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.
The Field
Fish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A shallow grave, unmarked, unnoticed, in crumbling furrows carved by rusted ploughs,
They will bury your empty coffin; they will raise for you a
stone,
They will know you fell in glory,
In the corner of some lonely foreign field,
Broken cloud, fleeting shadows, silhouettes are scattered
The hollow laughter fills the heavens,
And echoes round a still and silent field,
Where you have climbed Jacob's ladder; where you saw the light of God,
And from the voices of his angels the Truth was heard, the Truth was heard.
I have slept in the shadows of moonstruck trees,
A mossy pillow my rock of dreams,
The wood smoke lingers among smouldering leaves,
Like my thoughts are carried away on a stiffening breeze
To the domes and spires, the glittering towers
Of palaces of kings and thrones of power,
I will climb Jacob's ladder; I will see the light of God, I will hear from the tongues of angels his Holy words,
I take the field in honest battle,
My father's sword is sure in hand,
My heart my shield, my dreams my armour,
My banners high my hopes are gathered
Fortunes home I'll surely carry and the bells will ring in
honour of my name
Should I falter, should I tarry, should I hesitate, should I
fall?
Then bury me in your memories, let our children hear the
bugle call,
Let them climb Jacob's ladder; let them see the light of
God,
Let them hear from the tongues of angels his Holy words,
Let them take the field.
The lyrics of Fish's song The Field tell a poignant and powerful story of a fallen soldier. The opening lines set the scene of the body lying in an open, unmarked grave in a field, a place far away from home. The soldier will be honored in death, but the fact remains that his life was lost in a foreign land, his sacrifice only truly understood by those who fight alongside him. The imagery in the opening verse is quite vivid, with the "fragrant earth" and "crumbling furrows carved by rusted ploughs" creating a sense of desolation and decay, a reminder that war is a destructive force even beyond the battlefield.
The second verse is more abstract, describing broken clouds, fleeting shadows and hollow laughter filling the heavens. The soldier is no longer present in the physical sense, but his spirit lives on in the air around him. His soul has climbed Jacob's ladder, a biblical reference to the stairway between heaven and earth. From there he sees the light of God and hears the voices of angels speaking the Truth. The verse captures the ethereal nature of life after death, with the soldier's spirit floating free and untethered, yet still connected to the world in some way.
The final verse brings us back to the present, with the singer describing his own dreams and aspirations. He, too, hopes to climb Jacob's ladder and see the light of God, but in his case it means carrying on the legacy of the fallen soldier. He takes up his father's sword, knowing that the battle will be an honest one, fought with heart and courage. He marches towards his destiny with banners held high, knowing that his fortunes are tied to the honor of his name. Like the soldier before him, he knows that there is a chance he may fall, but he also knows that his spirit will live on in the memories of those who carry his legacy forward.
Line by Line Meaning
The body lay on fragrant earth under empty skies in an open field,
The corpse was lying on perfumed soil in a field with no obstructions for the sky, evidently in the open air.
A shallow grave, unmarked, unnoticed, in crumbling furrows carved by rusted ploughs,
The location of death's burial was not significant, and was situated in shallow dirt that had deep ridges, which was caused by rusty plows that dug them.
They will bury your empty coffin; they will raise for you a stone,
Despite not discovering the actual body, a monument will be erected in honor of that person.
They will know you fell in glory,
Everyone will know that the person died honorably.
In the corner of some lonely foreign field,
The death occurred in an isolated, unfamiliar sphere.
Broken cloud, fleeting shadows, silhouettes are scattered cross the sky,
The sky is full of disordered clouds, undefined shapes, and shifting figures that encircle the overhead scenery.
The hollow laughter fills the heavens,
There is an eerie chuckle that occupies the sky.
And echoes round a still and silent field,
The echoing sound could be heard all around a dormant and noiseless field.
Where you have climbed Jacob's ladder; where you saw the light of God,
This line refers to the notion that the deceased was ascending to heaven and witnessed the glory of a divine being.
And from the voices of his angels the Truth was heard, the Truth was heard.
The truth of the world, according to the person's religion, was spoken by his accompanying angels.
I have slept in the shadows of moonstruck trees,
The singer has rested within the shadows of trees who are illuminated by the full moon.
A mossy pillow my rock of dreams,
The artist encounters slumber upon a pillow of soil that has been padded with moss.
The wood smoke lingers among smoldering leaves,
Smoke from the burning leaves is collecting and floating above the trees.
Like my thoughts are carried away on a stiffening breeze
The wind is perceived to be carrying the singer's ruminations away.
To the domes and spires, the glittering towers, Of palaces of kings and thrones of power, I will climb Jacob's ladder; I will see the light of God, I will hear from the tongues of angels his Holy words,
The singer has faith in himself to ascend to the heavens, gain knowledge from God, and come into sight of angels.
I take the field in honest battle,
I am fighting a fair and honest war.
My father's sword is sure in hand,
The artist has his father's sword and is gripping it steadfastly.
My heart my shield, my dreams my armor,
This phrase seeks for the heart to be the armor and the dreams to be the protector.
My banners high my hopes are gathered
The singer's wishes are prominent and have been fulfilled.
Fortunes home I'll surely carry and the bells will ring in honor of my name
There is the expectation that the artist will be blessed with luck, and that his achievements will be hailed with ringing bells and his name being respected.
Should I falter, should I tarry, should I hesitate, should I fall?
The artist wonders if he will fail, pause, hesitate, or collapse during his war efforts.
Then bury me in your memories, let our children hear the bugle call,
If the artist perishes then he asks to be remembered in the people's memories and have the bugle call be heard by their children.
Let them climb Jacob's ladder; let them see the light of God,
The singer wants the children to be able to see the light of God and climb the ladder to heaven.
Let them hear from the tongues of angels his Holy words,
The artist wants the children to learn about God's words from the angels.
Let them take the field.
The singer hopes that his children will take the field and continue his legacy of honest battle.
Contributed by Charlie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.