# Can you make sense of any Yes song lyrics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [June 18, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278 "2013-06-18T15:42:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/1 "2013-06-18T15:42:32Z")
I like the sound of a lot of songs by Yes, but I can’t make any sense out of their lyrics. Take for example [“Hold On”](http://www.metrolyrics.com/hold-on-lyrics-yes.html) from the 91025 album. Have the band offered any explanation as to the meaning of the lyrics? If not, is there any widely agreed-upon interpretation? How about for any other Yes songs? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/2 "2013-06-18T16:22:31Z")
I have read in several places that the lyrics are suggestive of Jon Anderson’s spiritual journey. There is both Christian imagery and Asian spirituality mentioned in some of the works. I’m not aware of any explicit interpretations from the group, thoughl. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/3 "2013-06-18T16:25:29Z")
Oh, hell no. That’s the appeal! > [@](#): > > Sound out the galleon to travel to cross > close the space between pastures > as rightly attained. > As old stands to plunder > expectant as one dear companion can utter > the right we achieve. **Sound out the Galleon** from “Olias of Sunhillow” (and I know it’s Jon Anderson solo album) ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/4 "2013-06-18T16:45:30Z")
Yes is one of my favorite bands. I’ve been a fan since I was a teenager - for almost 30 years. I still have no idea what most of their songs are about. The love songs are easy to recognize, but that’s about it. I think I once read somewhere that “Yours is No Disgrace” is an anti-Vietnam War song. The “shining flying purple wolfhounds” refer to fighter jets. Or something like that. ETA: Oh yeah - and “South Side of the Sky” is about mountain climbing. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/5 "2013-06-18T16:53:03Z")
No ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/6 "2013-06-18T17:07:14Z")
“Owner of a Lonely Heart” is sort of an argument between the verses and the chorus. The chorus says that it’s better to be lonely than to risk being hurt, while the verses urge you to open up, be yourself, stop drifting along, and take action. It’s about as comprehensible as their songs get, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/7 "2013-06-18T17:14:18Z")
Pretty sure “I’ve Seen All Good People” is about Chess, specifically Lewis Carroll’s Through The Looking Glass’s references to it. I can make almost no sense of any other lyrics in any of their songs. ---
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/8 "2013-06-18T20:44:53Z")
Years ago I read an interview with Jon Anderson where he defended the intelligibility of his lyrics, citing ‘Roundabout’ as the obvious example. He said it was about the early days of the band, when all of them and their gear travelled in a van from Scotland to London overnight. The chorus describes the scenery/mountains in the Lake District. I now live in the Lake District and drive the M6 to and from work each day. Look it up and the lyrics will make some connection. As for the other 99% - ‘Awaken gentle mass touching’ etc - no. Nothing. MiM ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/9 "2013-06-19T01:49:39Z")
_Sharp. Distance. How can the wind with it’s arms all around me?_ Isn’t it obvious??? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/10 "2013-06-19T02:02:55Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Oh, hell no. That’s the appeal! > **Sound out the Galleon** from “Olias of Sunhillow” > (and I know it’s Jon Anderson solo album) Jesus Christ! I bought this album when it came out, listened to it incessantly for a couple of years, and then loaned it to someone and never saw it again. I had literally (and not figurative literally, but _literally_ literally) forgotten it even existed and how much I liked it until I read the phrase “Olias of Sunhillow” and it burst fully formed into my head. Consider yourself hugged or high-fived or whatever kids do on the internet these days. Um, and no to the OP…Yes and its lyrics are not intended to be fully comprehended, you just kind of ride along the top and dip in every now and then. ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/11 "2013-06-19T02:17:57Z")
“Hold On” is about holding on to your own positivity in a negative world. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/12 "2013-06-19T02:25:03Z")
All I have to say on the subject is Cha cha cha _CHA_ cha… …or something like that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/13 "2013-06-19T02:27:00Z")
_The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)_ is about a fish. Well, a whole genus of fishes, really. ---
**Author:** ![alphamatix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@alphamatix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphamatix)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/14 "2013-06-19T02:54:26Z")
The album _Tormato_ seems to have lyrics that make better sense than the albums preceeding it and honestly they make me yearn for the days when they wrote nonsense. (Actually the same may be true of _Going For The One_ except that that album is so badly mixed you can’t really hear the words anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@Mister\_Owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Owl)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/15 "2013-06-19T02:57:21Z")
Lyrics don’t have to make sense. Only the music matters. Truth is I think a lot of lyrics are only meant to fit with the music and fuck with the audience. I still lurves me some Yes! ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/16 "2013-06-19T03:26:29Z")
> [@Mister\_Owl](#): > > Lyrics don’t have to make sense. Only the music matters. Truth is I think a lot of lyrics are only meant to fit with the music and fuck with the audience. > > I still lurves me some Yes! Yeah, they largely used the lyrics as more of just another instrument, I think. They can help deliver the overall theme and concept, but generally shouldn’t be looked at too closely. Certainly I can get the general themes and such from listening to “Gates of Delirium” but it’s really kind of pointless to try and find any line by line meanings. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/17 "2013-06-19T04:12:20Z")
I have always thought about Jon Anderson’s singing as another musical instrument. Much the same (but in a wildly different genre) as I think about the lyrics of Ric Ocasek from _The Cars_. The lyrics are somewhat nonsensical, but available for interpretation in a variety of meanings based upon your ‘set and setting’. In other words, both bands (as well as others) are better perceived under the influence. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/18 "2013-06-19T04:20:42Z")
> [@dzeiger](#): > > Yeah, they largely used the lyrics as more of just another instrument, I think. They can help deliver the overall theme and concept, but generally shouldn’t be looked at too closely. Certainly I can get the general themes and such from listening to “Gates of Delirium” but it’s really kind of pointless to try and find any line by line meanings. Absolutely. I’ve been listening to Yes for years, but I doubt I could quote any lyrics without looking them up. They seem to contain appropriate imagery when listening to the songs, though. This isn’t a negative, in my opinion - far from it. Coming up with lyrics that produce abstract imagery without being memorably nonsensical is far from easy, and done badly can absolutely spoil a song. ---
**Author:** ![Lobot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ce7236/32.png) [@Lobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobot)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/19 "2013-06-19T05:31:21Z")
As a cheat, the Yes song “Life on a Film Set” from _Fly from Here_, with lyrics by Trevor Horn, is clearly based on the J.G. Ballard short story “Studio 5, The Stars”. But… that’s more of a Buggles song, really (cf. the Ballard story “The Sound-Sweep” vs. “Video Killed the Radio Star”). In general, however, I agree with the others who say it’s more about sounds and images than concrete, literal meaning _per se_. What’s a “total mass retain”? I don’t know and I don’t care–they work as effective lyrics in the context of the song. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278/20 "2013-06-19T05:45:06Z")
> [@alphamatix](#): > > The album _Tormato_ seems to have lyrics that make better sense than the albums preceeding it and honestly they make me yearn for the days when they wrote nonsense. “Don’t Kill the Whale” is a/ a brilliant brilliant positive song and b/ lyrically as straight-up as a rock song can be. So there. Supposedly “Starship Trooper” was in fact inspired by the novel of that same name … except Anderson didn’t actually like the novel … no, I give up on that one. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-make-sense-of-any-yes-song-lyrics/661278.md?page=2)