Album sleeve artwork for his four Marillion albums and most of his solo albums has been done by Mark Wilkinson.
Fish is not to be confused with Phish, Chris Squire (“The Fish”), Barry Melton ("the Fish" of Country Joe & the Fish), Grossa or Bradley Fish.
He has worked with many other artists, including Tony Banks (Genesis) and Arjen Anthony Lucassen’s (Ayreon) as the Highlander in Into the Electric Castle.
2. Fish is a Chinese experimental electronic musician.
3. fish is the name of a Soundcloud account used by electronic musician Gupi.
Perfume River
Fish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This situation has somehow got completely out of hand.
It’s no illusion; it’s not a dream,
My eyes are open and all is as appears,
It’s a perfect nightmare; it’s a perfect nightmare,
In an imperfect world
I missed the wake up, slept through the dawn,
The world’s a stage but I’ve declared these curtains drawn
A discarded fading flower on the soporific, sensual perfume river
The perfect nightmare; escape the perfect nightmare, dream the perfect world,
I close my mind in soft surrender, in quiet resignation take the lies, I lock the door, I lock the door
I junk the mail, I never open letters, programme numbers that I know I’ll never call
Collect addresses of friends who’ll soon be strangers,
Message pending, I know just what it says, should I accept another lie? I swallow all the lies
I live the lie.
There are places that I know that I will never see, some I wish I’d never seen before
The horror stalks my vision and the cries ring in my ears, I am helpless, I am not brave, I am alone.
I wander the dark alleys of the citadel, deserted shops and empty houses mark my way,
Bullet holes in stuccoed walls are testimony to the voices disappeared within the fear
Take me away to the Perfume River; carry me down to the perfume river
Set me adrift on a well-stocked open boat
Show me the way down to the Perfume River, send me away down the perfume river
Pour that sweet, sweet liquor down my throat
Fire breathing dragons swarm in sweltering skies, spewing flame on innocents below
Charred and brittle corpses, blackened evidence, I am enraged, I am afraid, I am forlorn
The ashes from wise pages fly from libraries, tumble in the clouds of smoke and flies
To lie as dust in corners of dark palaces, the fetid smell of revolution haunts the air.
Take me away to the Perfume River; carry me down to the perfume river
Set me adrift on a well-stocked open boat
Show me the way to the Perfume River, send me away down the perfume river
Pour that sweet, sweet liquor down my throat; pour it down my throat
Carry me down to the Perfume River; hold me down in the Perfume River
Where I’ll drown my sorrows, and I’ll die in hope
Push me away down the Perfume River to the swirls and eddies of the Perfume River
In these dark and muddied waters just let me float
The truth I don’t want to know
The lyrics of Fish's song "Perfume River" deal with the themes of disillusionment, despair, and longing for escape from a harsh, imperfect world. The first stanza describes the singer's realization that his situation has spiraled out of control and that he is trapped in a "perfect nightmare" in an "imperfect world." He feels that he has missed the opportunity to wake up and take control of his life, and now he is trapped behind the "fourth wall" of his own mind, unable to connect with others or face reality.
The second stanza expresses the singer's resignation and willingness to accept lies and illusions in order to avoid facing the harsh truths of the world. He locks himself away, isolates himself from the outside world, and even accepts the lies that he tells himself. He is aware that he is living a lie but feels powerless to change his situation.
In the final stanza, the singer dreams of escape to the Perfume River, a symbol of freedom and release from his troubles. He longs to leave behind the horrors and darkness of the world and find solace in the "sweet, sweet liquor" of the river. The imagery of the "fire-breathing dragons" and "charred and brittle corpses" suggests a world torn apart by war, revolution or political turmoil, causing him to desire to be carried away from it all.
Line by Line Meaning
There were no sirens, I heard no alarms,
Despite the chaos around me, there were no evident warning signs of impending disaster.
This situation has somehow got completely out of hand.
The situation has escalated beyond control and reason.
It’s no illusion; it’s not a dream,
The reality of the situation is undeniable and present.
My eyes are open and all is as appears,
I am aware of what is happening and do not deny the situation.
It’s a perfect nightmare; it’s a perfect nightmare,
The situation is the worst possible combination of events in a flawed world.
In an imperfect world
The world is full of errors, and this situation is an example of such mistakes.
I missed the wake up, slept through the dawn,
I overlooked the early warning signs due to ignorance or complacency.
The world’s a stage but I’ve declared these curtains drawn
I have chosen to ignore reality and carry on with my life.
Behind the fourth wall, behind the scenes
There are multiple layers of reality beyond the surface level that I have chosen to ignore.
A discarded fading flower on the soporific, sensual perfume river
My existence is insignificant and irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, akin to a drifting flower on a river.
The perfect nightmare; escape the perfect nightmare, dream the perfect world,
My current situation is far from ideal, and I long for a perfect world without any issues or problems.
I close my mind in soft surrender, in quiet resignation take the lies, I lock the door, I lock the door
I have given up on discovering the truth and willingly accept deception, shutting myself off from the outside world.
I junk the mail, I never open letters, programme numbers that I know I’ll never call
I avoid communication and connections with others and make no effort to reach out.
Collect addresses of friends who’ll soon be strangers,
I hold onto memories of past friendships that have since faded and will likely never be rekindled.
Message pending, I know just what it says, should I accept another lie? I swallow all the lies
Even though I know the message is false, I still choose to believe it and continue living in ignorance.
I live the lie.
My entire existence is based on lies and deception, and I know that I will never find the truth.
There are places that I know that I will never see, some I wish I’d never seen before
There are some parts of the world I will never experience, and some that I have already witnessed that I wish I could forget.
The horror stalks my vision and the cries ring in my ears, I am helpless, I am not brave, I am alone.
The memories of these places haunt me constantly and leave me feeling helpless and isolated.
I wander the dark alleys of the citadel, deserted shops and empty houses mark my way, Bullet holes in stuccoed walls are testimony to the voices disappeared within the fear
The physical surroundings around me are proof of the destruction and pain brought on by past events and the stories of those who suffered.
Fire breathing dragons swarm in sweltering skies, spewing flame on innocents below
There are evil forces at work bringing destruction to innocent people.
Charred and brittle corpses, blackened evidence, I am enraged, I am afraid, I am forlorn
The aftermath of these events leaves me feeling a cocktail of emotions such as anger, fear and sadness.
The ashes from wise pages fly from libraries, tumble in the clouds of smoke and flies
The destruction extends beyond mere physical structures such as buildings to cultural institutions such as books and libraries.
To lie as dust in corners of dark palaces, the fetid smell of revolution haunts the air.
The remnants of wisdom and knowledge are lost forever in the ruins, with the smell of revolutionary change suffocating the air.
Take me away to the Perfume River; carry me down to the perfume river, Set me adrift on a well-stocked open boat, Show me the way down to the Perfume River, send me away down the perfume river, Pour that sweet, sweet liquor down my throat
I yearn to escape the reality of my surroundings and venture towards a place that offers peace and freedom from my troubles, with the liquor acting as a form of temporary relief.
Carry me down to the Perfume River; hold me down in the Perfume River, Where I’ll drown my sorrows, and I’ll die in hope, Push me away down the Perfume River to the swirls and eddies of the Perfume River, In these dark and muddied waters just let me float,
The Perfume River becomes a form of sanctuary where I can let go of my pain and sorrow and look forward to a brighter future, even though it may mean my demise.
The truth I don’t want to know
I am scared of facing the harsh realities of life and prefer to live in ignorance and self-delusion.
Contributed by Makayla M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Maria Diaz
There were no sirens, I heard no alarms,
This situation has somehow got completely out of hand.
It’s no illusion; it’s not a dream,
My eyes are open and all is as appears,
It’s a perfect nightmare; it’s a perfect nightmare,
In an imperfect world
I missed the wake up, slept through the dawn,
The world’s a stage but I’ve declared these curtains drawn
Behind the fourth wall, behind the scenes
A discarded fading flower on the soporific, sensual perfume river
The perfect nightmare; escape the perfect nightmare, dream the perfect world,
I close my mind in soft surrender, in quiet resignation take the lies, I lock the door, I lock the door
I junk the mail, I never open letters, programme numbers that I know I’ll never call
Collect addresses of friends who’ll soon be strangers,
Message pending, I know just what it says, should I accept another lie? I swallow all the lies
I live the lie.
There are places that I know that I will never see, some I wish I’d never seen before
The horror stalks my vision and the cries ring in my ears, I am helpless, I am not brave, I am alone.
I wander the dark alleys of the citadel, deserted shops and empty houses mark my way,
Bullet holes in stuccoed walls are testimony to the voices disappeared within the fear
Take me away to the Perfume River; carry me down to the perfume river
Set me adrift on a well-stocked open boat
Show me the way down to the Perfume River, send me away down the perfume river
Pour that sweet, sweet liquor down my throat
Fire breathing dragons swarm in sweltering skies, spewing flame on innocents below
Charred and brittle corpses, blackened evidence, I am enraged, I am afraid, I am forlorn
The ashes from wise pages fly from libraries, tumble in the clouds of smoke and flies
To lie as dust in corners of dark palaces, the fetid smell of revolution haunts the air.
Take me away to the Perfume River; carry me down to the perfume river
Set me adrift on a well-stocked open boat
Show me the way to the Perfume River, send me away down the perfume river
Pour that sweet, sweet liquor down my throat; pour it down my throat
Carry me down to the Perfume River; hold me down in the Perfume River
Where I’ll drown my sorrows, and I’ll die in hope
Push me away down the Perfume River to the swirls and eddies of the Perfume River
In these dark and muddied waters just let me float
The truth I don’t want to know
Allan Johnson
Fish is just Fish and should never be compared to anybody - hes a legend in his own right top man.
Adrianus van Willigen
This Man devellopes his skills, his voice his music his songwriting, bringing it all to another level, even his well lived is impressing, always a Fan
kernerschreiber13
Fucking great......Pure quality.......Fish still goes strong.....
Dominick Thibault
Amazing, thanks fish you are one of my favorite artistes of all time.
Dave Bertrand
Great voice, great poet.
E M R
@José Luis Incredible!!
José Luis
And great musician.
Anna
I agree
Claudio
Fish, the magic of Marillion and a poet on his own right
Quý Nguyễn
This song feels like the brightest light sent out from darkest night.