The band's onetime stated aim was to "expand the frontiers of contemporary popular music at the risk of becoming very unpopular," although this stance was to alter significantly with time. While never achieving the commercial heights of progressive rock contemporaries such as Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes or Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Gentle Giant was considered to be one of the most experimental bands in the genre (as well as one of the most experimental rock bands of the 1970s).
Gentle Giant's music was considered complex even by progressive rock standards, drawing on a broad swathe of music including folk, soul, jazz, and classical music. Unlike many of their progressive rock contemporaries, their "classical" influences ranged beyond the Romantic and incorporated mediaeval, baroque, and modernist chamber music elements. The band also had a taste for broad themes for their lyrics, drawing inspiration not only from personal events but from philosophy and the works of both François Rabelais and R. D. Laing.
Band members:
Members of classic lineup listed in bold.
Derek Shulman - lead vocals, saxophone, recorder, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion, "Shulberry" (3-string custom electric ukulele) (1970-1980)
Ray Shulman - bass, trumpet, violin, vocals, viola, drums, percussion, recorder, guitar (1970-1980)
Kerry Minnear - keyboards, lead vocals (on recordings only), cello, vibraphone, xylophone, recorder, guitar, bass, drums (1970-1980)
Gary Green - guitar, mandolin, vocals, recorder, bass, drums, xylophone (1970-1980)
John Weathers - drums, percussion, vibraphone, xylophone, vocals, guitar (1972-1980)
Phil Shulman - lead vocals, saxophone, trumpet, clarinet, recorder, percussion (1970–72)
Martin Smith - drums, percussion (1970–1971)
Malcolm Mortimore - drums, percussion (1971–1972)
The House
Gentle Giant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're sure you're really seeing what is meant to be a Glass
a mirror to reflect what I conspire a vision, image I desire.
Standing on the ice believing all I'm searching for
Close your cloudy eyes and chase all that you did before
Standing on the ice believing all I'm for
Close your cloudy eyes and chase all that you did before
Living in a glass house shielding all that's meant for me
Can you clear the shade and can you tell me what you see.
Shadow fills the light until the glass house becomes the night
Dark is gleaming or am I dreaming
Running everywhere
Seeing clearly when I dare
Is it today or is it your way
And the moon must fall
Inspiration waits for your call for you to get a silhouette
Narrow the field aim in any direction
Do what I feel just to see my reflection
Any turn I know
Disappearing everywhere I go
I look to you for what I do
And only then I see
That the glass house is just for me
And any time is never mine
Narrow the field aim in any direction
Do what I feel just to see my reflection
Shadow fills the light until the glass house becomes night
Dark is gleaming or am I dreaming
Running everywhere
Seeing clearly when I dare
Is it today or is it your way
And the moon must fall
Inspiration waits for your call for you to get a silhouette.
The lyrics of Gentle Giant's "In A Glass House" present a complex and introspective exploration of the themes of perception, identity, and self-awareness. The song begins with a question asking what can be seen through the titular glass house. The usage of the glass house as a metaphor is potent: it represents a fragile and transparent barrier between the subject's internal world and the external one, through which they peer with equal parts curiosity and trepidation.
The following lines go on to detail the subject's quest for self-knowledge and purpose, expressed in a dreamlike narrative full of evocative imagery. Standing on the ice, representing the instability and uncertainty of the search for identity, the subject is urged to forget their past and embrace the unknown. The looming shadow and the dark, gleaming night connotate the presence of internal and external forces that obfuscate the subject's quest.
Line by Line Meaning
Looking through the window can you tell me what you see.
Can you perceive the Glass House that conceals the world outside?
You're sure you're really seeing what is meant to be a Glass
Are you truly viewing a transparent barrier that reflects my thoughts?
a mirror to reflect what I conspire a vision, image I desire.
A means to reflect my machinations and aspirations in a picturesque way.
Standing on the ice believing all I'm searching for
Standing on a fragile surface trying to find all that I'm seeking for.
Close your cloudy eyes and chase all that you did before
Shut your troubled eyes and relive your previous successes.
Living in a glass house shielding all that's meant for me
Living in a transparent structure that obscures everything that concerns me.
Can you clear the shade and can you tell me what you see.
Can you remove the coverings and explain what you perceive?
Shadow fills the light until the glass house becomes the night
The absence of brightness fills the interior until it transforms into a dark realm.
Dark is gleaming or am I dreaming
Is this lack of illumination attractive or am I lost in imagination.
Running everywhere
I attempt to escape by running in all directions.
Seeing clearly when I dare
I'm able to see things with clarity only when I'm brave enough to face them.
Is it today or is it your way
Is it the present or a version influenced by your preferences?
And the moon must fall
The end of something that was once celestial is imminent.
Inspiration waits for your call for you to get a silhouette
Motivation and creativity patiently wait for your command to provide an image.
Narrow the field aim in any direction
Restrict the scope, but follow any route.
Do what I feel just to see my reflection
Implement any action to scrutinize my reflection.
Any turn I know
No matter where I go, I'm aware.
Disappearing everywhere I go
I vanish from sight regardless of my destination.
I look to you for what I do
I rely on you for determining my course of action.
And only then I see
And exclusively then do I realize
That the glass house is just for me
That this Glass House is built only for me.
And any time is never mine
And time is not something that I possess.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DEREK SHULMAN, KERRY MINNEAR, RAYMOND SHULMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@davidporshia5081
I totally agree.
When you have a genius like Frank Zappa tout hearing Gentle Giant as the best new music he had heard at that time.....that says it all.
Gentle Giant were and still are ahead of their time.
The utter schlock that passes for “music” these days is sickening.
That junk is what kids these days are exposed to.....gangster rap with inane rhythm and self aggrandizing disgusting “lyrics” and harmonically and melodically boring bilge.
Thank God in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s we grew with Great music from Motown, STAX, The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Zappa, King Crimson, Yes, Jethro Tull, Genesis, Pink Floyd, ELP, Chicago, B,S &T, Tower of Power, Stevie Wonder, Chick Corea, Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Pat Metheny Group, The Dregs, Happy the Man, Kansas, UK, Steely Dan and the Great Gentle Giant.
So happy for the Steve Wilson remixes.
I just got Steve Wilson’s stereo/5.1 remixes of Gentle Giant- The Power and the Glory and Freehand.
Next getting The Three Piece Suites and Octopus remixes.
It’s like hearing Gentle Giant all over again yet for the first time.....sonic heaven!!!
Next I’m
@AntonHellsten
Lyrics:
The room and street are known only to me and a few
I won't tell nobody
A place to meet where no-one can tell you what to do
I won't tell nobody
Here, awake in sleep together
My time is spent in chains and confusion in my head
I don't tell nobody
I keep my pains and swallow the harsh tears that I shed
I don't tell nobody
Here, in reverie together
I find escape in the street, in the house, in the room
I become somebody
I cast my die and leave all my troubles in the room
I become somebody
Here, awake in sleep together
@gringochucha
Gentle Giant wrote some of the heaviest riffs ever...
@jayburdification
@@birdzzzondayflu2489 what’s your basis for saying they didn’t write some of the heaviest riffs? I mean this riff is nothing if not heavy and it was heavy as fck for 1971. Metal bands cite GG as an influence. Krokus paid tribute to that big “Peel the Paint” riff in one of their songs ffs. Please explain what you mean, because I’m dumbstruck.
@jayburdification
@@jesseculp651 The comment I was replying to has been deleted
@jayburdification
@@Gloth_Sang Seems like the same solo to me, just more forward in the mix.
@KlausSgroi
I've always thought Gentle Giant could be considered a Metal band if it wasn't for the complicated, intricate stuff like polyrhythms, syncopation and both key and time signature changes. These were not common in Metal, but the hard hitting drums and the heavy guitar riffs are comparable to Black Sabbath, which coincidentally they have toured with in the early 70s.
@shaft9000
Heavy for the era, sort of. "Ever" is quite a stretch, though.
Whether one find's the lyrical and thematic content "heavy" is very subjective.
In terms of objective sonics, the trouble with calling 'GG' Heavy is they'd sound close to Crimson or Cream for 10 seconds and then they sound like The Modern Jazz Quartet or a renaissance fair the next 10 seconds... so sonically, at best they're half-heavy, half-something else.
The only two prog bands that stand out as "out-heavy"ing the (metal and other) acts of their era - both thematically and sonically - were King Crimson and Mr Bungle.
And it's just, like.... my opinion, man. Other bands might sound heavier at some moment, but in my opinion they weren't as heavy nor as creative in all the other aspects of music as Crimson and Bungle were.
@user-ym2mi6mj5b
An incredible song... It took me a few thoughtful auditions to appreciate the intricate opening riff (consisting of 25 notes!) and an incredible technique called "stretta", which Bach loved so much (sounds from the 1:50 mark) During the performance of the stretta, each imitating instrument enters before it has ended in the performance of the previous instrument, and they smoothly "layering", combine with each other. The instruments sounding here in the stretch (xylophone, mandolin, trumpet, acoustic guitar, clavichord, cowbell, cello, celesta) seem to prepare the listener for a breathtaking "crescendo", with one of Green's best guitar solos - after which the stretch sounds again in the finale - just the quintessence of GG!
@thomassicard3733
Down and dirty and sophisticated... AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!!
Wholly scheist!
@1crashit
In his Facebook post, Derek Shulman called his brother “my best friend.” He wrote, in part, “Ray really was a genius in so many ways. He was such a kind and caring soul. He was an incredible composer, musician, music producer and tech wizard.
@custodioguimaraes9981
Gentle Giant: to know and to love!