Supper's Ready

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"Supper's Ready" is a song by the band

Genesis. A recorded version appeared on
their 1972 album Foxtrot, and the band
performed the song regularly on stage for
several years following this. Live versions
appear on the albums Live at the Rainbow
recorded in 1973, Seconds Out recorded in
1977, the compilation Genesis Archive
1967–75, and the box set Genesis Live
1973–2007. A reworked version also
appears on Steve Hackett's 2012 album
Genesis Revisited II and its accompanying
live albums Genesis Revisited: Live at
Hammersmith and Genesis Revisited: Live
at Royal Albert Hall.
 "Supper's Ready"

Song by Genesis

from the album Foxtrot

Released 6 October 1972

Recorded August 1972

Genre Progressive rock[1][2][3]

Length 22:54 (CD version)

23:06 (Vinyl and
Digital versions)

Label Charisma/Virgin (UK)

 Atlantic (U.S.)
Songwriter(s) Tony Banks •
Phil Collins •
Peter Gabriel •
Steve Hackett •
Mike Rutherford

Producer(s) Dave Hitchcock

In an interview, Peter Gabriel summed up

"Supper's Ready" as "a personal journey
which ends up walking through scenes
from Revelation in the Bible... I'll leave it at
that".[4][5] He was also quoted in the book I
Know What I Like by Armando Gallo as
saying that the song was influenced by an
experience his wife had of sleeping in a
purple room, and the nightmares it gave
her.[6][7] AllMusic has described the song
as the band's "undisputed masterpiece".[8]

Structure
See below for further details on each
section of the song.

Nearly 23 minutes in length, the song is

divided into seven sections. A number of
musical and lyrical themes do re-appear
throughout. The melody of the verse in
section I reappears as a flute melody
between sections II and III. The melody of
the chorus in section I reappears with new
lyrics in the coda to section VI. The song
that comprises the majority of section II
reappears briefly in instrumental form at
the beginning of section VI, and then
returns to form the body of section VII,
with new lyrics.

One commentator regarded the structure

of "Supper's Ready" as a variation of
sonata form—a musicological analysis by
Nors Josephson proposes that "section VII
may be viewed as a Lisztian, symphonic
apotheosis" of the "cyclical fanfares that
originated in section II".[9] On the other
hand, the individual components of
"Supper's Ready" are much closer to
traditional rock songs than they are to
classical pieces, even if they contain
elements of both.

The song undergoes multiple changes in

time signature, key signature, Leitmotif,
instrumentation, and mood.[10]

Authorship
The song's writing is credited to the whole
band
(Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherfor
d). In various interviews, Banks mentioned
that he composed several of the musical
progressions whilst still a university
student; Gabriel authored most or all of the
lyrical content, as well as the "Willow
Farm" section; Collins apparently
contributed much to the arrangements and
segues from one section to another. In
Olivier Lecart's book Genesis, Mike
Rutherford hints that he was responsible
for the rhythm of "Apocalypse in 9/8".

Sections

I: "Lover's Leap" (0:00 – 3:47) …

This section features a gentle arpeggiated
guitar backing (with Hackett, Banks and
Rutherford all playing 12-string guitars),
soft electric piano (Hohner pianet), bass
pedals, cello and flute, and a section with
folky three part vocal harmonies sung by
Gabriel and Collins (which omit the third
note of the chord). The only percussion
used and played by Collins is triangle,
cymbals, and bells.

Lyrically it tells of a man returning home

after a long time to be greeted by his lover,
and mentions supernatural imagery ("six
saintly shrouded men"), which Gabriel
claims relate to a genuine spiritual
experience which occurred with himself,
his wife Jill and producer John Anthony.
According to Gabriel, during a late-night
conversation, his wife began speaking with
a completely different voice. Gabriel held
up a makeshift cross out of a candlestick
and another household item, and Jill
reacted violently; (in Armando Gallo's
book, I Know What I Like, Gabriel mentions
that his wife had reacted badly to sleeping
in a room with purple walls, purple being
'very high in the colour spectrum'). Jill was
eventually calmed down and taken to bed,
but neither Peter nor John Anthony slept
that night. On another occasion, also late
at night, Gabriel looked out of the window
of his wife's parents' house to see what he
perceived to be an entirely different lawn,
across which seven shrouded men were
walking.[11] Gabriel recounted that these
experiences led him to contemplate
notions of good, evil, and the supernatural,
and eventually inspired the lyrics to
"Supper's Ready".

Hackett, however, has a different

explanation: "I believe there’d been some
drug taking going on. I believe she [Jill]
was having a bad trip at one point, and
that Pete and a friend managed to talk her
around and get her out of the horrors or
whatever it was. So that’s a part of what
the song was about, but in a way there’s a
kind of redemption implication that goes
with that."[12]

In the programme given out at Genesis

concerts at the time, "Lover's Leap" was
explained as: "In which two lovers are lost
in each other's eyes, and found again
transformed in the bodies of another male
and female."[13]

This segment was performed as part of an

acoustic medley on the group's 1998
Calling All Stations tour with Ray Wilson on
vocals.

II: "The Guaranteed Eternal

Sanctuary Man" (3:48 – 5:43)
…

Banks composed the chord progression

whilst still at University. When performing
the song live, Gabriel would don a "crown
of thorns" headpiece at this point. The
piece segues into the next with a "Lover's
Leap" reprise.

The programme describes this section as

follows: "The lovers come across a town
dominated by two characters; one a
benevolent farmer and the other the head
of a highly disciplined scientific religion.
The latter likes to be known as 'The
Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man' and
claims to contain a secret new ingredient
capable of fighting fire. This is a
falsehood, an untruth, a whopper, and a
taradiddle, or to put it in clearer terms; a
lie."

III: "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their

Band of Merry Men" (5:44 – 9:42)
…
This section is much more dynamic than
the previous two, with lively drumming
from Collins, an elegiac electric guitar solo
played by Hackett, and a lot of interplay
between Hackett’s guitar and Banks’ organ
(including a section with fast organ and
guitar arpeggios, Hackett employing the
"tapping" style of playing). The lyrics refer
to a battle of some sort, presumably
involving Ikhnaton.

The programme spells "Itsacon" as "Its-a-

con". It describes this section as follows:
"Who the lovers see clad in greys and
purples, awaiting to be summoned out of
the ground. At the G.E.S.M's command,
they put forth from the bowels of the earth,
to attack all those without an up-to-date
'Eternal Life Licence', which were
obtainable at the head office of the
G.E.S.M.'s religion."

IV: "How Dare I Be So Beautiful?"

(9:43 – 11:04)
…

This is a slow and gentle section, the only

instrumentation being treated acoustic
piano chords, each chord being faded-in
on the recording, thus losing the piano's
characteristic attack and sounding more
like an organ (it was done on Hammond
organ live). The title is a catchphrase used
by the band's early music-business
contact, Jonathan King. The lyrics deal
with the aftermath of the preceding battle,
and referring to the Greek myth of
Narcissus, who turned into a flower.

The programme describes this section as

follows: "In which our intrepid heroes
investigate the aftermath of the battle and
discover a solitary figure, obsessed by his
own image. They witness an unusual
transmutation, and are pulled into their
own reflections in the water."
V: "Willow Farm" (11:05 – 15:36) …
 "Willow Farm"
Single by Genesis

from the album Foxtrot

A-side "Watcher of the Skies"

Released 6 October 1972

Recorded August 1972

Length 4:31
2:57 (single edit)

Songwriter(s) Tony Banks •

Phil Collins •
Peter Gabriel •
Steve Hackett •
Mike Rutherford
Producer(s) Dave Hitchcock
Genesis singles chronology

"Happy the "Willow Farm" "I Know What I

Man" / "Seven (1972) Like (In Your
Stones" Wardrobe)"
(1972) (1974)

Live in concert, Gabriel would appear in his

"flower mask" (by Gabriel's own admission,
partly inspired by the BBC children's
programme The Flower Pot Men). This
section features vaudeville-style sections,
the Mellotron Mark II's "combined brass"
tape set, sped-up vocals, and musique
concrète noises of trains and explosions.
Lyrically, it has a Python-esque quality,
dealing with elements of the absurd in the
English psyche, "there's Winston Churchill,
dressed in drag, he used to be a British
flag, plastic bag, what a drag!" and
numerous elements of word play, boarding
schools, agricultural depravity and social
conformity. The lyrics also reference
Foxtrot's cover artwork ("the fox on the
rocks") and a song from Nursery Cryme,
Genesis' previous album ("The Musical
Box").

The programme describes "Willow Farm"

as follows: "Climbing out of the pool, they
are once again in a different existence.
They're right in the middle of a myriad of
bright colours, filled with all manner of
objects, plants, animals and humans. Life
flows freely and everything is mindlessly
busy. At random, a whistle blows and every
single thing is instantly changed into
another."[14]

"Willow Farm" was originally a stand-alone

song, with music and lyrics by Gabriel. At
one point, while "Supper's Ready" was
being written and assembled, Banks or
Gabriel had the idea of including "Willow
Farm" in the middle of it. Banks
commented that this jarring, fast-paced
piece prevented "Supper's Ready" from
seeming too much like a repeat of their
earlier epic "Stagnation".[15]

After the vocal section of "Willow Farm"

ends, there is a reflective interlude, not
definitely belonging to either "Willow Farm"
or the following "Apocalypse In 9/8". It
starts with bass pedal, electric guitar,
organ and Mellotron drones, then
proceeds with soft guitar and flute.

VI: "Apocalypse in 9/8 (Co-Starring …

the Delicious Talents of Gabble

Ratchet)" (15:36 – 20:50)

At this point, the drums enter, with the

rhythm section striking out a pattern using
the unusual metre of 9 beats to the bar
(expressed as 3+2+4).[16] The lyrics
employ stereotypical apocalyptic imagery,
alternating with an organ solo from Banks
(played in 44 and 78 time signatures against
the 98 rhythm section), then switching to a
climactic vocal from Gabriel, and the
Mellotron "three violins" tape set. Banks
has said that his approach to writing the
solo was to parody the style that Keith
Emerson had developed with Emerson,
Lake & Palmer. In live performances,
during the organ solo, Gabriel would don a
bizarre "Magog" outfit with geometrical
headdress which can be seen on the cover
of the band's Genesis Live (1973) album.
"Gabble Ratchet" is a reference to the
Hounds of Hell;[17] they are usually
portrayed as geese, which explains the
sound effect heard during this section
(18:48–18:53 on Foxtrot). They are also
known as "Gabriel's Hounds". The
programme for the 1972/3 tour refers to
this section as "co-starring the delicious
talents of wild geese".[18]
The programme describes this section as
follows: "At one whistle the lovers become
seeds in the soil, where they recognise
other seeds to be people from the world in
which they had originated. While they wait
for Spring, they are returned to their old
world to see Apocalypse of St John in full
progress. The seven trumpeters cause a
sensation, the fox keeps throwing sixes,
and Pythagoras (a Greek extra) is
deliriously happy as he manages to put
exactly the right amount of milk and honey
on his corn flakes."[13]
This segment was performed as a
standalone once in 1978 and on the first
leg of the 1986 Invisible Touch Tour as
part of the "In the Cage"/"...In That Quiet
Earth"/"Supper's Ready" medley.

VII: "As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs

(Aching Men's Feet)" (20:51 – …

22:54)

"As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs" is a folklore

variation of the logical tautology that "X =
X"[19] and in this context is a reference to
certainty and faith—being absolutely
convinced of the ultimate victory of good
over evil and that God and Heaven do
indeed exist. "Aching Men's Feet" is a play
on "making ends meet". "Apocalypse"
segues into this part via a slower section
that reprises the lyrics from "Lover's Leap"
in combination with the chord progression
from "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary
Man", backed by a pressed snare drum roll
and tubular bells. During live shows, a
flash charge would be fired and Gabriel
would discard his Magog costume to
reveal himself in shining white apparel that
glowed when exposed to black light.
During one gig, he attempted flying on a
Kirby wire, and was nearly strangled.[20]
From this point to the end, drums, deep
bass pedals and Mellotron brass are
present, as are Blakean lyrics which
reference The New Jerusalem (The Crystal
City of God that is established after the
death of the Anti-Christ) and the Second
Coming of Christ with reference to the
biblical Revelation 19:17: "There's an angel
standing in the sun. He cried with a loud
voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the
sky, Come! Be gathered together to the
great supper of God."

After completing the lyrics in this section,

Gabriel would pick up and raise an active
blacklight tube, holding it near himself,
upraised with both hands, as though it
were a sword. Gabriel would be the only
one lit onstage at this point and would
actually appear to be glowing from the
combination of blacklight, his reflective
white costume and fluorescent makeup.
Gabriel considered this effect to be a
theatrical way of symbolizing the victory of
good/light over evil/darkness.

The piece fades out on overdubbing

cascading electric guitar parts. On the
original recording this section is in the key
of A, but because of Gabriel's inability to
properly recreate the vocal performance
onstage from either hoarseness or
tiredness, the band regularly had to
change the key to G.

The programme describes this section as

follows: "Above all else an egg is an egg.
'And did those feet ............' making ends
meet. Jerusalem = place of peace."[13]

This segment was performed as a

standalone twice in 1978 and on the first
leg of the 1986 Invisible Touch Tour as
part of the "In the Cage"/"...In That Quiet
Earth"/"Supper's Ready" medley.
The final song on A Trick of the Tail,
entitled "Los Endos", quotes from this
segment near the very end. As the band
fades out, Collins can be heard singing
"there's an angel standing in the sun" twice
in succession, followed by "free to get
back home" as the last notes disappear.
These are the only lyrics heard in the song,
which is otherwise instrumental; this quote
has generally been omitted from live
versions (except for Steve Hackett's
Genesis Revisited: Live at the Royal Albert
Hall and Genesis Revisited: Live at
Hammersmith in 2012).
Live introduction
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Live performances of "Supper's Ready"

were preceded by Peter Gabriel telling a
story. At the Rainbow Theatre on 20
October 1973 (as released on the Genesis
Archive 1967–75 set), Gabriel told a story
about "Old Henry" (which sometimes
changed to "Old Michael") taking off his
clothes and rubbing his flesh into the
grass in a park, which attracts a colony of
earthworms. The story featured both
Gabriel and Phil Collins whistling
"Jerusalem" before announcing,
"'Jerusalem boogie' to us perhaps, but to
the birds, it meant that supper was ready".

On the 1976 tour for A Trick of the Tail,

Mike Rutherford told a story to introduce
the song. On the following year's tour for
Wind & Wuthering, Phil Collins would tell
Peter Gabriel's "Romeo and Juliet" story
from "The Cinema Show" to introduce the
song. In these stories, Juliet wore an "I
Love Gary Gilmore" T-shirt and instead of
saying "time for 'The Cinema Show'", Juliet
said: "I want to go because I'm hungry and
'Supper's Ready'".
During the 1982 tour, Collins told a story
before the song. Often this story would tie
in to the song itself, but on some
occasions he told a Romeo and Juliet
story instead. At the 1982 Genesis reunion
show, Gabriel told a story about a woman
on a subway train (which he had told
during the Foxtrot tour, and which had
appeared on the Genesis Live album
cover), slightly altered to segue into
"Supper's Ready".

After 1982, only fragments of this song

were played live by Genesis. During the
first leg of the Invisible Touch tour in 1986,
the band played the last two parts
("Apocalypse in 9/8", "As Sure As Eggs Is
Eggs"). During the We Can't Dance tour in
1992, Collins suggested they play
"Supper's Ready" in its entirety, but was
voted down by Rutherford and Banks.
Finally, on the Calling All Stations tour in
1998, Genesis performed an acoustic
medley containing the first section.

The song was played live during the

Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound, A
Trick of the Tail, Wind & Wuthering, ...And
Then There Were Three..., Three Sides Live
encore, Invisible Touch, and Calling All
Stations tours.

Musicians
Peter Gabriel – lead vocals, flute, bass
drum, tambourine, oboe
Phil Collins – drums, backing vocals,
triangle, tubular bells, percussion,
whistles
Tony Banks – piano, Hohner Pianet,
Hammond organ, Mellotron, treated
piano, 12-string acoustic guitar
Steve Hackett – electric guitar, 12-string
acoustic guitar, classical guitar, guitar
 effects
Mike Rutherford – bass, 12-string
acoustic guitar, cello, backing vocals,
Dewtron "Mister Bassman" bass pedals

References
1. Kennedy, Adam (October 8, 2018).
"Steve Hackett at the Sage Gateshead
in Gateshead, UK" . National Rock
Review. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
2. Cavanagh, David (2015). Good Night
and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five
Years of John Peel Helped to Shape
Modern Life . Faber & Faber. p. 158.
ISBN 9780571302482.
3. McCarraher, James (2012). 101 Songs
To Discover From The Seventies .
Lulu.com. p. 98.
ISBN 9781447862666.
4. Alper, Eric (December 22, 2013).
"Peter Gabriel's Isolated Vocal from
Genesis' "Supper's Ready" " . That Eric
Alper. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
5. Murphy, Sean (March 31, 2017). "The
100 Best Classic Progressive Rock
Songs: Part 5, 20-1" . PopMatters.
Retrieved March 4, 2019.
6. The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition .
Canongate Books. 2007. p. 290.
ISBN 9781847676436.
7. Peter Gabriel in radio interview on the
programme "Rockline", 92.3FM
KROCK, NYC, 16 June 1986.
8. Couture, Francois. "Song Review by
François Couture" . AllMusic.
Retrieved 23 January 2016.
9. Nors S. Josephson, "Bach Meets Liszt:
Traditional Formal Structures and
Performance Practices in Progressive
Rock", The Musical Quarterly, vol. 76,
no. 1 (Spring 1992), pages 84–85.
10. Smith, Bradley (1997). Billboard Guide
to Progressive Music (First printing
ed.). Billboard Books. p. 81. ISBN 0-
8230-7665-2.
11. Bowman, Durrell (2016). Experiencing
Peter Gabriel: A Listener's
Companion . Rowman & Littlefield.
p. 29. ISBN 9781442252004.
12. Wall, Mick (November 19, 2016).
"Supper's Ready: how Genesis made
prog's first great epic" . Classic Rock
Magazine. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
13. "Genesis Programmes - Gabriel
Years" . The Genesis Museum.
Retrieved March 4, 2019.
14. Everett, Walter (2000). Expression in
Pop-rock Music: A Collection of
Critical and Analytical Essays . Taylor
& Francis. p. 82.
ISBN 9780815331605.
15. Armando Gallo (1980). Genesis: I
Know What I Like. DIY Books. ISBN 0-
283-98703-0.
16. Seconds Out Songbook 1978 Wise
Publications
17. Brewer, Dictionary of Phrase & Fable,
1898
18. Genesis Programmes – Gabriel Years
19. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable
20. Bonanni, Andrea (August 21, 2008),
Genesis Gabriel Fly , retrieved
March 4, 2019

External links
Tony Banks' interview on how they came
to compose the song on YouTube
Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Supper%27s_Ready&oldid=985074970"

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