Founded by Robert Fripp, Michael Giles, Greg Lake, Ian McDonald and lyricist Peter Sinfield, the band initially focused on a dramatic sound layered with Mellotron, McDonald's saxophone and flute, and Lake's powerful lead vocals. Their debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969), remains their most commercially successful and influential release, with a potent mixture of jazz, classical and experimental music. Following the sudden simultaneous departures of McDonald and Giles, with Lake also leaving very shortly afterwards, Fripp and Sinfield assumed direction of the group for In the Wake of Poseidon (1970), Lizard (1970), and Islands (1971) with Mel Collins, Boz Burrell and Ian Wallace among the band members during this period. In 1972, Fripp changed the group's instrumentation and approach, drawing from European free improvisation, and developing ever more complex compositions. With Bill Bruford, John Wetton, David Cross and briefly, Jamie Muir, they reached what some saw as a creative peak on Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973), Starless and Bible Black (1974), and Red (1974). Fripp disbanded this group in 1974.
In 1981, Fripp and Bruford reformed King Crimson with another change in musical direction. The new group also included Adrian Belew and Tony Levin. They drew influence from African music, gamelan, post-punk and New York minimalism. This group lasted three years, resulting in the trio of albums Discipline (1981), Beat (1982) and Three of a Perfect Pair (1984). Following a decade-long hiatus, Fripp revived the group as a sextet he called the "double trio" in 1994 adding Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn. This group participated in another three-year cycle of activity that included the release of Thrak (1995), and multiple concert recordings. There was a hiatus between 1997 to 2000. Four members of the previous sextet reunited in 2000 as a more industrial-oriented King Crimson, called the "double duo", releasing The Construkction of Light (2000) and The Power to Believe (2003). After a five year hiatus, the group expanded (in the person of new second drummer Gavin Harrison) for a 2008 tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of their 1968 formation.
Following another hiatus (2009–2012), during which Fripp was thought to be retired, King Crimson came together again in 2013; this time as a septet (and, later, octet) with an unusual three-drumkit frontline, and new second guitarist and singer Jakko Jakszyk. This version of King Crimson continued to tour from 2014 to 2021, and released multiple live albums, rearranging and reinterpreting music from across the band's entire 50-year career for the first time.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KingCrimson
Studio albums
In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
In the Wake of Poseidon (1970)
Lizard (1970)
Islands (1971)
Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973)
Starless and Bible Black (1974)
Red (1974)
Discipline (1981)
Beat (1982)
Three of a Perfect Pair (1984)
Thrak (1995)
The Construkction of Light (2000)
The Power to Believe (2003)
(NOTE: Album covers, band images and YouTube links are not available due to certain legal restrictions imposed on Last.fm by King Crimson's management.)
The Letters
King Crimson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She carved a poison pen
Wrote to her lover's wife
"Your husband's seed has fed my flesh"
As if a leper's face
That tainted letter graced
The wife with choke-stone throat
Impaled on nails of ice
And raked with emerald fire
The wife with soul of snow
With steady hands begins to write
"I'm still, I need no life
To serve on boys and men
What's mine was yours is dead
I take my leave of mortal flesh"
The lyrics to King Crimson's song The Letters are a narrative about a woman's venomous letter to her lover's wife. The letter was created with a silver knife and a quill and is filled with poisonous words intended to ruin her lover's marriage. The first four lines describe how the woman wrote to the wife of her lover informing her that he impregnated her. The words are filled with malice, and it is clear that the intent of the letter was malicious.
The wife is left in utter shock and disbelief after receiving the letter. The woman who wrote the letter is described as a leper's face, showing the ugliness of the deed. The wife is left choking, tearing up, and immobile, and she is impaled on nails of ice and raked with emerald fire. The description of being impaled on nails of ice and raked with emerald fire creates a vivid picture in the mind of the reader.
The wife then makes a powerful decision to respond with her own poison pen message. The wife is made of soul and snow, and she has the strength and resolve to face the situation boldly. The wife declares that she is still, and she needs no life to live. She is ready to serve anyone who comes her way without any confusions. She ends by saying that what was once shared between them is now dead, and she says goodbye to mortal flesh.
Line by Line Meaning
With quill and silver knife
She used a pen and knife made of silver to inflict harm
She carved a poison pen
She wrote a letter with intentions to hurt
Wrote to her lover's wife
She conveyed her message to the wife of her lover
"Your husband's seed has fed my flesh"
She revealed her intimate relationship with the woman's husband
As if a leper's face
The letter made the wife feel like an outcast
That tainted letter graced
The letter had an unwelcome and inappropriate effect
The wife with choke-stone throat
The wife had a difficult time swallowing after reading the letter
Ran to the day with tear-blind eyes
The wife ran outside while crying uncontrollably
Impaled on nails of ice
The wife felt like she was being stabbed by something cold and painful
And raked with emerald fire
The wife felt like she was being burnt with green flames
The wife with soul of snow
The wife was thought to be cold and heartless
With steady hands begins to write
The wife started writing a response without hesitation
"I'm still, I need no life
The wife was calm and was not affected by the letter
To serve on boys and men
She will not engage in infidelity like her husband
What's mine was yours is dead
Their relationship is over and her husband's belongings are worthless to her
I take my leave of mortal flesh"
The wife is committing suicide
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Peter John Sinfield, Robert Fripp
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sophieliddell4193
With quill and silver knife
She carved a poison pen
Wrote to her lover's wife:
"Your husband's seed has fed my flesh".
As if a leper's face
That tainted letter graced
The wife with choke-stone throat
Ran to the day with tear-blind eyes.
Impaled on nails of ice
And raked with emerald fire
The wife with soul of snow
With steady hands begins to write:
"I'm still, I need no life
To serve on boys and men
What's mine was yours is dead
I take my leave of mortal flesh"
@markcharig1
I had a wonderful time playing the cornet on this album. Robert and the rest of the crew there were such an awesome group to be around. Being able to feature on an album created by rock legends was an experience I will never forget.
@leonardofernandez6488
You did an excellent job, man. Thanks for commenting, I love to read this kind of things.
@DimaBulwinklBochk0
Thank you!
@emilianozamora5351
Your cornet solo is one of the most beautiful memories I have of this wonderful album. Thanks from Argentina!
@barniebooster5044
Hi Mark, fantastic work on this and on so many other tracks/albums/live shows. Huge respect. Ian
@doceunodoceuno
thank you, thank you, thank you... That cornet in Islands is one of the pinnacles of music. Wonderful, sublime, there are no words...
@thickasabrick1and2
1:16 is still one of my favourite moments in all KC discography. I love listening to it at full volume.
@alb1reo
1:38
@alessandromerelli7221
So much Zappa in there. Love it!
@andrewwilliams9599
Harry Miller on acoustic arco bass.