“Firth of Fifth” is the third song in Genesis’s album Selling England by the Pound. The title is a pun on the estuary of the River Forth in Scotland, commonly known as the Firth of Forth.
The song has had a strong critical response as one of the best examples of progressive rock.
[Instrumental Intro]
[Verse 1]
The path is clear, though no eyes can see
The course laid down long before
And so with gods and men
The sheep remain inside their pen
Though many times they've seen the way to leave
[Verse 2]
He rides majestic, past homes of men
Who care not or gaze with joy
To see reflected there
The trees, the sky, the lily fair
The scene of death is lying just below
[Bridge]
The mountain cuts off the town from view
Like a cancer growth is removed by skill
Let it be revealed
A waterfall, his madrigal
An inland sea, his symphony
Na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na
[Verse 3]
Undinal songs urge the sailors on
Till lured by the sirens' cry
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 4]
Now as the river dissolves in sea
So Neptune has claimed another soul
And so with gods and men
The sheep remain inside their pen
Until the shepherd leads his flock away
[Outro]
The sands of time were eroded by
The river of constant change
Firth of Fifth was written by Tony Banks & Phil Collins & Peter Gabriel & Steve Hackett & Mike Rutherford.
Firth of Fifth was produced by John Burns & Genesis.
Genesis released Firth of Fifth on Sat Oct 13 1973.
In an interview with Songfacts, Banks declared:
It was just following the idea of a river and then I got a bit caught up in the cosmos and I don’t quite know where I ended up, actually. But, it just about stands up, I think, for the song. For me, musically, it’s got two or three really strong momen...