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The meaning of life

In the current issue of the Spare Bricks [#8, spring 2001] I have read with undeniable curiosity the article devoted to the concept behind A Momentary Lapse Of Reason. It prompted me to share some of my ideas with you.

First of all I strongly disagree with the point of A Momentary Lapse Of Reason not being a concept album. For me its main theme is life. Generally speaking, of course. The whole concept is reflected by the cover of the album. A man is sitting on an empty bed, preoccupied with a meaningless activity of cutting/carving a stick with a knife. As stated in "Sorrow"):

A man lies and dreams of green fileds and rivers
But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking.

He can't bear the responsibilities and burdens of his maturity (Delusions of Maturity — the working title also points to that). His thoughts constantly flow towards (or rather backwards :-) his youth. This is a motif reccuring in "High Hopes."

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forward but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide.

And "Childhood's End."

You set sail across the sea
Of long past thoughts and memories
Childhood's end, your fantasies
Merge with harsh realities
And then as the sail is hoist,
You find your eyes are growing moist
And all the fears never voiced
Say you have to make the final choice.

The same concept of a man being unable to cope with harsh reality and therefore burying himself in memories of his childhood/youth can be found in Marillion's "Misplaced Childhood". The man not only cannot face the hostile world surrounding him, but he is terrified. (The stanza beginning with "His blood has frozen....") The promises were broken, "High Hopes" never fulfilled, fantasies destroyed in an unequal battle.

There are lots of empty beds surrounding the man. Seems that he's not alone. There are many people; there is depicted the river of people whose idealistic hopes and dreams have crashed. The beds are empty, but each of them has its inhabitant. Those people simply cannot perceive each other as the struggle is above all internal.

In the distance we see dogs of war representing the dangers awaiting for us. High in the air, the glider represents freedom ("Learning To Fly.") The man is, however, tied to the ground. To a life consumed by slow decay, so to speak.

The nurse is carrying clean white sheets for newcomers. Those who will cross the border between youth and maturity and won't be able to cope with it. The sensitive, the bleeding hearts and the artists.

"Signs Of Life" is a wonderful overture to the album and its concept. Life is everywhere: the water, the air and among them, in this beautiful world there are we. With our problems and frustrations.

"When the childlike view of the world went, Nothing replaced it... "

Again, our hopes and dreams turned to tatters and rags. They were destroyed.

"One Slip" — as Dave Ward stated — the song about relationships but also about the creation of a new life. Creation of a human being which will be put into a machine and try to "fit-in" as its another cog. Nevertheless as easily as one may find happiness there, one may find themselves on an empty bed - fate governs our lives.

In this light "Yet Another Movie" certainly has a concept behind it. Those rapid images as if seen in a cinema ("the seas of faces, eyes upraised") represent longing for an exciting, uncomplicated life--like in movies ("the red rimmed eyes, the tears still run / As he fades into the setting sun": the hero achieves his aim and leaves--a typical western ending). But unfortunately the seas of faces (the ones who inhabit the empty beds) stare at an empty screen, their look is vacant. They display those images of childish, ideal tales-like visions in their minds.

"A New Machine": What the speaker communicates is that he's sometimes tired of being here. That's beyond any doubt as it is explicitly stated in lyrics. He's tired of living. This (supermarket? ;-)) life is getting long. He forms a rhetorical question addressing us--the question remains unanswered, but the speaker assumes (quite rightly) that we do share his view: "Don't worry, nobody lives forever". You'll manage to escape in the end.

And perhaps Gilmour touches here (very faintly) the motif of re-incarnation. If we assume that "Terminal Frost" (where the title may function as a metaphor for death) is a rather "joyful" tune, this would suggest that death is depicted here as a positive spiritual experience setting our soul free. Then the spirit is sent back to inhabit a bodily form and thus approach perfection living another life. As the speaker states in "A New Machine, Part 2": "I will ALWAYS be here / I will ALWAYS look out from behind these eyes" and further: "It's only a lifetime"--it's only one chance out of many others for me to fully explore the intricate labirynth of life.

—Michal Florczak

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