te believe
It's almost impossible for me to accept.
that it's me
That I am the person I see.
that I see
The reflection of myself.
in the window pane
In the mirror, that shows me who I am.
that all this the way
That everything that's happening, the way it is.
that it has to be
It's inevitable.
The night is my friend
The darkness comforts me.
And in him
And through it.
I find sympathy thus so
I feel empathy that way.
He gives me day
The night gives me a new day.
gives me hope
It gives me a reason to hope.
and a little dream too
And a small aspiration for the future.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Richard Julian Francis, Evangelos Papathanassiou
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeffrey Dungan
LYRICS:
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
thoughts fill my head
but then still
No one speaks to me
My mind takes me back
to the years that have passed me by
It is so hard to believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him
I find sympathy thus so
And so I go back to the years that have past me by
It is so hard to believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this is the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him I find sympathy
He gives me day
gives me hope
and a little dream too
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Evangelos Papathanassiou / Richard Julian Francis
Armando Llamas
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
thoughts fill my head
but then still
No one speaks to me
My mind takes me back
to the years that have passed me by
It is so hard te believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him
I find sympathy thus so
And so I go back to the years that have past me by
It is so hard to believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this is the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him I find sympathy
He gives me day
gives me hope
and a little dream too
odile Bams
Paroles :
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
thoughts fill my head
but then still
No one speaks to me
My mind takes me back
to the years that have passed me by
It is so hard te believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him
I find sympathy thus so
And so I go back to the years that have past me by
It is so hard to believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this is the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him I find sympathy
He gives me day
gives me hope
and a little dream too
Acacio Ribeiro
Muito bonita está banda hoje virou lenda não existe mais igual
ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΣ ΑΛΑΤΑΣ
I first listened to this album in 1970. Still I like it after half a century...
My Video Channels
Thank you for your music Aphrodite's Child.
APRENDA BRINCANDO COM A TIA RITA
Amo essa e todas as canções de Demis, quando morrer quero me encontrar com ele no céu
Queti Lopera Bermudez
Yo quiero encontrarme también allí donde estéis
Vesna Simic
Legendary !
Adore this song !
AGNESE
Non si trovano ancora parole che possano descrivere le sensazioni che proviamo ad ascoltare questo fantastico brano di musica e voce ancora oggi dopo tantissimi anni dalla prima esecuzione . Allora eravamo giovani (e belli😁) che bei tempi di spensieratezza!!!!!
Purpura 💞
Mira que intento no emocionarme,pero con esta voz es imposible .♥️😍💞
Jeffrey Dungan
LYRICS:
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
thoughts fill my head
but then still
No one speaks to me
My mind takes me back
to the years that have passed me by
It is so hard to believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him
I find sympathy thus so
And so I go back to the years that have past me by
It is so hard to believe
that it's me
that I see
in the window pane
It it so hard to believe
that all this is the way
that it has to be
It's five o'clock
and I walk through the empty streets
The night is my friend
And in him I find sympathy
He gives me day
gives me hope
and a little dream too
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Evangelos Papathanassiou / Richard Julian Francis
Anna Mazzucchelli
Formidabili!!! Demis un genio un vero artista lo adoro