With an extensive solo career spanning dozens of albums, Peter Hammill is certainly more than just the front-man and leader of Van Der Graaf Generator (VdGG). His literate, soul-examining lyrics and his often-anguished vocal delivery make his music perhaps an acquired taste, but his uncompromising artistic vision has shone since his first release, Fool's Mate, back in 1971.
Stylistically, he has forged his own path, touching on progressive rock, punk (before it was even called that), electronic experimentation, intimate singer-songwriter settings, and even opera/musical theatre (with his adaptation of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher).
Hammill's solo career has coexisted with VdGG's activities. The band was offered a contract by Mercury Records in 1968, that only Hammill signed. When VdGG broke up in 1969 he wanted to record his first solo-album. In the summer of 1969 Hammill had a residency at The Lyceum and played weekly solo-concerts there. Eventually the intended solo-album was released under the VdGG-banner as their first album (The Aerosol Grey Machine). Hammill's first official solo-album was Fool's Mate (1971), containing songs from the early (1967/68) VdGG-days.
When VdGG broke up again in August 1972, Hammill resumed his solo-career. Songs that were intended for VdGG, now ended up on his solo-albums, notably "(In The) Black Room (Including 'The Tower')" (on Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night) and "A Louse Is Not A Home" (on The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage). This to some extent makes it difficult to separate Hammill's solo work during the 1970s from his work with the band (for the majority of both his solo-songs and the band's songs he is credited as the sole songwriter, and some of his solo albums feature all the members of Van der Graaf Generator). In general, however, solo Hammill is concerned with more personal matters, while the band's songs deal with broader themes.
Hammill's Nadir's Big Chance (1975} was a great change from the preceding album, In Camera. Whilst In Camera is characterized by extremely intense and complex songs and even has some musique concrete on it, Nadir's Big Chance is notable for its anticipation of punk rock. In a 1977 radio interview, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols played two tracks from the album and expressed his admiration for Hammill in glowing terms: "Peter Hammill's great. A true original. I've just liked him for years. If you listen to him, his solo albums, I'm damn sure David Bowie copied a lot out of that geezer. The credit he deserves, just has not been given to him. I love all his stuff"
Over (1977) contains very personal songs about the break-up of a long-term relationship.
Hammill's first solo-album after the 1978 break-up of Van der Graaf was The Future Now. With the next albums, pH7 and A Black Box, the sound got more compact, more new wave. On those albums, Hammill played the drums himself. What followed was 'the K-group'. In later years Hammill would sometimes refer to the band as a "beat group". The K-group consisted of Hammill himself on guitars and piano, with John Ellis on lead guitar, Nic Potter on bass, and Guy Evans on drums and percussion. They recorded the albums Enter K and Patience.
Hammill's early records, like the VdGG albums, were released on Charisma Records. He parted company with them after pH7 (1979), and then released albums on a number of small labels. A Black Box came out on S-Type, a label run by Hammill and his manager Gail Colson. Enter K and Patience appeared on Naive, Skin and Margin on Foundry and In A Foreign Town, Out of Water and Room Temperature: Live on Enigma Records. In 1992 he formed his own label, Fie!, on which all his albums since Fireships have been released. The label's logo is the Greek letter phi (Φ), a pun on PH-I. Ever since the 1970s he has also had his own home recording studio, appropriately called Sofa Sound (his website was later named after the studio).
Musically, Hammill's work ranges from short simple riff-based songs to highly complex lengthy pieces. Mainly because of his refusal to make anything resembling middle-of-the-road music, and the general absence of any smooth or glamorous sounds in his music, there is much debate amongst his admirers whether Hammill is to be considered a part of the so-called progressive rock scene. In many interviews however Hammill himself has stated that he does not want to be put in the progressive rock music label, or any music label at all.
His output is prolific. Many different styles of music appear in his work, among them artful complexity (for instance Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night), avant-garde electronic experiments (Loops & Reels), opera (The Fall of the House of Usher), solo keyboard accompaniment (And Close As This), solo guitar accompaniment (Clutch), improvisation (Spur of the Moment), film music (Sonix), band recordings (Enter K), and slow, melancholic balladry (None of the Above).
Hammill survived a heart attack in December 2003, less than 48 hours after having finished the recording of Incoherence. In 2005, Hammill announced the reformation of Van der Graaf Generator. In 2004 they had recorded a new album, Present, which was released in April 2005, and from May until November 2005 played a series of well received concerts.
Between 2005 and 2007 Hammill has overseen the remastering of almost all of his pre-Fie! releases, and has also started similar work on his more recent catalogue. The last of the Charisma remasters was released in September 2007.
Hammill's solo-career did not end because of the VdGG-reunion. He released his new album Singularity in December 2006. It was the first solo-album he completed after his heart attack, and for a large part it deals with matters of life and (sudden) death.
In 2007 several gigs by Van der Graaf Generator as a trio (minus David Jackson) have taken place in Britain and the rest of Europe, and their new album Trisector was released in March 2008. Hammill's new solo album, Thin Air came out 8th June 2009. Hammill and the band are touring extensively in USA, Japan and Europe these days.
Silver
Peter Hammill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I understand: we dance to different drums.
It's not in any schoolbook,
you're here to teach a lesson to us all...
we play by different rule-books.
What you say, what you do,
they're such different things, which is true?
Now the telephone rings, Mephistopheles calling...
I hope your linings as they all unfold are silver.
Once we were friends in our idealist days,
still, let's pretend, it's funny in a way
that now our friendship's token
you like to say I owe you everything –
some debts remain unspoken.
Double talk, double standards,
you speak with two tongues, truth's abandoned,
all life has become one-way traffic to lucre.
You take your meetings on the cloth of gold,
just down the river from the lives you've sold for silver.
The silver crossed your palm,
oh, can you see the future?
I hope you'll know when you sold your soul.
Argente, argent.
All the things you've done will carry their own taint
and a day will come when you chorus the complaint
that your friends don't do you fairly;
the back you turned, the shoulders that you shrugged
now fit the blame quite squarely.
What you want, what you need,
your emotional greed all-consuming
but no hearts will bleed and the coffers are empty.
Yes, in the end you'd give it all away,
but on the sockets of your eyes they lay the silver.
The lyrics of Peter Hammill's song "Silver" seem to be a reflection on the complexities of human relationships and the destructive nature of greed. In the first stanza, the singer acknowledges the differences between himself and the person he is addressing. He recognizes that they do not play by the same rules and that there is a lesson to be learned from their interaction. The reference to Mephistopheles, a demon in German folklore associated with temptation and the selling of one's soul, places the theme of greed and temptation at the forefront of the song.
The second stanza continues the examination of their relationship, revealing that they were once friends but now things have changed. The use of the term "double talk" and "double standards" paints a picture of someone who is not trustworthy and manipulative. The reference to "the cloth of gold" and "the lives you've sold" implies that their greed has come at the expense of others. The final line, "Argente, argent," which translates to "silver" in French and Latin, reinforces the recurring theme of greed.
The final stanza is a warning, not just to the person being addressed in the song, but to all listeners. The singer implies that the things we do in pursuit of greed will eventually catch up with us and that we will regret them. The use of the term "emotional greed" suggests that our desires for material wealth can consume us to the point where we lose sight of what truly matters. The final line, "but on the sockets of your eyes they lay the silver," is a powerful image of the toll that greed takes on us, turning our eyes hollow and lifeless.
Line by Line Meaning
You lay your plans, I take them as they come,
You make plans while I just respond to the situation as it unfolds.
I understand: we dance to different drums.
I recognize that we have different approaches or perspectives.
It's not in any schoolbook,
Our situation or dynamic is not something that can be learned from a textbook or manual.
you're here to teach a lesson to us all...
Your actions or behavior serve as an example or warning to others.
we play by different rule-books.
We have different sets of principles or guidelines that we follow.
What you say, what you do,
Your words and actions,
they're such different things, which is true?
which don't always match, making it hard to discern the truth.
Now the telephone rings, Mephistopheles calling...
An ominous or foreboding phone call from someone who represents temptation or evil.
Forty pieces for each lie you've told
A potential exchange of currency for unethical behavior or deception.
I hope your linings as they all unfold are silver.
The hope that the person's true intentions or motivations will be revealed and that they will receive some form of punishment or justice.
Once we were friends in our idealist days,
We used to be friends when we were more idealistic or optimistic about life.
still, let's pretend, it's funny in a way
Despite our current situation, there's something humorous or ironic about it.
that now our friendship's token
That our friendship has been reduced to something merely symbolic.
you like to say I owe you everything –
You often claim that I am indebted to you for various things.
some debts remain unspoken.
There are certain debts or obligations that we can't or won't discuss.
Double talk, double standards,
You engage in deceitful or hypocritical behavior,
you speak with two tongues, truth's abandoned,
demonstrating a lack of sincerity or honesty, and ignoring the importance of truth.
all life has become one-way traffic to lucre.
Your focus on material wealth has led you to become selfish, with little regard for others.
You take your meetings on the cloth of gold,
You hold meetings in luxurious or extravagant settings,
just down the river from the lives you've sold for silver.
and your extravagant lifestyle has come at the cost of those who have been exploited or harmed by your actions.
The silver crossed your palm,
You have received payment or reward for your unethical behavior or actions,
oh, can you see the future?
Making you wonder about the potential consequences of selling out morality or ethics.
I hope you'll know when you sold your soul.
A hope that you will realize or recognize that your actions have led you to compromise your principles or values.
Argente, argent.
Latin for 'silver,' emphasizing the importance or centrality of the concept to the song's themes.
All the things you've done will carry their own taint
Your actions or history will always be marred or tarnished by their unethical or selfish nature.
and a day will come when you chorus the complaint
At some point, you will find yourself blaming others or feeling like a victim, despite having caused harm yourself.
that your friends don't do you fairly;
You will feel as though your friends are mistreating you or not showing you the same level of loyalty or support that you have shown them.
the back you turned, the shoulders that you shrugged
Your refusal to take responsibility or accountability for your actions will come back to haunt you.
now fit the blame quite squarely.
You will find yourself facing the consequences of your actions, with little room for excuses or evasion.
What you want, what you need,
Your desires or needs,
your emotional greed all-consuming
which have become all-consuming or prioritized above all else, demonstrating a lack of empathy or consideration for others.
but no hearts will bleed and the coffers are empty.
Despite your selfish behavior, there will be no one to support or comfort you, and any benefits you may have accrued will prove fleeting or unsatisfying.
Yes, in the end you'd give it all away,
You would ultimately be willing to give up everything - your wealth, your power, your influence - if it meant avoiding guilt, shame or public exposure.
but on the sockets of your eyes they lay the silver.
Despite any material possessions you may have accumulated or accolades you may have received, these will be overshadowed by the guilt or shame you carry within yourself.
Contributed by Muhammad H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.