I’m Back! And what a great comeback song!
The song opens with Steve Howe tuning his guitar, and his voice can be heard at the beginning of the track, then playing mostly natural harmonics, played around what will become the central melody, using a 12-string acoustic guitar which quickly forms into a simple chord progression over distant organ chords. Then, the Moog comes, sounding like a child’s instrument, for a simple solo, which presents us the main theme of the next part, but in a completely different arrangement. After that, the vocals begin at about 1:40. The line “All Complete in the sight of seeds of life with you“ is spoken, which is repeated throughout the song. At about 2:50, there’s an utter change: Anderson sings a sharper melody, accompanied by a second vocal track by Anderson harmonizing with himself, plus Chris Squire and Steve Howe providing a counter-melody and alternate lyrics, with their voices fed through a Leslie Speaker.
Lyrics:
[I Cord Of Life]
A man conceived a moment’s answer to the dream
Staying the flowers daily, sensing all the themes
As a foundation left to create the spiral aim
A movement regained and regarded both the same
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you
Changed only for a sight of sound, the space agreed
Between the picture of time behind the face of need
Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid
Emotions revealed as the ocean maid
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you
Coins and crosses
(Turn round tailor, assaulting)
Never know their fruitless worth
(all the mornings of the interest shown,
presenting one another to the cord)
Cords are broken
(All left dying, rediscovered
Of the door that turned round)
Locked inside the mother Earth
(To close the cover, all the
interest shown)
They won’t hide, hold, they won’t tell you
(To turn one another, to the
sign at the time float your climb)
Watching the world, watching all of the world
Watching us go by
And you and I climb over the sea to the valley
And you and I reached out for reasons to call
[II Eclipse]
Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid
Emotions revealed as the ocean maid
As a movement regained and regarded both the same
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you
[III The Preacher, The Teacher]
Sad preacher nailed upon the coloured door of time
Insane teacher be there reminded of the rhyme
There’ll be no mutant enemy we shall certify
Political ends as sad remains will die
Reach out as forward tastes begin to enter you
Oooh, ooh
I listened hard but could not see
Life tempo change out and inside me
The preacher trained in all to lose his name
The teacher travels, asking to be shown the same
In the end we’ll agree, we’ll accept, we’ll immortalize
That the truth of man maturing in his eyes
All complete in the sight of seeds of life with you
Coming quickly to terms of all expression laid
As a moment regained and regarded both the same
Emotion revealed as the ocean maid
A clearer future, morning, evening, nights with you
[IV Apocalypse]
And you and I climb, crossing the shapes of the morning
And you and I reach over the sun for the river
And you and I climb, clearer towards the movement
And you and I called over valleys of endless seas