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.
Stagnation
Genesis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Enough to spend all his fortunes in burying himself
Many miles beneath the ground. as the only surviving
Member of the human race, he inherited the whole world.
Stagnation
Here today the red sky tells his tale,
There is peace amongst the hills,
And the night will cover all my pride.
Blest are they who smile from bodies free,
Seems to me like any other crowd
Who are waiting to be saved.
Wait, there is still time for washing in the pool,
Wash away the past
Moon, my long-lost friend is smiling from above,
Smiling at my tears.
Come we'll walk the path to take us to my home,
Keep outside the night.
The ice-cold knife has come to decorate the dead,
Somehow
And each will find a home,
And there will still be time,
For loving my friend
You are there
And will I wait for ever, beside the silent mirror
And fish for bitter minnows amongst the weeds
And slimy water.
I want to sit down.
I want to take a drink of water
I want a drink
I want a drink.
To take all the dust and the dirt from my throat.
I want a drink.
I want a drink.
To wash out the filth that is deep in my guts.
I want a drink.
Then let us drink
Then let us smile
Then let us go
The lyrics of Genesis's song, Stagnation, are open to interpretation, and multiple meanings can be derived from the lyrics, depending on a person's perspective. However, one possible interpretation of the lyrics is that they deal with themes of alienation, loneliness, and isolation due to the decimation of the human race, ultimately leading to one surviving member, Thomas S. Eiselberg, who buries himself beneath the earth. The singer is the only one left and is observing the world around him. The red sky implies that something has occurred, but only the singer is present to witness it; he is the last man left. He describes the scene as peaceful as he talks about the hills.
The lines "Blest are they who smile from bodies free," are puzzling, but they may suggest the idea that the people who passed away from the human race may have been the lucky ones. He describes the people as waiting to be saved, but no one came, which implies that the world has ended, and they realize help is not coming. The singer then talks about the possibility of washing away the past, indicating that he is prepared to move on to whatever is next. He talks about his lost friend, the moon, who is smiling at the singer's tears, indicating his friend's passing.
He talks about the path to his home, the cold knife, which is coming to decorate the dead, and then the suggestion that they will each find a home. The lyrics then become overt in their meaning, with the singer discussing how he's thirsty and needs a drink to wash down the dust, dirt, and filth in his throat and guts. The song ultimately ends with the line, "Then let us drink, smile, and go." The singer is giving into the inevitable.
Line by Line Meaning
Here today the red sky tells his tale,
The sky is red and ominous, but no one else seems to notice or care besides the singer
But the only listening eyes are mine
The singer is the only one who is aware of the impending danger
There is peace amongst the hills,
Despite the chaos and danger, the natural world remains calm and undisturbed
And the night will cover all my pride.
The artist's sense of pride and confidence will be replaced by the darkness and uncertainty of night
Blest are they who smile from bodies free,
Those who are free from the burdens of existence are the ones who seem truly happy
Seems to me like any other crowd
Everyone else seems like they are just going through the motions of life
Who are waiting to be saved.
Everyone seems to be hoping for salvation, but unsure of where it will come from
Wait, there is still time for washing in the pool,
Despite the urgency of the situation, there might still be a chance to cleanse oneself
Wash away the past
The artist wants to forget all their past mistakes and regrets
Moon, my long-lost friend is smiling from above,
The artist looks to the moon for comfort and guidance
Smiling at my tears.
Even though the singer is crying, the moon serves as a reminder that emotions are temporary
Come we'll walk the path to take us to my home,
The artist and a companion will travel towards a place of safety
Keep outside the night.
The night is a symbol of danger, so the singer wants to avoid it
The ice-cold knife has come to decorate the dead,
Death is imminent and inescapable
Somehow
The singer is uncertain of what will happen next
And each will find a home,
Everyone will eventually find a place to belong
And there will still be time,
Despite the danger, time will continue to pass
For loving my friend
The singer values their friendship and wants to spend their remaining time together
You are there
The singer is addressing their friend and expressing gratitude for their companionship
And will I wait for ever, beside the silent mirror
The artist wonders if they will be stuck waiting forever, trapped in a state of reflection and self-doubt
And fish for bitter minnows amongst the weeds
The artist feels like they are trapped in an unpleasant situation, trying to find something meaningful amidst the chaos
And slimy water.
The environment around the artist is unpleasant and uninviting
I want to sit down.
The singer is tired and needs to rest
I want to take a drink of water
The artist is thirsty and needs to hydrate
I want a drink
The singer still needs a drink of water
To take all the dust and the dirt from my throat.
Drinking water will help cleanse the singer's throat and provide relief
I want a drink.
The singer's desire for water persists
To wash out the filth that is deep in my guts.
The artist feels dirty, both literally and metaphorically, and is hoping that drinking water will help cleanse them
I want a drink.
The artist is still hoping to find water to drink
Then let us drink
Finally, the singer and their companion find water to drink
Then let us smile
Despite the danger and uncertainty, the singer and their companion share a moment of happiness
Then let us go
The artist and their companion move forward, prepared to face whatever comes next
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TONY BANKS, PETER BRIAN GABRIEL, ANTHONY EDWIN PHILLIPS, MIKE RUTHERFORD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@indy_go_blue6048
"Stagnation"
To Thomas S. Eiselberg, a very rich man, who was wise enough
to spend all his fortunes in burying himself many miles beneath
the ground. As the only surviving member of the human race, he inherited the whole world.
Here today the red sky tells his tale,
but the only listening eyes are mine
There is peace amongst the hills,
and the night will cover all my pride.
Blest are they who smile from bodies free,
seems to me like any other crowd
who are waiting to be saved.
Wait, there still is time for washing in the pool,
wash away the past.
Moon, my long-lost friend is smiling from above,
smiling at my tears.
Come we'll walk the path to take us to my home,
keep outside the night.
The ice-cold knife has come to decorate the dead,
somehow.
And each will find a home,
And there will still be time,
for loving my friend
- You are there -
And will I wait forever, beside the silent mirror
And fish for bitter minnows amongst the weeds and slimy water.
I, I...said I want to sit down
I, I...said I want to sit down.
I want a drink - I want a drink,
To take all the dust and the dirt from my throat,
I want a drink - I want a drink,
To wash out the filth that is deep in my gut,
I want a drink.
THEN LET US DRINK - THEN LET US SMILE
- THEN LET US GO.
@peterphiles
I, I...said I want to sit down
I, I...said I want to sit down.
I want a drink - I want a drink,
To take all the dust and the dirt from my throat,
I want a drink - I want a drink,
To wash out the filth that is deep in my guts,
I want a drink.
THEN LET US DRINK - THEN LET US SMILE
- THEN LET US GO.
@ghendar
I really don't know how this song doesn't get mentioned in the same breath with Cinema Show and Musical Box, etc. Every time I hear it I love it more. Just incredible
@ghostship85
They say weed wasn't used. . Hard to imagine these tunes extracted without......but hey- maybe it's true!
@Hunne2303
@@ghostship85 lol...weed...you need something a tad bit stronger^^ especially back in the day
@ghendar
@@ghostship85 Let's give these talented musicians due credit for coming up with brilliant music without the influence of drugs. It's so easy to claim that great music can't be created unless under the influence. Saying that fundamentally diminishes the creativity of humanity. No human being ever needed drugs and never will.
@MHowell1978
Hands down one of my favorite songs ever
@neidemaria8025
So do I...
@juankgonzalez6230
Stagnation walked so Supper's Ready could run
@paulnolan4971
nice
@dianequick3127
I have never thought of it this way. You have an interesting insight.
@louisbhtanner7503
i like ur profile picture, is it king crimson?