The song is roughly 12 minutes and 15 seconds in length, the longest on the Red album. As the last track on the last King Crimson album of the 1970s, it features several moments which recall earlier releases. It starts with mellotron strings, electric guitar and a saxophone, playing in a style recalling Epitaph from In the Court of the Crimson King. These introduce a vocal segment in conventional verse-chorus structure. The middle section of the song is a build-up which recalls The Talking Drum from Larks' Tongues in Aspic. Starting with a single distorted guitar, little drumming and clean bass, the playing gradually becomes louder and much wilder, though the tempo stays constant and all the while Robert Fripp's guitar plays only two different notes. The song's final section begins with an abrupt transition to a fast, jazzy saxophone solo with distorted guitars and bass, and expressive tribal drumming by Bill Bruford. This recalls the wilder section of 21st Century Schizoid Man, the band's signature piece from that era. The song ends with a short reprise of the opening melody.
The phrase "Starless and Bible Black" is a quotation from the poet Dylan Thomas's play, Under Milk Wood. It serves both as the chorus for the song's vocal segment and as the title of an instrumental track on the album Starless and Bible Black, there is little apparent similarity between the two pieces.
"Starless" is the only song off Red that was performed by the album's lineup, being a standard of the band's 1974 concerts.
The song was also covered live by Asia, a supergroup of which John Wetton became a member. A recording of the song is available on an album documenting a performance at Moscow in 1990.[citations needed]
The song has been performed by the 21st Century Schizoid Band, going against their usual setlists of performing material the first four King Crimson albums (when members of 21st Century Schizoid Band were in King Crimson).
The song has been covered by Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy and Randy George and will feature on a bonus disc of Morse's upcoming studio album.
The song was revived by King Crimson in 2015 and has remained a near constant on their subsequent performances.
Personnel:
Robert Fripp – guitar, Mellotron
John Wetton – vocals, bass
Bill Bruford – drums, percussion
with:
Mel Collins – soprano saxophone
Ian McDonald – alto saxophone
Julian Lloyd Webber – cello (uncredited)
Uncredited – double bass
Starless
King Crimson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gold through my eyes
But my eyes turned within
Only see
Starless and bible black
Old friend charity
Cruel twisted smile
For me
Starless and bible black
Ice blue silver sky
Fades into grey
To a grey hope that oh yearns
To be
Starless and bible black
Sundown dazzling day
Gold through my eyes
But my eyes turned within
Only see
Starless and bible black
Old friend charity
Cruel twisted smile
And the smile signals emptiness
For me
Starless and bible black
King Crimson's "Starless" is a melancholy and somber song that explores the themes of introspection, longing, and emptiness. The lyrics begin with a description of a beautiful sunset ("Sundown dazzling day/Gold through my eyes"), but the singer's attention is turned inward, and they can only see darkness and emptiness ("But my eyes turned within/Only see/Starless and bible black"). The phrase "starless and bible black" is a nod to Dylan Thomas' play "Under Milk Wood," referencing the idea of a dark and empty world where there is no light or hope.
In the second verse, the singer describes an "old friend charity" with a "cruel twisted smile," suggesting a sense of betrayal or disillusionment. The smile "signals emptiness" and speaks to the singer's feelings of isolation and detachment from the people around them. The final verse describes the fading of the sky from blue to grey, a metaphor for the loss of hope and the bleakness of the singer's reality.
Overall, "Starless" is a powerful and haunting exploration of the human experience of loneliness and despair, conveyed through evocative and poetic language.
Line by Line Meaning
Sundown dazzling day
The singer is describing the end of a beautiful day, filled with sunlight.
Gold through my eyes
The light of the sun appears golden to the singer's eyes.
But my eyes turned within
However, the singer is not focusing on the external world, but rather turning inward to explore their own thoughts and feelings.
Only see
As a consequence, the artist is limited in what they can perceive.
Starless and bible black
What they do perceive is a sense of emptiness and darkness, represented by the image of a black sky without stars, and a reference to religious texts.
Old friend charity
Addressing someone who was once a friend, but is now distant or lacks empathy.
Cruel twisted smile
This former friend bears a malicious expression that belies their lack of genuine concern for others.
And the smile signals emptiness
The falseness in the smile indicates an absence of authentic emotion.
For me
The artist realizes that this emptiness is particularly directed at them.
Starless and bible black
Reiterating the earlier image of darkness and absence, and its implications for the artist's emotional state.
Ice blue silver sky
The next verse describes a beautiful winter day, with clear bright cold light.
Fades into grey
However, this light gradually fades and loses its clarity.
To a grey hope that oh yearns
As the light fades, what remains is a vague longing for something that seems barely within reach.
To be
This ambiguous hope is not named, but appears to represent some kind of resolution or fulfillment.
Starless and bible black
Echoing the earlier phrase, suggesting that this sense of unfulfilled hope is another manifestation of the emotional void the singer is experiencing.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: David Francis Cross, Richard William Palmer James, Robert Fripp, William Scott Bruford, John Kenneth Wetton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind