Album: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974)

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• And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
  Early morning Manhattan,
  Ocean winds blow on the land.
  Movie-Palace is now undone,
  The all-night watchmen have had their fun.
  Sleeping cheaply on the midnight show,
  It's the same old ending - time to go.
  Get out!
  It seems they cannot leave their dream.
  There's something moving in the sidewalk steam,
  And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
  Nightime's flyers feel their pains.
  Drugstore take down the chains.
  Metal motion comes in bursts,
  The gas station can quench that thirst.
  Suspension cracked on unmade road
  The trucker's eyes read 'Overload'
  And out on the subway,
  Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid
  Exits into daylight, spraygun hid,
  And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
  The lamb seems right out of place,
  Yet the Broadway street scene finds a focus in its face.
  Somehow it's lying there,
  Brings a stillness to the air.
  Though man-made light, at night is very bright,
  There's no whitewash victim,
  As the neons dim, to the coat of white.
  Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid
  Wipes his gun - he's forgotten what he did,
  And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
  Suzanne tired her work all done,
  Thinks money - honey - be on - neon.
  Cabman's velvet glove sounds the horn
  And the sawdust king spits out his scorn.
  Wonder women you can draw your blind!
  Don't look at me! I'm not your kind.
  I'm Rael!
  Something inside me has just begun,
  Lord knows what I have done,
  And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
  On Broadway
  They say the lights are always bright on Broadway.
  They say there's always magic in the air. Writer/s: Michael Rutherford, Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, Steven Hackett, Tony Banks
  Publisher: CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 32

• The Rodent Extrordinair from Socal“…No time for romantic escape when your fluffy heart is ready for rape…”
• The Rodent Extrodinair from SocalDoes anyone else think that, looking back, Rael might have been, or become, an Incel?
  I have loved this album since I was 15 and as a young girl it was impossible to relate to the sexual progression of puberty in boys. Now I see how the perceived rejection by girls/women is being blamed on women bc of the abundance of sexual videos and websites. Rael learns about sex from a book, not through a relationship and there lies all the difference.
• Tony Rinaldo from CaAnonymous. Yes, my first Genesis listen was also Foxtrot. A girl friend of mine actually opened me up to them. We'd listen to Side 1 and 2 a lot. Of course, Supper's Ready is epic, but side one is magic. Anyway, I did much the same as you; I purchased the back log of LP's and listen to each one for a month or two, then I'd buy the next. It was a time I won't forget. My Father exposed me to music from day one. Only the best. Ellington, Sinatra, Basie, Goodman, Peggy Lee, Judy Garland, Fitzgerald, Buddy Rich, Bennett, Lionel Hampton, Armstrong, Jobim. He was big into jazz obviously. That was the basis for my future listening, high bar. The blend that Genesis produced with classical and rock was special. And their superior ability for composition was really unmatched in the rock era, I think. Every single one of these dudes could write. So to this day, not only do we have the core Genesis Band to listen to, but all of their solo works as well. It is just a wide swath of quality sound that transcends time really. It is timeless music and I think that legacy will grow with time. Long live Genesis.
• Domazz from OntarioI never could absorb this entire album, much like Jethro Tull's ..Thick as a Brick'. What I could acknowledge was Peters artistic abilities get the better of him and the waning of another great band split like Pink Floyd. Ahh then there were three.
• Bob from New OrleansAfter many years of listening to The Lamb album that somehow Peter Gabriel was subconsciously channeling the September 11th event..shocked At The Thought? Keep an open mind and decide for yourself.
  
  Tracks like ANYWAY and FLY ON A WINDSHIELD, THE CAGE remind me of the sick madness that went on that day a day of mass murder and suicide and confused emotions then finally death and hereafter judgement for the criminal perpetrators.
  
  One fascinating factoid about The Lamb album is that it was conceived and band rehearsed and partially recorded at HEADLEY GRANGE where Led Zeppelin wrote Stairway to Heaven and their 4th album. The manor house was said to be occupied by spirit beings. Wven Peter Frampton acknowledged this when he recorded his SOMETHINS HAPPENING album there. It is entirely possible that the 911 events were subconsciously being channeled to Gabriel while residing at Headley. We'll never ever really know for certain.
• Adam from WoodstockI think one interesting twist might be that Rael was in an acid trip in Manhattan… that is not discussed but it would make sense .. like the opening line in The Cage “ i’ve got sunshine in my stomach…”. either way great album and IMO the peak of Genesis
• Tony Rinaldo from CaI saw the live performance at The Shrine in LA, Jan 1975. I had the year before in 1974 immersed myself in Genesis and haven't looked back since. I think The Lamb as an album can be interpreted by each individual as they see it. What I take from it is the internal struggle each of us has between good and evil. Which way do you choose to go is the question. It's possibly my favorite album from definitely my favorite band...They wrote such good songs.
• Phil from FloridaI was privileged to experience my first taste to Genesis when I bought tickets to the live Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour in 74 in Boston at the Music Hall.. To this day , its the best live performance I've ever witnessed .. Especially when they encored after doing the entire Lamb album with Supper Ready.. The place went euphoric in the end ..I still listen to them on Pandora and enjoys those old tunes.. Brings back a lot of wonderful memories.
• AnonymousTony in So Ca: So I'm 66. I've been listening to these guys since '73. Foxtrot was my first endeavor into Genesis, then to Lamb and the whole backlog of albums prior (Nursery Cryme, Selling England by the Pound, Trespass, etc...). Anyway, I attended the Lamb show at The Shrine Auditorium in Jan "75 if memory serves correctly. That was about as unique a musical experience as I have ever seen or heard. I'd listened to the album only a few weeks prior to the show. So 45 years later and at this point, it is probably my favorite piece of music. So much information and unbelievable sounds to be heard with so much application in life. I actually take it like the inner struggle between right and wrong (Rael and Brother John) and in the end, which way do you want to go in life. It is up to you.
• John from Honolulu, Hithe lyrics to genesis/peter gabriel era were so obscure, it is hard to believe they were so successful. lamb lies down had some coherency to it. it was not until the SO album that Gabriel wrote songs that you could actually UNDERSTAND!!! and i am
  very glad he kept going, since then. Scratch My Back, his album of covers, is AWESOME.
• Richard from Phoenix, AzMuch like Dark Side of the Moon, this album has to be absorbed through headphones to hear everything going on..great musicianship and a pretty wild storyline to complement the music..It's funny how Peter came up with the closing song,"It"...now 35 years later everthing is on the web (Internet Technology) I think The Lamb is a must have in any music lovers catalog. ITs only rock and roll...and I like it!!
• Jim from Long Beach, CaClassic song...
• Freddy from Sporesville, Ky, AustriaI've always thought of this whole album as their masterpiece, even among ALL their other great albums.
• Wavy from Tucson , AzJeanette you are not alone. I was 13 in 87 and I was digging it then. I know how you feel.
  
  Jimi--man, sorry for your loss.
  
  Lamb Lies Down is an awesome album. Im glad it never made it to film. Because when I used to listen to it when I was younger I would have my own storyline in my head--the movie--you know? The Lamia used to scare me to death--and then "Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats" featured a ship captained by the reaper..thats whats good about music....
  Now that Im older, I understand the Colony of Slippermen and that is so jacked up!
• Athena from Phoenix, AzThis is one of my favorite albums from Genesis. I've been listening to it since I was 9 years old.
• Colin from Teignmouth, EnglandDuring 2005 the excellent Genesis tribute band 'The Musical Box' toured the UK performing the whole of the 'Lamb' stage show complete with vocalists costumes. They also showed the 1200 photo slides originally used by Genesis themselves.
• Steve from Birmingham, AlThe original Lamb album spells it Carpet Crawlers, on the Seconds Out album it's The Carpet Crawl, on Turn It On Again: The Hits, it's The Carpet Crawlers . What's up with that? I mean, it's the same song, right?
• Wyatt from Anywhere, United StatesI see this album as a kind of cross between the Christian concept of purgetory, the Tibetan Book of the dead, Karma and reincarnation. Sorry to hear about your brother Jimi, its a pretty dark album and covers some heavy subject matter. I like the Carpet crawl which seems to be about the drive for the dead to reincarnate, Probably the best but I like the whole album, especialy the first side. some of the second side gets a little monotanious. Counting out time is Rael recounting his misfortune on his first date in which he relies on a book about how to get women into bed by the numbers but ends up getting shot down and possibly slapped LOL so its got its lighter moments.
• Joshua from Twin Cities, MnThe first two discs of the Genesis Archive Volume 1: 1967-75 boxed set consist of an entire live performance of the Lamb rock opera. Well, almost an entire performance. The master tape ran out during the final song ("It") rendering it unusable, so to complete the disc, the band, including Gabriel, briefly reunited to record a new version of that song. They would also record a new version of "The Carpet Crawlers" which appeared on their compilation Turn It On Again: The Hits.
• Portia from Melbourne, Australiai absolutely love this song. i am a huge fan of genesis and i have been for a while. im the 15 year old i know that likes genesis. everyone is into tht mainstream stuff. the lyrics are insane in most of the songs but thats what makes them enjoyable
• Alex from Fort Mill, ScUgh, should've bought Selling England By the Pound. Havent found one double album I could listen to all the way through.
  
• Jimi from St Paul, MnMy brother loved this album. I remember him playing it all the time when we were kids. The Carpet Crawlers was playing on an endless loop when they found him dead in his apartment hung by the neck. So I guess I kind of have mixed feelings about the album. Sorry for the depression.
• Brian from Orange, CaI heard Gabriel wrote the lyrics on vacation in Greece and the rest of Genesis wrote the music in England. It's amazing it matched up as well as it did.
• Pete from Leeds, EnglandPeter Gabriel was trying to write all the lyrics for the album, but he was driving himself crazy doing it. They were in danger of running out of time which is when the rest of the band stepped in to complete the album, all of which did not help the relationship between Gabriel and the others one bit.
• Jeanette from Irvine, Camaking this a piece of film? are you kidding? thats crazy. who wants to watch a movie about genitals being grabbed by ravens and carried down rivers? thats bizarre. but in album form its pretty cool anyway.
• Mark from London, EnglandPeter Gabriel didn't write the lyrics for "The Light Dies Down on Broadway" - that was Banks & Rutherford
• Jeanette from Irvine, Cai'm seriously the only 13 year old i know who listens to genesis...but this album is awesome!
• Mike from Williamsburg, Vadirector william friedkin was interested in adapting the piece to film, and allegedly this was a source of tension among the group members.
• Hugh from Kansas City, MoRobb, Perhaps you don't have to be insane, just repetitious!
• Robb from Hamburg, NyPeter Gabriel wrote every single lyric on this album unaccompanied.
• Robb from Hamburg, NyThis is a great concept album. I sort of feel you have to be intelligent and a bit insane to completely understand what this album is about. The music is sensational, the singing itself is great, but the lyrics are a bit strange....
• Jon from Pittsburgh, PaCarpet Crawelers is the best song on the album

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