A Trick of the Tail (song)
Encyclopedia
"A Trick of the Tail'" is a song by the progressive rock
band Genesis
taken from the album of the same name
. It was written by the band's keyboard player Tony Banks
and was the third Genesis song to be accompanied by a promotional video, which features the band gathered around a piano performing the song and directed by Bruce Gowers
.
's guitar. In a 1994 interview with VH1
for the Phil Collins One On One episode, Phil called the video the most embarrassing and cringe-worthy of his entire career.
as the b-side but failed to make any significant chart impact. The majority of the song was written in 1972 and was originally intended for the Foxtrot album. The song's rhythm, according to Banks, is heavily influenced by The Beatles' "Getting Better
".
The lyrics are based on the book The Inheritors
by William Golding
. The title of the song is taken from the name of the last chapter. Like much of the A Trick of the Tail album, the song's lyrics focus on a specific character: the "Beast" who leaves his own kingdom and enters the world of humans. He is captured and put on display in a freak show
after his captors refuse to believe in his kingdom. The Beast laments his decision to leave his home, describing it as a paradise covered in gold. His captors then release him in exchange for leading them to his world. However, just as they see what appears to be a "spire of gold", the Beast has vanished, leaving only his voice.
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
taken from the album of the same name
A Trick of the Tail
-B Side:*This is the first song in the Genesis catalogue to feature an ellipsis in its name, used to convey the mysteriousness of the track. All future issues of this track omit the elipsis, however....
. It was written by the band's keyboard player Tony Banks
Tony Banks (musician)
This article is about the musician. For other people named Tony Banks, see Tony BanksAnthony George "Tony" Banks is a British composer, and multi-instrumentalist, who performs as a keyboardist and a guitarist...
and was the third Genesis song to be accompanied by a promotional video, which features the band gathered around a piano performing the song and directed by Bruce Gowers
Bruce Gowers
Bruce Gowers is an English television director and producer, best known for work on large-scale live music and event productions. He started his career in his native England where his landmark music video for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" brought him international recognition leading to his...
.
Music video
Special effects make Collins appear to walk and dance on the piano and Steve HackettSteve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. He gained prominence as a member of the British progressive rock group Genesis, which he joined in 1970 and left in 1977 to pursue a solo career...
's guitar. In a 1994 interview with VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
for the Phil Collins One On One episode, Phil called the video the most embarrassing and cringe-worthy of his entire career.
History
The song was released as a single with EntangledEntangled (song)
"Entangled" is a song by Genesis, recorded in November 1975 at Trident Studios, London for inclusion on the album A Trick of the Tail. It is the second track on the album, featuring 12-string acoustic guitars. Written by keyboardist Tony Banks and guitarist Steve Hackett, the song tells the story...
as the b-side but failed to make any significant chart impact. The majority of the song was written in 1972 and was originally intended for the Foxtrot album. The song's rhythm, according to Banks, is heavily influenced by The Beatles' "Getting Better
Getting Better
"Getting Better" is a song written mainly by Paul McCartney, with lyrical contributions from John Lennon . It was recorded by The Beatles for the 1967 album Sgt...
".
The lyrics are based on the book The Inheritors
The Inheritors (William Golding)
The Inheritors is the 1955 second novel by the British author William Golding, best known for Lord of the Flies. It was his personal favourite of all his novels and concerns the extinction of the last remaining tribe of Neanderthals at the hands of the more sophisticated Homo sapiens.-Plot...
by William Golding
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
. The title of the song is taken from the name of the last chapter. Like much of the A Trick of the Tail album, the song's lyrics focus on a specific character: the "Beast" who leaves his own kingdom and enters the world of humans. He is captured and put on display in a freak show
Freak show
A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with both male and female secondary sexual characteristics, people with other extraordinary diseases and...
after his captors refuse to believe in his kingdom. The Beast laments his decision to leave his home, describing it as a paradise covered in gold. His captors then release him in exchange for leading them to his world. However, just as they see what appears to be a "spire of gold", the Beast has vanished, leaving only his voice.