The End
Brian Eno/John Cale/Kevin Ayers/Mike Oldfield/Nico And The Soporifics/Robert Wyatt Lyrics
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This is the end, my only friend
The end of our elaborate plans
The end of everything that stands
The end, no safety, no surprise
The end, I'll never look into your eyes again
Can you picture what we'll be
Desperately in need of some stranger's hand
In a desperate land?
Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain
There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the King's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway West
Ride the snake
Ride the snake to the lake
The ancient lake
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake
He's old and his skin is cold
The West is the best
The West is the best
Get here and we'll do the rest
The blue bus is calling us
The blue bus is calling us
Driver, where're you taking us?
The killer awoke before dawn
He put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went to the room where his sister lived
And then he paid a visit to his brother
And then he, he walked on down the hall
And he came to a door and he looked inside
"Father?", "Yes, son?"
"I want to kill you, mother, I want to"
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
This is the end, beautiful friend
This is the end, my only friend
The end, it hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights, we tried to die
This is the end
"The End" by Brian Eno/John Cale/Kevin Ayers/Mike Oldfield/Nico And The Soporifics/Robert Wyatt is a song that explores the end of various things. The song starts with the repeated phrase: "This is the end, beautiful friend. This is the end, my only friend. The end of our elaborate plans. The end of everything that stands." Here, the lyrics hint at the end of relationships, plans, and things that once existed. The next phrase, "The end, no safety, no surprise. The end, I'll never look into your eyes again," further emphasizes the finality of a situation and the fear and sadness that come with it.
The song then takes on a dreamlike quality, with the lyrics "Can you picture what we'll be, so limitless and free. Desperately in need of some stranger's hand in a desperate land?" Here, the focus is on the possibilities of the future, and the individual's desire for change and help. However, this sense of hope is soon tempered with dark imagery, "Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain. And all the children are insane. All the children are insane. Waiting for the summer rain." Here, the song touches on themes of madness, pain, and waiting for something that may never come.
The rest of "The End" explores various other themes, including danger and adventure, mortality, and death. Overall, the song presents a wide range of emotions and topics that make it a complex and thought-provoking piece of music.
Line by Line Meaning
This is the end, beautiful friend
It is the conclusion, my charming companion
This is the end, my only friend
It is the finale, my sole companion
The end of our elaborate plans
The conclusion of our intricate schemes
The end of everything that stands
The termination of everything that exists
The end, no safety, no surprise
The conclusion, devoid of security and amazement
The end, I'll never look into your eyes again
The finish, I shall never gaze into your eyes once more
Can you picture what we'll be
Can you envision what we will become
So limitless and free
Unfettered and unrestrained
Desperately in need of some stranger's hand
In dire need of a stranger's help
In a desperate land?
In a place of desperation?
Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
Aimlessly wandering through a Roman wasteland of agony
And all the children are insane
All the juveniles are unbalanced
All the children are insane
All the juveniles are unbalanced
Waiting for the summer rain
Expectantly anticipating the rain of the summer
There's danger on the edge of town
Pertaining to the danger on the outskirts of the city
Ride the King's highway, baby
Travel on the path of the ruler, darling
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Bizarre moments within the location of extraction of valuable resources
Ride the highway West
Travel on the path headed Westward
Ride the snake
Ride on the serpent
Ride the snake to the lake
Travel on the serpent until we arrive at the lake
The ancient lake
The lake of the past
The snake is long, seven miles
The serpent is vast, measuring seven miles
Ride the snake
Ride on the serpent
He's old and his skin is cold
He is elderly, and his flesh is frigid
The West is the best
The West is optimal
The West is the best
The West is optimal
Get here and we'll do the rest
Once you arrive, we'll handle the remainder
The blue bus is calling us
The azure vehicle is summoning us
The blue bus is calling us
The azure vehicle is summoning us
Driver, where're you taking us?
Operator, where are you transporting us?
The killer awoke before dawn
The murderer rose before daybreak
He put his boots on
He donned his footwear
He took a face from the ancient gallery
He removed a visage from the archaic exhibit
And he walked on down the hall
Then he proceeded down the hallway
He went to the room where his sister lived
He went to the chamber wherein his sister resided
And then he paid a visit to his brother
And then he visited his sibling
And then he, he walked on down the hall
And then he continued walking down the hallway
And he came to a door and he looked inside
And he arrived at a portal and peered within
"Father?", "Yes, son?"
"Father?", "Affirmative, son?"
"I want to kill you, mother, I want to"
"I intend to slay you, mother, I yearn for it"
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
Come along, my dear, accept a gamble with us
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
Come along, my dear, accept a gamble with us
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
Come along, my dear, accept a gamble with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Join me at the rear portion of the azure vehicle
This is the end, beautiful friend
It is the conclusion, my charming companion
This is the end, my only friend
It is the finale, my sole companion
The end, it hurts to set you free
The conclusion, it pains me to emancipate you
But you'll never follow me
However, you shall never pursue me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The conclusion of mirth and gentle untruths
The end of nights, we tried to die
The termination of evenings, during which, we attempted to expire
This is the end
It is the conclusion
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alexandria Rae Koehler, Kathryn Sarah Goodman, Monica Cassia Grzymkowski
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gary Griffin
A very underrated concert, what a beautiful musical stew
Cabeza DeVaca
Thanks for uploading this. I was there and it's great to hear these performances again! What's not on here is after Nico finished Deutschland Deutschland Uber Alles she said "It's only a song".
Daniel phenix
Is Cale playing piano on Whatever ?
JLipnicki
No its not. Its music used to express superiority.
Beyonder
@Daniel phenix Hi, no it’s John Bundrick (« Rabbit »), Ayers introduces him before he start playing
concatinate
@JLipnickiLike "Kol Nidre".
Mayo Velvo
Here we have four quite iconic 70s musical characters, obviously brought together by ISLAND to promote their recently signed acts (of which only Eno via Roxy and of course E.G. Records) already had a (distribution) contract with Island since 1972.
Thx for this "Outtake" Version of the epic recording.
Beyonder
I look at this album the same way I look at an another world, I can’t imagine that few decades ago it was there, on the place where I stand, it seems so far away
markkens9
Eno started wth, and still has, a good strong tenor
Paulo Ansiães Monteiro
Comprei este disco penso q em 75 ou 76 já depois da revolução dos cravos claro, antes não havia nada disto. Um dos discos q me sonificou