“METAFORMOSIS”, album archival collection, 2001 “THE BRONDESBURY TAPES”, album archival collection, 2001
PETER GILES, MICHAEL GILES and ROBERT FRIPP plus PETER SINFIELD
photo
“THE CHEERFUL INSANITY OF GILES, GILES & FRIPP”
translations into Russian
album information
North Meadow (Peter Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London; Aluna Music Group.
translation into Russian
The breeze makes the trees wave and chant
Goes better for willow trees strong
When the red-eyed sun comes yawning
Wakes the meadow makes the morning
There starts another day
Nature lends her subtle bounty
Seasoning this rustic county
Cares are all rolled away
The breeze makes the trees wave and chant
Goes better for willow trees strong
One small meadow for tall willows
Murmur as the autumn wind blows
Summer was everything
Hanging by the minnowed river
Winter makes the willow shiver
Suddenly there is spring
to the beginning
The Saga of Rodney Toady – Part 1 (Robert Fripp)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
Rodney was a sad young man because he was fat
and ugly and no one liked him. Children ran up to
him in the street and pointed and chanted.
”Rodney is a sad young man cause he's fat and ugly”.
And then they ran away laughing. Rodney shouted
”I will chase you and hit you and make you cry.”
But as Rodney was so fat, he could not run fast
enough. And the frustration of complete impotence
made him even sadder
to the beginning
Newly-Weds (Peter Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London; Aluna Music Group.
Includes alternate verses [in brackets] from the single.
translation into Russian
Newly-weds playing at husbands and wives
Don't they know it's their lives they are gambling
They dive in the deep end of life [Bearing the brunt]
With a weekend of nice [Of their nuptial experiment]
Just what I've always wanted [Funny how everything's different]
But on the other hand
She's got a ring
Love conquers everything
Giving and taking a living and making it work
He worries all day about fools at his door [He worries all day about wolves at his door]
It's for sure, there's no law against trying
But on the other hand
She's got a ring
Love conquers everything
Giving and taking a living and making it work
Newly-weds playing at husbands and wives
Don't they know it's their lives they are gambling
to the beginning
The Saga of Rodney Toady – Part 2 (Robert Fripp)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
All the people pointed at him as he walked by.
And whispered to each other. “Rodney is a sad
young man because he's fat and ugly.” But they
whispered loud enough so that Rodney could hear.
And this made him even sadder. Rodney said,
”I can hear what you are whispering cause I've
extraordinary powers of hearing.” And the older
people would tell him that his hearing was as
poor as his face was grotesque. And that they
had whispered as loud as they had on purpose.
to the beginning
One In a Million (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
He runs a little shop with a room at the top
And a mortgage all around it
His little lady will be fifty-three on Monday
And his only son's in the Navy
But he doesn't shout about it
No, he doesn't shout about it
He's a one in a million
He's a one in a million
He runs a little shop with a room at the top
The advertisements surround it
He's very content with the things at the moment
Except the yellow line by the pavement
But he doesn't shout about it
No, he doesn't shout about it
He's a one in a million
He's a one in a million
He's lucky and happy
Just because the battle's not for him to fight
He doesn't have a cause
Perhaps he's wrong
Perhaps he's right
He runs a little shop with a room at the top and
And he parks his car behind it
He's insured for a couple of thousand
And he's almost due for a pension
But he doesn't shout about it
No, he doesn't shout about it
He's a one in a million
He's a one in a million
He's lucky and happy
Just because the battle's not for him to fight
He doesn't have a cause
Perhaps he's wrong
Perhaps he's right
He runs a little shop with a room at the top
And a mortgage all around it
His little lady will be fifty-three on Monday
And his only son's in the Navy
But he doesn't shout about it
No, he doesn't shout about it
He's a one in a million
He's a one in a million
He's a one in a million
He's a one in a million
to the beginning
The Saga of Rodney Toady – Part 3 (Robert Fripp)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
Beautiful girls use to come to Rodney's dance and
ask him to dance with them. And when Rodney,
happy and pleased, stepped on to the dance floor the
girls would run away and leave Rodney dancing on
his own to make him look even more foolish than
nature'd intended. Rodney was a very sad young man.
to the beginning
Call Tomorrow (Peter Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London; Aluna Music Group.
translation into Russian
Call tomorrow
Call tomorrow
Not today
Judy the vicar's daughter
Is gonna have a baby maybe
If it's true what people say
She's gone astray
And fallen by the wayside
I lied
Sunday-minded people in the parish
Say a prayer Judy isn't there
Judy the vicar's daughter
didn't like my sense of humor
Rumor
Now the fading smile has gone
To right the wrong
I'll never be the same me
Shame me
Call tomorrow
Not today
to the beginning
The Saga of Rodney Toady – Part 4 (Robert Fripp)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
Rodney's father was fat and ugly And Rodney's
mother was even fat and uglier And his father used
to tell him that one day Rodney would meet a fat
and ugly girl Just like Rodney's mother And they
would get married. Rodney's mother told him that
there were lot of fat and ugly girls looking for fat and
ugly men. Just as she had done before she'd married
Rodney's father. Who was a road sweeper and cleaned
lavatories to earn more money.
to the beginning
Digging My Lawn (Peter Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London; Aluna Music Group.
translation into Russian
Early one Sunday
Well, anyway early for me
As I slid from my double bed
What could I see?
Standing outside as the night turned to dawn
There was a man whom I didn't know digging my lawn
Was it her husband, I pondered
Or was he a crook
Why was he taking car numbers down in a book?
I started to ring and I rung 99*
"Nein**, you must not", she said
She was half-German, half out of bed
Which half was which doesn't have to be said
Turning her head
Her face was red
”He is my husband”, she whispered
I started to sweat
Just my luck when I'd only done this for a bet
Standing outside as the night turned to dawn
There was a man whom I didn't know digging my lawn
------------------------------
* An emergency Police phone number.
** No (Germ.).
to the beginning
The Saga of Rodney Toady – Part 5 (Robert Fripp)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
But Rodney did not want to meet fat and ugly girls.
And instead he bought rude books. With rude
pictures in them. “Rodney, your tea is ready.”
to the beginning
Little Children (Robert Fripp)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
The innocence of little boys
The taste of love they don't enjoy
But when they look and they see
To where their loving will be
Live love and then they'll learn to play
The innocence of little girls
Their life a world of longtied curls
But when they look and they see
To where their loving will be
Live love and then they’ll learn to play
Taste of love with which they toy
Taste of life which never cloy
Children will learn and enjoy
Where in this world would they find truth and peace of mind
Except at Downshire Hill*
And will they see liberty
Or feel love and charity
Not at Downshire Hill
Children will learn and enjoy
------------------------------
* Street in Camden - one of London's liveliest boroughs and the centre of the capital's underground music scene.
to the beginning
The Crukster* (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
You’re ever in doubt about this world
With eyes cast in deep frown
Wheels of turbulence abound after sweet innocence
But no, not sweet innocence
Just a bright color
A color so purposely painted
Yet will not cover the stain
Nor stop the pounding rain
There is no shelter
There is no shelter for eyes that see
Troubled stumbling to be but condemned
For to realize and suffer
That is the penalty for you, me
No sound can open their eyes
Nor vision bring reality
To gloom, darkness
But don't sit at ease
Though the day is cold
The searing gap may weld
And once again while dew is wet
A bright color will cover the paint
Till silence is set
And then once again you can hear hell's heat
------------------------------
* A made-up word which consists of "crux" ("cruxes" or "cruces") and "ster", when added to a noun usually means a person that does something. Michael Giles explains that "crukster" is someone who is having difficulty with the crux of the matter.
to the beginning
Thursday Morning (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
Thursday morning ends another dream
Yesterday goes away
Leaving only half a memory
Yesterday goes away
Thursday morning and the sun is early
Thursday morning and the trees are singing
Thursday morning's here
Thursday morning, seven days ago
Like today, every way
Windows of the dawn were very new
Like today, every way
Thursday morning has no sense of time
Seventeen evergreen
Hoping every day will always rhyme
Seventeen evergreen
Thursday morning ends another dream
Seventeen, ever green
Leaving only half a memory
Yesterday goes away
to the beginning
How Do They Know (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
When you stop and ask, “Which way do we go?”
And they all say, “Follow me”
How do they know
So you follow on and stumble and fall
And the voice says, “Ah who's he?”
How do they know
How do they know
Now you're beginning to realize
The first will not be the last
Ask them please not to so go fast
'Cause the dust is sucking your eyes
Dust is sucking your eyes
Take yourself away and sit for awhile
And the band goes marching on
How do they know
How do they know
Now you're beginning to realize
The first will not be the last
Ask them please not to so go fast
'Cause the dust is sucking your eyes
Dust is sucking your eyes
When you stop and ask, “Which way do we go?”
And they all say, “Follow me”
How do they know
So you follow on and stumble and fall
And the voice says, “Ah who's he?”
How do they know
How do they know
How do they know
How do they know
to the beginning
Just George – Part 1 (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
I know a man and his name is George.
George is his name.
And the man I know. Know I George his name
and the man.
The man his name is George and I know.
to the beginning
Elephant Song (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
”Very, very nice”, said a man in the crowd
As the elephant jumped through a hoop
”Who asked you?” the elephant cried
As he stooped and took a bow
”Well it's not everyday you see something like
that and I thought it was jolly good”
”How do you know”, the elephant said
”You're a man
And a fat one at that”
”Very, very nice”, said a man in the crowd
When the golden voice appeared
She was gold alright but then so is rust
Such a shame about her beard
”How dare you say things like that”, it said
”You ought to be ashamed”
He was
”But I thought your voice was pretty good
And the beard is good for a goat”
”Very, very nice”, said the same man in the crowd
The one the elephant said was fat
”He was all nyet*”, someone said with words
And I looked around with eyes
Eh it's the peanut bride gooseing the aisle
Her leather back towards the orchestra
”What you'd want, love”,
She said to a man
”A fourp-penny please and a six-penny pac”
”Very, very nice”, said a man in the crowd
As they smelt his peanut teeth
”Would you like some?”
I said, “Yes please”
We all had one tooth each
By now, of course, the second half had started
”Let’s all warm our hands”, said aloud
”My feet aren't cold as in sheepskin gloves”
”Ah but we're burning all the artists”
------------------------------
* No (English word borrowed from Russian).
to the beginning
Just George – Part 2 (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
I know a man and his name is George
A man and his name is George, I know
And his name is George
I know a man
Is George I know a man and his name
to the beginning
The Sun is Shining (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
The sun is shining but it's raining in my heart
So please come back dear
And we'll make a brand new start
Because of you the flowers will not bloom
Because of you the clouds obscure the moon
The day will come
I hope it's very soon
The day that brings the sun right into June
I want to hear your voice so tenderly
The voice that says you'll love no one but me
My love is stronger than the raging sea
So tell me now you'll hear this urgent plea
to the beginning
Just George – Part 3 (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
I know a man and his name is George
His name is George
And the man I know
Is George I know a man and his name
A man his name is George I know
to the beginning
Just George – Part 4 (Michael Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
I know a man and his name is George
A man I know is George is his name
Know I a name man George is his name
George is I know a man and his name
to the beginning
Erudite Eyes (Robert Fripp)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
You whisper by with your mind in your eyes
Seeing nothing that's there but the bones on the bed
Eyeing thoughts that would stare in your eye
I know nice men who have nothing to say
Except "What a nice day, may I say that today?”
And I stay cause I have nothing to say
But the peace of mind is peace of mind
And eye a gift to all
But the thing I see I see with mind
And don't observe with eyes
Erudite eyes always bore me to cry
And the raining that flows is the pure-salty drain
On the peace which I hold in my mind
to the beginning
She is Loaded (Peter Giles)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London; Aluna Music Group.
translation into Russian
She's got so much of that decimal stuff*
I'll fall in love if I try hard enough.
Her kisses never get better
They just get wetter and wetter
I curse the day that I met her
But she is loaded
She says that I'm daft and I know
I threw her food on the lino
She hit me, felt like a rhino
But she is loaded
There was a time when she did ray me content
Oh, she used to keep it cool
She used to give me anything I wanted
'Till she won a football pool
Now she gives me hell
I'll sue her, try to make this stick
The fact that she is sadistic
My nose was straight 'till she kissed it
But she is loaded
There was a time when she did ray me content
Oh, she used to keep it cool
She used to give me anything I wanted
'Till she won a football pool
Now she gives me Hell
Her kisses never get better
They just get wetter and wetter
I curse the day that I met her
But she is loaded
------------------------------
* A joke concerning the implementation of the decimal money system projected in 1971.
to the beginning
Under the Sky (Peter Sinfield)
© 1968 Decca Record Co Ltd, London.
translation into Russian
Smile at the smiling man
Tear in your eye
Laugh in the morning sun
Under the sky
High in the hawthorne tree
Bee and butterfly
Seek fortune in the leaves
Under the sky
Follow the road that leads up to the sky
There's no reason do not wonder why
Dappled green summer glades
Where swallows fly
And laughing children play
Under the sky
Smile at the smiling man
Tear in your eye
Laugh in the morning sun
Under the sky
Follow the road that leads up to the sky
There's no reason do not wonder why
Soft on a mossy bank
Silently lie
Everything's everything
Under the sky
Everything's everything under the sky...
to the beginning
“METAFORMOSIS”
translations into Russian
album information
Hypocrite (Peter Giles)
© Aluna Music Group.
translation into Russian
You go to and fro, I know
I go too but I can't throw*
Only time I came to grips
Went and lost my cycle clips
Something in your makeup is at fault
People tend to take you with a pinch of salt
People laugh at me because of you
My friend always said that you would never do**
Your friends say you are 'hip'
I understand it's short for 'hippo'
Describes you to a 'T'...***
Now I see the light of day
Even though it's far away
Smith is such a common name
I just wonder what's your game
Everything you say I disbelieve
Including yarns you spon when you begin to weave
You told me your aunt is Gracie Fields****
And some bull that Ireland's full of paddy***** fields
Your friends say you are 'hip'
I understand it's short for 'hippo'
Describes you to a 'T'...
------------------------------
* "You go to and fro I know" is an ambiguity in that "fro" is a common mispronunciation of the word "throw", especially among poorly educated people. Hence, the following line: "I go too but I can't THROW". Also, to "go to and fro" means to go here and there. It is basically a bit of happy nonsense. (Peter Giles)
** "...you would never do" has two meanings. It is a North England expression meaning that she is unsuitable (for marriage etc.). It is also a double entendre (sexual pun) meaning that she will not have sex with me ! "Do" in this context means to have sexual relations with someone as in the slang phrase: "I'd like to DO her". (Peter Giles)
*** In this song, the word hypocrite is used to make a series of puns from the words "hip" and "hippo" (a hippapotamus, infering that the girl is big and fat but believes she is trendy and cool). "Hip" means cool. (Peter Giles)
**** Very popular actress in 30s and 40s.
***** Paddy – sobriquet for Irishmen and a sort of rice.
to the beginning
Make It Today (Peter Sinfield)
© ?.
translation into Russian
Count the sand within the glass
You watch the grains of time slip past
A million written words don't help your peace.
You're not the first
You're not the last
You're just an actor in the cast
From one to maybe half a hundred years
What do you hear
When the words are not clear?
Blow your own way
And you'll hear what I say
Make it today
Superficial games you play
To seek sensations everyway
And in the maze you're running round and round.
If you look with open eyes
You'll see the truth
You'll know the lies
So climb the skies to where the rainbow's found
What do you hear
When the words are not clear?
Blow your own way
And you'll hear what I say
Make it today
Free yourself and you will find
There's peace of heart and peace of mind
Both on the narrow stony road you run.
You will see that black is white
And nothing's wrong that is not right
And love is everything beneath the sun
to the beginning
I Talk to The Wind
© 1969 EG Records Ltd. Published by EG Music Ltd 1969.
translation into Russian
released by King Crimson on
Said the straight man to the late man
Were have you been
I've been here and I've been there
And I've been in between.
I talk to the wind
My words are all carried away
I talk to the wind
The wind does not hear
The wind cannot hear.
I'm on the outside looking inside
What do I see
Much confusion, disillusion
All around me.
You don't possess me
Don't impress me
Just upset my mind
Can't instruct me or conduct me
Just use up my time.
I talk to the wind
My words are all carried away
I talk to the wind
The wind does not hear
The wind cannot hear.
to the beginning
Murder [The Murder of Fergin Hudd] (Peter Giles)
© Aluna Music Group.
translation into Russian
Murder! Murder! Murder! Murder!
Pass another pin
Fasten down the coffin lid
There lies Fergin Hudd
Someone shot him in cold blood
There lies Fergin Hudd
He was blinder than a bat
He who killed him must know that
See his white stick red with blood
Who would murder Fergin Hudd?
to the beginning
Wonderland (Robert Fripp)
© Aluna Music Group.?
translation into Russian
My Wonderland it is built on sand
That's my wonder Wonderland
With thrills it'll make you wilt
In my wonder wonder Wonderland
It is built on sand
That's my wonder Wonderland
Tweedledum* said to Tweedledee*
Have some tea tea tea tea
Mad of Hat** was bent and glad
In my wonder wonder wonder Wonderland
It is built on sand
That's my wonder Wonderland
My Wonderland it is built on sand
That's my wonder wonder
My self thought it is such a thought
In my wonder wonder
It is bad that we are sad
In my wonder Wonderland
The Hare Of March** was washed in scotch
In my wonder wonder
Cheshire** grins as you watched him
In my wonder wonder
We are glad that we are mad
In my wonder Wonderland
------------------------------
* Characters of the book "Through the Looking Glass, And What Alice Found There" by Lewis Carroll.
** Characters of the book "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll.
to the beginning
Why Don't You Just Drop In (Robert Fripp)
© ?.
translation into Russian
released by King Crimson as "Drop In" on
Why don't you just drop in
And love the life of sin
And squirm inside your cage
You are a prisoner of your rage
Why don't you just drop in
And play the game to win
The rules you pick and choose
The odds are stacked for you to loose
Why don't you just drop in
And let the game begin
You'll wish you'd learn to play
And live to die another day
to the beginning
“THE BRONDESBURY TAPES”
translations into Russian
album information
Plastic Pennies* (Robert Fripp)
Special gratitude to Judy Dyble for interpretation of this text.
translation into Russian
Gentle breezes rustling falling leaves
Falling leaves of sycamore
Little children playing quietly
Crowns of leaves upon their hair
Popping shiny pennies into knickerbocker glories**
Palaces of plastic listening to the funny stories***
Strolling slowly edging always by
Days I’ve ended long ago
Childish troubles flutter with the leaves
Children’s minds are with the breeze
???????????????????????????????? over dinner
Getting higher and mending ???? before they back a winner
Living will kill me not dying
Won’t be yet ‘cause I’m not trying
Won’t be yet ‘cause I’m not living
Dying will kill me not living
Won’t be yet ‘cause I’m not giving
Won’t be yet ‘cause I’m not living
------------------------------
* A symbol of something false that has no real value.
** Traditional dessert consisting of ice cream, fruits, jelly and cream layers.
*** Perhaps this line is about Scott Walker's song "Plastic Palace People" releised in 1968. The song provoked a lot of debates concerning the meaning of it's lyrics.
to the beginning
Passages of Time (Robert Fripp)
translation into Russian
I can see into passages of time
I can see through the faсade of our time
Can I, can I see
Can I, can I see
I will peer into corridors in time
In the passages of mind
In the passages of mind
Seek, seek with me
Pacing slowly in your consciousness
Then we will find
Honesty and purity of mind
We can see into passages of mind
We can see into history of mind
I can, I can see
I can, I can see
We can fly into passages of mind
We can fly into passages of mind
to the beginning