Download "Karn Evil 9"

Karn Evil 9 by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Release Date
Mon Nov 19 1973
Produced by
Greg Lake
Writed by
Greg Lake & Keith Emerson
About

Possibly ELP’s best-known song. 1st Impression-2nd Part opens with a rapid-fire organ ostinato on A-flat over a tambourine. Heldentenor vocalist Greg Lake opens with “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends…” Because of the side-show/carnival metaphor of the entire dystopian epic, Ist Im...

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Karn Evil 9 Lyrics

[First Impression, Part One 00:00-08:37]

[Verse 1]
Cold and misty morning, I heard a warning borne in the air
About an age of power where no one had an hour to spare
Where the seeds have withered
Silent children shivered in the cold
Now their faces captured in the lenses of the jackals for gold

[Chorus]
I'll be there
I'll be there
I will be there

[Instrumental Break 00:58-01:37]

[Verse 2]
Suffering in silence, they've all been betrayed
They hurt them and they beat them, in a terrible way
Praying for survival at the end of the day
There is no compassion for those who stay, yeah

[Chorus]
I'll be there
I'll be there
I will be there

[Instrumental Break 02:09-02:57]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Verse 3]
There must be someone who can set them free
To take their sorrow from this odyssey
To help the helpless and the refugee
To protect what's left of humanity
Can't you see?
Can't you see?
Can't you see?

[Chorus]
I'll be there!
I'll be there!
I will be there!

[Bridge]
To heal their sorrow
To beg and borrow
Fight tomorrow!

[Instrumental Break 03:34-05:23]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Verse 4]
Step inside, hello! We've a most amazing show
You'll enjoy it all we know
Step inside! Step inside!
We've got thrills and shocks, supersonic fighting cocks
Leave your hammers at the box
Come inside! Come inside!

[Refrain]
Roll up! Roll up! Roll up!
See the show!

[Verse 5]
Left behind the bars, rows of Bishops' heads in jars
And a bomb inside a car
Spectacular! Spectacular!
If you follow me there's a speciality
Some tears for you to see
Misery, misery

[Refrain]
Roll up! Roll up! Roll up!
See the show!

[Verse 6]
Next upon the bill in our House of Vaudeville
We've a stripper in a till
What a thrill! What a thrill!
And not content with that, with our hands behind our backs
We pull Jesus from a hat
Get into that! Get into that!

[Refrain]
Roll up! Roll up! Roll up!
See the show!

[Instrumental Outro]
[Guitar Solo]

[First Impression, Part Two 08:37-13:22]

[Verse 1]
Welcome back my friends, to the show that never ends
We're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside
There behind a glass stands a real blade of grass
Be careful as you pass, move along, move along

[Chorus]
Come inside, the show's about to start
Guaranteed to blow your head apart
Rest assured you'll get your money's worth
Greatest show in Heaven, Hell or Earth
You've got to see the show, it's a dynamo
You've got to see the show, it's rock and roll, oh

[Verse 2]
Right before your eyes we pull laughter from the skies
And he laughs until he cries, then he dies, then he dies

[Chorus]
Come inside, the show's about to start
Guaranteed to blow your head apart
You've got to see the show, it's a dynamo
You've got to see the show, it's rock and roll, oh

[Instrumental Break 09:47-11:39]
[Keyboard Solo]
[Drum Solo]

[Verse 3]
Soon the Gypsy Queen in a glaze of vaseline
Will perform on guillotine, what a scene, what a scene
Next upon the stand will you please extend a hand
To Alexander's Ragtime Band, Dixieland, Dixieland

[Refrain]
Roll up, roll up, roll up!
See the show!

[Verse 4]
Performing on a stool we've a sight to make you drool
Seven virgins and a mule, keep it cool, keep it cool
We would like it to be known the exhibits that were shown
Were exclusively our own, all our own, all our own

[Chorus]
Come and see the show, come and see the show
Come and see the show

[Instrumental Break 12:32-13:11]
[Guitar Solo]

[Outro]
See the show

[Second Impression 13:22-20:29]

[Instrumental]

[Third Impression 20:29-29:36]

[Verse 1]
Man alone, born of stone
Will stamp the dust of time
His hands strike the flame of his soul
Ties a rope to a tree and hangs the Universe
Until the winds of laughter blows cold

[Chorus]
Fear that rattles in men's ears
And rears its hideous head
Dread, death in the wind

[Verse 2]
Man of steel pray and kneel
With fever's blazing torch
Thrust in to the face of the night
Draws a blade of compassion
Kissed by countless kings
Whose jeweled trumpet words blind his sight

[Chorus]
Walls that no man thought would fall
The altars of the just
Crushed, dust in the wind

[Bridge]
No man yields who flies in my ship
DANGER!
Let the bridge computer speak
STRANGER!
LOAD YOUR PROGRAM. I AM YOURSELF
No computer stands in my way
Only blood can cancel my pain
Guardians of a nuclear dawn
Let the maps of war be drawn

[Instrumental Break 23:22-28:07]
[Keyboard Solo]

[Verse 3]
Rejoice! Glory is ours!
Our young men have not died in vain
Their graves need no flowers
The tapes have recorded their names

[Outro]
I am all there is
NEGATIVE! PRIMITIVE! LIMITED! I LET YOU LIVE
But I gave you life
WHAT ELSE COULD YOU DO?
To do what was right
I'M PERFECT. ARE YOU?

[Instrumental Outro]

Karn Evil 9 Q&A

Who wrote Karn Evil 9's ?

Karn Evil 9 was written by Greg Lake & Keith Emerson.

Who produced Karn Evil 9's ?

Karn Evil 9 was produced by Greg Lake.

When did Emerson, Lake & Palmer release Karn Evil 9?

Emerson, Lake & Palmer released Karn Evil 9 on Mon Nov 19 1973.

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