CarpetCrawler Lyrics
Simon Clark
listening to the song, I still cannot understand them, it's probably due
to the serverely party-scratched vinyl of Seconds Out that I have. Can
anybody enlighten me? Thank you in advance.
email: si...@capella.demon.co.uk
-ooOoo-
D.Kreft
<si...@capella.demon.co.uk> wrote:
> Just what *ARE* the lyrics for CarpetCrawlers? After many many years of
> listening to the song, I still cannot understand them, it's probably due
> to the serverely party-scratched vinyl of Seconds Out that I have. Can
> anybody enlighten me? Thank you in advance.
Directly taken from
http://www.brad.ac.uk/~agcatchp/gen/74the_lamb.html#carpet_cr
--------
The Carpet Crawlers (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford)
He returns from his mixed-up memories to the passage he was previously
stuck in. This time he discovers a long carpeted
corridor.
There is lambswool under my naked feet.
The wool is soft and warm,
- gives off some kind of heat.
A salamander scurries into flame to be destroyed.
Imaginary creatures are trapped in birth on celluloid.
The fleas cling to the golden fleece,
Hoping they'll find peace.
Each thought and gesture are caught in celluloid.
There's no hiding in my memory.
There's no room to a void.
The walls are painted in red ochre and are marked by strange insignia,
some looking like a bulls-eye, others of birds and
boats. Further down the corridor, he can see some people; all kneeling.
With broken sighs and murmurs they struggle, in
their slow motion to move towards a wooden door at the end. Having seen
only the inanimate bodies in the Grand Parade of
Lifeless Packaging, Rael rushes to talk to them.
The crawlers cover the floor in the red ochre corridor.
For my second sight of people, they've more lifeblood than before.
They're moving in time to a heavy wooden door,
Where the needle's eye is winking, closing in on the poor.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."
"What's going on?" he cries to a muttering monk, who conceals a yawn and
replies "It's a long time yet before the dawn." A
sphinx-like crawler calls his name saying "Don't ask him, the monk is
drunk. Each one of us is trying to reach the top of the
stairs, a way out will await us there." Not asking how he can move freely,
our hero goes boldly through the door. Behind a
table loaded with food, is a spiral staircase going up into the ceiling.
There's only one direction in the faces that I see;
It's upward to the ceiling, where the chamber's said to be.
Like the forest fight for sunlight, that takes root in every tree.
They are pulled up by the magnet, believing they're free.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."
Mild mannered supermen are held in kryptonite,
And the wise and foolish virgins giggle with their bodies glowing bright.
Through a door a harvest feast is lit by candlelight;
It's the bottom of a staircase that spirals out of sight.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."
The porcelain mannikin with shattered skin fears attack.
The eager pack lift up their pitchers - they carry all they lack.
The liquid has congealed, which has seeped out through the crack,
And the tickler takes his stickleback.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."
-------------------------------
It's amazing what a Lycos search will do for you. This URL (well,
actually http://www.brad.ac.uk/~agcatchp/gen_home.html) will give you all
the lyrics you could ever possibly ask for for Genesis' works.
Dan Kreft
-------------------------------
http://www.eecs.nwu.edu/~bigdan/
LeptienM
the lyrics you could ever possibly ask for for Genesis' works.
Well, unfortunately not all. I am still searching for the lyrics of 'The
light' from Besides the silent mirror. Since I am not a native speaker I
cannot understand them ( Perhaps it is also the poor quality ). Does
somebody has these lyrics already figured out ?
Mac
Michael Treacy
>Just what *ARE* the lyrics for CarpetCrawlers? After many many years of
>listening to the song, I still cannot understand them, it's probably due
>to the serverely party-scratched vinyl of Seconds Out that I have. Can
>anybody enlighten me? Thank you in advance.
>
>email: si...@capella.demon.co.uk
>
> -ooOoo-
If you mean that you can't get the lyrics, here they are:
The Carpet Crawlers
There is lambswool under my naked feet.
The wool is soft and warm,
-gives off some kind of heat.
A salamander scurries into flame to be destroyed.
Imaginary creatures are trapped in birth on celluloid.
The fleas cling to the golden fleece,
Hoping they'll find peace.
Each thought and gesture are caught in celluloid.
There's no hiding in my memory.
There's no room to void.
The crawlers cover the floor in the red ochre corridor.
For my second sight of people, they've more lifeblood than before.
They're moving. They're moving in time to a heavy wooden door,
Where the needle's eye is winking, closing in on the poor.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."
There's only one direction in the faces that I see;
It's upward to the ceiling, where the chambers said to be.
Like the forest fight for sunlight, that takes root in every tree.
They are pulled up by the magnet, believing that they're free.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."
Mild mannered supermen are held in kryptonite,
And the wise and foolish virgins giggle with their bodies glowing
bright.
Through a door a harvest feast is lit by candlight;
It's the bottom of a staircase that spirals out of sight.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."
The porcelain mannikin with shattered skin fears attack.
The eager pack lift up their pitchers- the carry all they lack.
The liquid has congealed, which has seeped out through the crack,
And the tickler takes his stickleback.
The carpet crawlers heed their callers:
"We've got to get in to get out
We've got to get in to get out."
H C Pumphrey
|> Just what *ARE* the lyrics for CarpetCrawlers? After many many years of
Check out Adrian Catchpole's Genesis pages at
http://www.brad.ac.uk/~agcatchp/gen_home.html
They have a more or less complete set of Genesis Lyrics. You wil have to look
under 'The lamb' for Carpet Crawlers as he doesn't have separate lyrix for SO.
Hugh
--
==========================================================================
Hugh C. Pumphrey | Telephone 0131-650-6026
Department of Meteorology | FAX 0131-662-4269
The University of Edinburgh | Replace 0131 with +44-131 if outside U.K.
EDINBURGH EH9 3JZ, Scotland | Email h...@met.ed.ac.uk
OBDisclaimer: The views expressed herein are mine, not those of UofE.
==========================================================================
fast...@soho.ios.com
> Just what *ARE* the lyrics for CarpetCrawlers? After many many years of
> listening to the song, I still cannot understand them, it's probably due
> to the serverely party-scratched vinyl of Seconds Out that I have. Can
> anybody enlighten me? Thank you in advance.
>
Simon,
You should not be listening to "The Carpet Crawlers" on "Seconds Out."
Only listen to the version on "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway". The lyrics
to "The Carpet Crawlers" comes inside "The Lamb" package. I'd post them
for you, but I don't want to do anything to interupt your trip to the
record store to expand your collection by one double CD.
- Don
James Moors
Carpet Crawler is about conception. Pure and simple.
The story related through Carpet Crawler is that of Rael's sperm after he
has lost his virginity during Counting Out Time.
Gabriel waxes muy psychedic (but awesome none the less) with imagery such
as "red ochre corridor", "heavy wooden door", and "the liquid has
congealed, which has seeped out through the crack, And the tickler takes
I personally enjoy his metaphor of " Through the door a harvest feast is
lit by candlelight: It's the bottom of a staircase that spirals out of sight"
in reference to the DNA spiral "double helix" molecule shape which represents
mankinds genealogical makeup.
These lyrics accompanied by Tony's piano, Phil's back-up vocals, Steve's
guitar (much more pronounced and whalin! in a couple of Live Lamb bootlegs; eg:
Odd Man Out) epitomise this version of Genesis to me.
I sure welcomed the predominance of DRUMS and keyboards on Trick of
the Tail though.
Edward Antoniu
>In article <4ie3qd$e...@obelix.helix.net>, James Moors <jmo...@helix.net> wrote:
>>Carpet Crawler is about conception.
>Quite possibly ...
>>Pure and simple.
>Definitely not...
>The Christopher Currie
So, The Carpet Crawlers are actually spermatozoids of which one would
finnaly become an embryo, and so on, until the actual birth of a child? ("We've
got to get in to get out").
Eddie
LeptienM
chromosomes which makes 46. :-(
Mac
Jim Lindsay ii
>
>> So, The Carpet Crawlers are actually spermatozoids of which one
would
>>finnaly become an embryo, and so on, until the actual birth of a child?
("We've
>>got to get in to get out").
>>
>>Eddie
>
backed up by
>the song immediately following "The Carpet Crawlers": "The Chamber of 32
Doors".
> Please correct me if I'm wrong, my genetics is somewhat rusty, but are
there not 32 chromosones in a human
> cell. Each parent donates 16.
>"My father to the left of me,
> My mother to the right.
> Like everyone else they're pointing.
> But nowhere feels quite right."
>
>Where the story leads after that is only decipherable with abundant
medication.
>
>J. Moors
Sorry to say that 1) I don't agree with you in the least and 2) the
Chamber is in fact one of the simplest and most straightforward lyrics
sets on the album.
Disregarding the Chamber's location (top of the stairs, womb, head,
landfill, whatever), the room itself is a simple allegory of choices.
Does no one remember being a teenager? Perhaps for some, life's choices
are easily made, but for others, as I myself was, confusion was so
intense that I looked everywhere for direction, and there were as many
different opinions as there were people to ask. Hence, "My father to the
left of me, my mother to the right, like everyone else they're pointing,
but nowhere feels quite right."
(which brings up another point--how do the priest, magician, and
academics become involved with the chromosome sets in the previously
offered theory?)
Every lyric in the song correlates perfectly with the situation I've
described. "They're all calling out my name..." And the last lyric is
extremely telling, and is a perfect summation of the confusion and angst
of the teenage years: "I'd give you all of my dreams if you could help
me find the door that doesn't lead me back again...
"Take me away..."
-
JIM LINDSAY II ZBU...@prodigy.com
Chris Hughes
> I'm sure someone else will call you on this, but there are 46 chromosomes in a human cell,
> not 32. This is why I'm not sure The Chamber has all that much to do with conception, as
> much as The Carpet Crawlers. This chamber is at the top of some stairs, so maybe it has
> something to do with the brain. Anyone?
>
> KD
AS I read it, the 32 doors represent potential ways into the ovum, only
one of which really leads there. THe stairs which Rael has climbed
represent the obstacles that the Real-sperm has overcome to get to the
egg. The chamber perhaps represents the uterus.
The significance of the number 32 escapes me.
"At the top of the stairs, there's hundreds of people (i.e. sperm),
running around to all the [biological] doors. THey try to find, find
themselves an audience [i.e. enter the egg]...
THe rich man and poor man could be seen in this light as genetically
different individuals. "THey believe they can control the game [have
free will] but the juggler [God? Fate? Genetics?] holds another pack.
Real tries various doors but they all lead back to the chamber. Everyone
gives advice (his parents, priests, magicians (teachers)), but none of
it seems quite right. The chamber of 32 doors comes to represent the
choices that we must make in life, and the nature of trusting the
judgements of others ("I'd rather trust a countryman than...").
Real struggle to leave the chamber can also be seen as his struggle to
leave adolescence...which he fails to do until he meets his first true
love (Lilith).
Lilith takes him through the tunnel of night (his first orgasm), and
sits him down on a cold stone throne carved in jade (makes him feel like
a king).
Read this way, I think it is clear that these four songs:
Counting Out Time (first inept fumblings)
Carpet Crawlers (the reproductive act)
The Chamber of 32 Doors (the whole adolescence thing)
Lilywhite Lilith (first sexual experience)
follow a common theme. It's a pity Lilith (a truly beautiful song) is on
the second CD, separated from her peers...
Chris Hughes
get in to get out"
I always wondered what that line meant...
James Moors
>>
>I'm sure someone else will call you on this, but there are 46 chromosomes in a human cell,
>not 32. This is why I'm not sure The Chamber has all that much to do with conception, as
>much as The Carpet Crawlers. This chamber is at the top of some stairs, so maybe it has
>something to do with the brain. Anyone?
>
>KD
> "The great enemy of progressive ideals is not the Establishment but the
>limitless dullness of those who take them up." Saul Bellow
So much for the chromosome theory. Still waiting for different interpretations of The
Carpet Crawlers.
Up yours Saul. J Moors
D.Kreft
<qtx...@stdoca.ericsson.se> wrote:
> The significance of the number 32 escapes me.
The sperm has 32 chromosomes, likewise does the egg. (???)
> Lilith takes him through the tunnel of night (his first orgasm)
I see "tunnel of night" to be more indicative of the vagina (love tunnel).
Adrian Catchpole
: In article <69V5GDAj...@capella.demon.co.uk>, Simon Clark <si...@capella.demon.co.uk> writes:
: |> Just what *ARE* the lyrics for CarpetCrawlers? After many many years of
: Check out Adrian Catchpole's Genesis pages at
: http://www.brad.ac.uk/~agcatchp/gen_home.html
: They have a more or less complete set of Genesis Lyrics. You wil have to look
: under 'The lamb' for Carpet Crawlers as he doesn't have separate lyrix for SO.
Nah, didn't think it was worth it. Thanks for the plug anyway.
Must get round to making the Web site Netscape 2.0 compatable when I have a
few weeks to spare.
Ade
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Adrian Catchpole ~ a.g.ca...@comp.brad.ac.uk ~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.brad.ac.uk/~agcatchp/agc_home.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The scattered pages of a book by the sea ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~ Held by the sand, washed by the waves" (Genesis, 1972) ~~~~~~~~~~
c adams
Chris Hughes <qtx...@stdoca.ericsson.se> wrote:
>The significance of the number 32 escapes me.
32 is 23 spelled backwards
and is also two to the *fifth*
power...all of which leads us
back to robert anton wilson.
Edward Antoniu
>James Moors wrote:
>> "My father to the left of me,
>> My mother to the right.
>> Like everyone else they're pointing.
>> But nowhere feels quite right."
>>
>> Where the story leads after that is only decipherable with abundant medication.
>>
>> J. Moors
>much as The Carpet Crawlers. This chamber is at the top of some stairs, so maybe it has
>something to do with the brain. Anyone?
>KD
Hmm, the left and right hemyspheres of the brain?
Actually this whole Lamb story seems only decipherable with abundant
medication. At this point I'm only surprised that from birth ("The Carpet
Crawlers") we are led so quickly to death ("Anyway"/"The Supernatural
Anaesthestist"). Maybe it's just as how it really is. Life is not too short for
deciphering these lyrics, however.
Eddie
Edward Antoniu
(please also see my previous post - about birth ("The Carpet Crawlers") and
death ("Anyway"/"The Supernatural Anaesthetist"))
>of the teenage years: "I'd give you all of my dreams if you could help
>me find the door that doesn't lead me back again...
Hmm, i.e., e.g., "Don't let me be born again!"?
>"Take me away..."
Hmm, i.e., e.g., "Let me die, instead!"?
> JIM LINDSAY II ZBU...@prodigy.com
Eddie
Edward Antoniu
>Read this way, I think it is clear that these four songs:
>Counting Out Time (first inept fumblings)
>Carpet Crawlers (the reproductive act)
>The Chamber of 32 Doors (the whole adolescence thing)
>Lilywhite Lilith (first sexual experience)
Makes sense for me, now. I know many interviews where Peter referred to
adolescence or childhood experiences ("that can mark your whole lifetime!"), as
well as to sexuality connected to these periods of one's lifetime. Maybe not as
an obsession, yet as topics to ponder out on, such thoughts resurged into those
lyrics too.
Eddie
ra...@concentric.net
enjoyment of the best album ever. I mean I love the fact that there
are such great Genesis fans out there, but really, isn't all of this a
bit presumtious? Unless of course someone has talked to Pete about
this.
See ya,
Kyle
dKr...@kreft.net (D.Kreft) wrote:
>In article <314FDAEB...@stdoca.ericsson.se>, Chris Hughes
><qtx...@stdoca.ericsson.se> wrote:
>> The significance of the number 32 escapes me.
>The sperm has 32 chromosomes, likewise does the egg. (???)
Michael Turner
>From: jmo...@helix.net (James Moors)
>Subject: Re: CarpetCrawler Lyrics
>Date: 16 Mar 1996 10:06:05 GMT
>Carpet Crawler is about conception. Pure and simple.
Perhaps literally speaking. But I've always thought they - and the Lamb
overall - were a lyrical and musical interpretation of an out-of-body
experience. The whole "In the Cage" section very closely sonically replicates
the process of leaving the body (the cage being the skull to which the self
withdraws before departure). From there on, it's a complete guided astral
experience.
I'm not saying this was consciously the point of the album. But it obviously
relates an inner experience of Gabe which he transcribed into poetry and
music. The fact that the band was able to so expertly replicate Gabe's vision
is nothing short of genius.
Love it!
Michael
C. Currie
>(which brings up another point--how do the priest, magician, and
>academics become involved with the chromosome sets in the previously
>offered theory?)
Well, I can take part of that one. The number "32" corresponds to the
number of paths in the Kabbala's tree of life. In this, the line
corresponding to the female aspect is to the right of the lowest sector,
and that corresponding to the male aspect is to its left. As indicated
by the line "but down here...", Rael is trapped in the lowest level of
the tree at this point.
(With thanks to my housemate, who knows more about the Kabbala than I do).
The Christopher CUrrie
Chris Hughes
>
> In article <314FDAEB...@stdoca.ericsson.se>, Chris Hughes
> <qtx...@stdoca.ericsson.se> wrote:
>
> > The significance of the number 32 escapes me.
>
> The sperm has 32 chromosomes, likewise does the egg. (???)
>
> > Lilith takes him through the tunnel of night (his first orgasm)
>
> I see "tunnel of night" to be more indicative of the vagina (love tunnel).
>
> Dan Kreft
> -------------------------------
> http://www.eecs.nwu.edu/~bigdan/
According to the Knowledge Adventure Encyclopaedia the human sperm has
23 choromosomes.
Me
foolish virgins...the allusion to jacob's ladder. We have to get into this
life to get out of it...that's how I see it.
Just my $.02.
The Uninvited Guest
Michael
mtu...@azstarnet.com (Michael Turner) writes:
>>Carpet Crawler is about conception. Pure and simple.
>
>Perhaps literally speaking. But I've always thought they - and the Lamb
>overall - were a lyrical and musical interpretation of an out-of-body
>experience. The whole "In the Cage" section very closely sonically replicates
>the process of leaving the body (the cage being the skull to which the self
>withdraws before departure). From there on, it's a complete guided astral
>experience.
Interesting, and I would actually say you're on the right track. I
like getting all of these Lamb interps from people; it's fascinating to
see what others think of the story.
Michael
Michael
u920...@muss.cis.McMaster.CA (C. Currie) writes:
>>(which brings up another point--how do the priest, magician, and
>>academics become involved with the chromosome sets in the previously
>>offered theory?)
>
>Well, I can take part of that one. The number "32" corresponds to the
>number of paths in the Kabbala's tree of life. In this, the line
>corresponding to the female aspect is to the right of the lowest sector,
>and that corresponding to the male aspect is to its left. As indicated
>by the line "but down here...", Rael is trapped in the lowest level of
>the tree at this point.
How about retaining the idea of the song referring to the Tree Of Life, o).
but ditching all this stuff about conception? Really, the song is about
the choices one makes in life, not about the ramblings of a confused
bit of sperm!!
Michael
D.Kreft
<qtx...@stdoca.ericsson.se> wrote:
> According to the Knowledge Adventure Encyclopaedia the human sperm has
> 23 choromosomes.
Whoops...that would explain why I'm not a biology major (either that or it
explains why I'm 7' tall).
;-)
Chris Hughes
>
The whole "In the Cage" section very closely sonically replicates
Surprising! I would have thought that the process of the leaving the
body would have been more likely to make some kind of farting or
squelching sound. You learn something new every day...
C. Currie
>How about retaining the idea of the song referring to the Tree Of Life, o).
>but ditching all this stuff about conception? Really, the song is about
>the choices one makes in life, not about the ramblings of a confused
>bit of sperm!!
> Michael
Look up the word "metaphor" in your dictionary and get back to us.
The Christopher Currie
Steven Sullivan
listen to the end of In the Cage -- sounds kid of farty to me. ;>
Rick Kasten
reading way too much into this song. The song is simply about the people
in Rael's reality that are content with being dead while they live.
Rael, in search of the meaning of "Rael" (trying to find himself),
refuses to just stand around and stare at the chamber and crawl around on
the carpet, going nowhere. So by the end of the song, he pushes onto the
chamber. I really don't think Peter was writing anything but beautiful
lyrics here. Not everything he has to say has extensive hidden meaning.
Sheldon Levin
Amen. I love Gabriel-era Genesis, and not having a clue as to the
meaning of some of the songs hasn't lessened my enjoyment of them.
Besides, I've read where PG has mentioned that sometimes he used certain
words just because he likes the sound of the word, not because of any
meaning attached to them.
-
Sheldon Levin UGW...@prodigy.com
Me
Look up the word "metaphor" in your dictionary and get back to us.
The Christopher Currie
And I add:
Uh, Chris, please calm down. You're taking this WAAAAYYY too seriously!
The Uninvited Guest
C. Currie
Not exactly. If I had been taking this too seriously, I would have said
something like "YOU FREAKING IDIOT!!! CAN'T YOU SEE BEYOND THE SURFACE
MEANING????? ARE YOU THAT STUPID????"
I was just responding to someone who was making the absurd claim that
there was no need to look for "deeper meanings" in _The Lamb_. It was
meant as a pithy comment, but probably came off sounding more
pissed-off. Apologies.
Anyway...
The Christopher Currie