1. Genesis formed in 1967 in Go… Read Full Bio ↴There are three bands named Genesis.
1. Genesis formed in 1967 in Godalming, Surrey (United Kingdom) and was one of the most popular progressive rock bands in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. During the 1970s, Peter Gabriel was the lead singer until his departure, when drummer Phil Collins stepped up to the mic and replaced him.
Starting as an amalgam of two bands formed by schoolboys attending Charterhouse School in Godalming, England, the original lineup consisted of Peter Gabriel, Anthony Phillips, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Chris Stewart, though Stewart was soon replaced as drummer by John Silver and then John Mayhew. By the end of 1970, Phillips and Mayhew had left the band, with Collins joining as drummer, and by early 1971, guitarist Steve Hackett had filled the gap left by Phillips. The lineup of Gabriel, Banks, Hackett, Rutherford, and Collins remained in place until Gabriel's departure in 1975.
During the period of 1970-1975, the band produced some of the most widely-acclaimed albums of the progressive rock era, including "Nursery Cryme", "Foxtrot" (featuring the side-long epic "Supper's Ready") and the seminal album "Selling England by the Pound", which generated Genesis' first foray into the charts with "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)". This lineup culminated with the band's magnum opus "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" in 1974. Following the tour promoting the album, frontman Peter Gabriel left the group in mid 1975.
Genesis decided to continue on as a four-piece, producing two albums, "A Trick of the Tail" and "Wind & Wuthering", which found the band proving to themselves and to the world that they could move on after Gabriel's departure. Collins stepped up to fill the role of lead vocalist after countless auditions for a new singer proved fruitless by the completion of recording for "A Trick of the Tail". Hackett quietly departed after the "Wind & Wuthering" tour in 1977, feeling that his creative input for the band was being repressed.
In 1978, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford contributed music to a British movie called "The Shout" based on a short story by Robert Graves, directed by Jerzy Skomilowski and produced by Jeremy Thomas. (More credits and info here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078259/combined)
Genesis then became a trio which began to move away from the dying embers of progressive rock. They established themselves as a more commercially-friendly outfit with the release of their 1978 album "...And Then There Were Three...", finding their first US hit with the single "Follow You Follow Me".
Banks, Rutherford, and Collins became more adept at writing radio-friendly songs in the 1980s. This reached a peak with the release of 1986's "Invisible Touch", in which more than half of the album's eight songs made it to the singles chart, including the title track, "Land of Confusion" and "In Too Deep". All three band members produced solo albums during Genesis' downtime in the 80s and 90s - most notably Collins' increasingly successful solo work, and Rutherford's sideline group "Mike and the Mechanics" which found moderate success - with evolving styles reflected both when going solo and when recording together as Genesis.
Collins left the group in 1996, and was replaced vocally by Ray Wilson, the former lead singer of Scottish band "Stiltskin". Israeli born drummer Nir Zidkyahu and "Spock's Beard" drummer Nick D'Virgilio stepped in to fill the drumming role. Their 1997 album "Calling All Stations" was unable to find worldwide success, and despite scoring a minor U.K. hit with "Congo", the group slowly faded out of public consciousness. In 1998, after the "Calling All Stations" tour (the US leg of which was cut short due to poor album sales), Wilson was released from the band, and Zidkyahu and D'Virgilio, having never been "official" band members, went their separate ways. The band, now down to only Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford, took a break from performing and recording.
In 1999 Banks, Rutherford, Collins, Gabriel, and Hackett collaborated to re-record "The Carpet Crawlers" for greatest hits compilation "Turn It on Again: The Hits".
During the latter part of 2005, rumors spread that the band would reform again in its most famous five-man configuration. Genesis management stated that there were no current plans at that time, and that nothing would change in the following twelve months. Phil Collins then said in a radio interview in April 2006 that the classic Genesis line-up was considering a new live-staging of "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway", but it was not to be. On 7th November 2006, Phil Collins, Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford announced they would be doing a twenty-date tour of Europe in the summer of 2007, with a North American tour to follow.
A Live DVD of the final European concert in Rome, where the band performed free for 500,000 fans, was released May 26th 2008: "When In Rome - Live 2007".
In April of 2011, Phil Collins, after completing a reunion tour with Genesis, said in a newspaper interview that he has no plans to tour or make another album, effectively retiring after over 40 years in the music business.
Official website: www.genesis-music.com
2. In 1967-8, there was an American band that was also named Genesis. It was a psychedelic rock group based in Los Angeles which released one album In the Beginning in 1968. The name conflict was known to the record label of UK Genesis, which is why their debut album From Genesis to Revelation coyly omitted the band's name except in the album title. While both bands suffered poor sales for their debuts, the US band broke up in late 1968 not long after one of their members was drafted into the army. This more or less ended any significant confusion except in situations like Last.fm or lazy Googling.
3. A Colombian group called Génesis also exists. If you are scrobbling songs by that group and have ended up on this page, please fix your tags to Génesis with the first "e" accented.
Harlequin
Genesis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And in the broken light colors fly, fading by.
Pale and cold as figures fill the glade
Grey is the web they spin, on and on, and on and on.
Through the flame still summer lingers on
Though her pictures soon shatter.
All, always the same.
Though your eyes are dim,
All of the pieces in the sky.
There was once a harvest in this land.
Reap from the turquoise sky, harlequin, harlequin,
Dancing round, three children fill the glade,
Theirs was the laughter in the winding stream, and in between.
Close your door, the picture fades again
From the flames in the firelight.
All, always the same,
But there appears in the shades of dawning,
Though your eyes are dim,
All of the pieces in the sky.
All, all is not lost,
And light appears in the shades of dawning
When your eyes can see
Order the pieces, put them back, put them back.
The lyrics in Genesis's song "Harlequin" paint a vivid picture of a misty and mysterious night, where colors are fading and figures fill the glade. The lyrics evoke a feeling of loneliness and isolation, as if the singer is the only person left in a desolate world. The line "All, always the same" is repeated throughout the song, reinforcing this theme of a stagnant and unchanging world.
But despite the bleakness of the lyrics, there is a glimmer of hope in the refrain "All of the pieces in the sky." This image suggests that even though everything on the ground may be broken and gray, there is still beauty and order in the heavens above. The last line of the song, "Order the pieces, put them back, put them back," implies that it is up to the listener to find that order and beauty in their own life.
Line by Line Meaning
Came the night a mist dissolved the trees
As night falls, a mist covers the trees, blurring the boundaries between earth and sky.
And in the broken light colors fly, fading by.
In the dim light, colors move and fade, revealing the fleeting nature of beauty.
Pale and cold as figures fill the glade
Dim, ghostly figures appear in the clearing, evoking an eerie atmosphere.
Grey is the web they spin, on and on, and on and on.
The figures spin a web of confusion and despair, repeating their patterns endlessly.
Through the flame still summer lingers on, Though her pictures soon shatter.
Despite the fleeting nature of beauty, memories of summer remain, even as they inevitably fade.
All, always the same.
Despite the passage of time, life seems to repeat itself, with little change or growth.
But there appears in the shades of dawning, Though your eyes are dim,
However, a glimmer of hope emerges with the onset of a new day, even when it's hard to see.
All of the pieces in the sky.
All the elements of life, including joy and sorrow, are present in the world around us, if we look for them.
There was once a harvest in this land.
This land was once abundant and fruitful.
Reap from the turquoise sky, harlequin, harlequin,
Celebrate the vibrant, colorful world around us, and seize its joys and pleasures.
Dancing round, three children fill the glade,
Innocent children play and dance in the clearing, embodying the beauty of youth and freedom.
Theirs was the laughter in the winding stream, and in between.
These children found joy in even the smallest moments, like the sound of a stream.
Close your door, the picture fades again, From the flames in the firelight.
However, the beauty of life is fleeting, and must be treasured or it will be lost in the darkness.
All, all is not lost,
Even in the darkest moments, there is still hope and beauty to be found.
And light appears in the shades of dawning
New beginnings can bring hope and light, even in the midst of darkness and despair.
When your eyes can see Order the pieces, put them back, put them back.
With clarity of vision, it's possible to make order of the chaos and salvages the beauty of life that seems lost.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PHILLIP DAVID CHARLES COLLINS, STEPHEN RICHARD HACKETT, MICHAEL RUTHERFORD, ANTHONY GEORGE BANKS, PETER BRIAN GABRIEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@crispyrobot77
This album was the beginning of something very special indeed. Love the lyrics in this song.
Came the night a mist dissolved the trees
And in the broken light colors fly, fading by.
Pale and cold as figures fill the glade
Grey is the web they spin, on and on, and on and on.
Through the flame still summer lingers on
Though her pictures soon shatter.
All, always the same.
But there appears in the shades of dawning,
Though your eyes are dim,
All of the pieces in the sky.
There was once a harvest in this land
Reap from the turquoise sky, harlequin, harlequin
Dancing round, three children fill the glade
Theirs was the laughter in the winding stream, and in between
Close your door, the picture fades again
From the flames in the firelight
All, always the same
But there appears in the shades of dawning
Though your eyes are dim
All of the pieces in the sky
All, all is not lost
And light appears in the shades of dawning
When your eyes can see
Order the pieces, put them back, put them back
@adambilz9978
Even though this album has absolute masterpieces on it like The Musical Box and The Fountain of Salmacis, some days this is my favorite song on the album. It’s just so beautiful.
@manuelsan4901
The whole album is a masterpiece. I love Genesis
@keykrazy
Same here -- it seems most playlists I create will have this tune while eschewing the more "traditionally-classic" pieces.
@Chuckles___
This is what I love about Nursery Crime, different favorites on different days.
@jacquesfinster5034
mystic, poetic and bucolic English side.
@vonBottorff
@Jacques Finster This is definitely cleaving to the original A. Philips vibe from Trespass. But as an American this kind of sound was such a breath of fresh air after all the parochialism in our music scene.
@RafeNord
Phil has by far the best soft voice as it’s very stable and sharp. I think that stability has to do with his nerves of steel while Peter up til the last decades has been more edgy in front of the mic. Otherwise Peter’s voice is more interesting. It’s so husky (and raspy) when he belts or sings at a lower register. Phil and Peter really compliment each other with their respective strengths. I wish they had more duets through the years.
@russconstant7904
Hi Ralph.. Well done you.. the best short paragraph compare/contrast analysis of Pete and Phil’s voices.. Phil’s voice was so delicate and plaintive - he had a great harmonic ear .. White Mountain 1976 live is another showcase example whilst Pete’s huge band width provided so much texture. Thanks for posting.
@augustblue5972
Man, I wish this song was like 20 mins long. One of my faves by my favorite band. It's so beautiful.
@reggiep671
What is the emotion that this song taps into? Nostalgia? Longing? Sadness? Or a perfect combination of all three? Can't put my finger on it. Love the whole album.