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 Night Watch
King Crimson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The watch before the city gates depicted in their prime
That golden light all grimy now
Three hundred years have passed
The worthy Captain and his squad of troopers standing fast
The artist knew their faces well
The husbands of his lady friends
In armor bright, the merchant men
Official moments of the guild
In poses keen from bygone days
The city fathers frozen there
Upon the canvas dark with age
The smell of paint, a flask of wine
And turn those faces all to me
The blunderbuss and halberd-shaft
And Dutch respectability
They make their entrance one by one
Defenders of that way of life
The redbrick home, the bourgeoisie
Guitar lessons for the wife
So many years we suffered here
Our country racked with Spanish wars
Now comes a chance to find ourselves
And quiet reigns behind our doors
We think about posterity again
And so the pride of little men
The burghers good and true
Still living through the painter's hand
Request you all to understand
The Night Watch by King Crimson is a song about a painting by Rembrandt called “The Night Watch”. The lyrics of the song describe the painting in detail with the first verse talking about the light that shines on the painting depicting the guards in their prime. The second verse talks about the artist, Rembrandt, who knew the faces of the guards well and had also painted other members of the society that he was familiar with such as his lady friends’ husbands, his creditors, councilors, and merchant men. The verse also talks about the official moments of the guild and the frozen city fathers.
The third verse talks about the process of how the painting was made. It talks about the smell of paint, the flask of wine, and the request to turn the faces of the men towards the artist. It also talks about the weapons the men held and the “Dutch respectability”. The fourth verse talks about the men entering the painting, one by one, as defenders of their way of life, the redbrick home, the bourgeoisie, and guitar lessons for the wife. The last verse of The Night Watch talks about how the country suffered because of the Spanish wars and how now there is a chance to find peace and remember posterity.
Overall, the song is an insightful interpretation of the painting, bringing attention to the details and symbols in the painting while also acknowledging the historical and societal context in which it was created.
Line by Line Meaning
Shine, shine, the light of good works shine
Let the light of our good deeds shine brightly for all to see
The watch before the city gates depicted in their prime
The painting depicts the city watch in their prime, standing guard by the gates of the city
That golden light all grimy now
The once bright and golden painting has become grimy and faded over time
Three hundred years have passed
Three centuries have gone by since the painting was created
The worthy Captain and his squad of troopers standing fast
The brave captain and his troop of soldiers are depicted standing guard at the city gates
The artist knew their faces well
The artist was familiar with the faces of the people he painted
The husbands of his lady friends
He painted the husbands of his female acquaintances
His creditors and councilors
He also painted his creditors and advisors
In armor bright, the merchant men
The wealthy merchants are depicted wearing shiny armor in the painting
Official moments of the guild
The painting captures official moments of the guild, an association of merchants and craftsmen
In poses keen from bygone days
The people in the painting are posed in sharp and striking positions from a bygone era
The city fathers frozen there
The painting shows the city's leaders, frozen in time
Upon the canvas dark with age
The canvas has become dark with age over time
The smell of paint, a flask of wine
The artist worked in a room filled with the smell of paint and enjoyed a flask of wine as he painted
And turn those faces all to me
The artist requested the people he was painting to turn their faces towards him
The blunderbuss and halberd-shaft
The painting features weapons like blunderbuss and halberd-shaft
And Dutch respectability
The painting reflects the respectable Dutch culture
They make their entrance one by one
The people in the painting seem to be entering one by one
Defenders of that way of life
They are depicted as defenders of their way of life, values, and culture
The redbrick home, the bourgeoisie
The people in the painting represent the middle-class, who value respectable homes made of redbrick
Guitar lessons for the wife
The men in the painting had wives who take guitar lessons
So many years we suffered here
For years, the people in the painting suffered due to wars with the Spanish
Our country racked with Spanish wars
Their country was ravaged by wars with the Spanish
Now comes a chance to find ourselves
Now they have a chance to rediscover and redefine themselves after the war
And quiet reigns behind our doors
Peace has returned to the city and people can now live in quiet and safety
We think about posterity again
They begin to think about future generations and what they will think of them and their history
And so the pride of little men
The pride of small-minded individuals is evident in the painting
The burghers good and true
The painting depicts the honest and true middle-class citizens of the city
Still living through the painter's hand
The people in the painting continue to live through the ages as they are immortalized in the painting
Request you all to understand
The people in the painting request that future viewers understand their struggles, values, and way of life
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: David Francis Cross, James Richard William Palmer, John Kenneth Wetton, Richard William Palmer James, Robert Fripp, William Scott Bruford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind