This track began life as a simple love song which I wrote on an open-tuned acoustic guitar, but it soon became a lot more complex and serious. I think it was the line "our time on Earth is not for us to tell" which first hinted to me that something darker and deeper was going on. As the lyrics developed they dragged in references to Wordsworth's "Intimations of Mortality" and to Tolkien's "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us", spoken by Gandalf in "The Fellowship of the Ring". I have paraphrased that line in the chorus as "But the one thing that we choose is what to do with all our time", as it sings better.
In the lengthy coda there are also nods to the Greek Orpheus and Eurydice legend, to Charon (the ferryman of the Underworld), the Wizard of Earthsea novels of Ursula le Guin and to Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night". The rhyming scheme of this section is AABCCB and I avoided the temptation to abandon the strait jacket of this structure, as I often do, until I arrived at the final three lines where the return to the opening lyrics of the song breaks the pattern, and brings the song to a close.
I decided that the arrangement would need a 1970s prog rock feel and especially Genesis of the "...and then were three..." era. So I have used a Mike Rutherfordian guitar line (played on a heavily processed Fender Strat with multiple echoes), a Quadra Pro synth lead, an instrument much used by Tony Banks at the time, some Korg Trinity pad sounds, deep Moog Taurus bass pedals and, of course, VERY LOUD Phil Collins drums with his signature gated snare sound and, in the coda, a full set of octobans (high pitched tube tom-toms). I also used some industrial percussion sounds mixed into the drum track to give it a more complex texture.
Inevitably, Richard Burton puts in an appearance in the coda reading "Do Not Go Gentle" and I quite liked the idea of this going on in the background, only faintly heard, until the last verse appears over the dying chords of the song. It's a little like the Beatles' "I Am the Walrus" where lines from King Lear are heard indistinctly at the end of the song.
For the video I have used scenes from Jean Cocteau's "Orphée" and tried to match some of the special effects used in that masterpiece. I still have no idea how the "falling-sideways" effect was achieved - remember that this was made in 1949, long before CGI and green screens were invented.
Instrumentation: All instruments played or programmed by Brian Parks:
Line 6 Variax 6-string guitar (emulating Fender Stratocaster and Rickenbacker 12-string guitar), Line 6 Variax bass guitar (emulating a Rickenbacker 4001), programmed Korg Trinity synth, programmed Quadra Pro synth, programmed Moog Taurus bass pedals, programmed grand piano, programmed industrial percussion loops, programmed Roland TR808 drums, programmed 1980s Slingerland Magnum drum kit (including a full set of octobans) recorded at Abbey Road Studios, lead vocal, harmony and backing vocals and programmed female backing vocals.
Lyrics
We could turn out the light, whisper softly “Goodnight”
We could pray another day will turn out right
As the moon begins to rise through the starlight in the skies
With a glow we know the darkness cannot hide.
There’s no need to break the spell
Even though we know darned well
That our time on Earth is not for us to tell
Should we walk or should we run? Cos when all is said and done
At the finish no-one there can say they’ve won
But the one thing that we choose
Is what to do with all our time
And if we win or if we lose
As we pass through the finish line then it’s alright.
We could relive the past. Nail our colours to the mast
Should we fear another year might be our last
Scared to think too far ahead, fearing time’s relentless tread
Paralysed by all the lies inside your head
But the one thing that we choose
Is what to do with all our time
And if we win or if we lose
As we pass through the finish line then it’s alright. Oh, it’s alright.
In the autumn of our years through the laughter and the tears
There’ll be space enough to chase away our fears
Though anxieties remain still the sun shines after rain
And the springtime follows winter once again
With all our hearts and all our souls
And all our thoughts beyond control
There’s never time enough to stand and stare
With all those sacrifices made
And though our debts remain unpaid
The ferryman demands his rightful share
The quest to reach the farthest shore
To tread those sands beyond the door
With not a glance behind to see the light
The darkness slowly falls around
And all our footsteps leave no sound
With nothing to disturb the endless night
It’s all we need and all we know
Like actors playing their final show
The curtain falls upon the darkened stage
The dying of the darkened light
Is never gentle, it's never right
And no-one dares to turn the final page
So, when we each turn out the light
We whisper one last soft “Goodnight”
To pray another day will turn out right