Genesis - The Day The Light Went Out Lyrics

Reminds me of Magazine, which is a good thing. Shame they didnt continue in this direction.

Yup.
I'm old.
Sorta a return of the Giant Hogweed ....

The first time I heard this song it sounded like a young Peter Gabriel. But after listening carefully I realize it was a talented Phil Collins. This song sounds like the early classic Genesis. Absolutely the greatest prog band ever

"Say it's alright Joe" should've been the B side and this song on ATTWT

When they went to bed that night, no one would have believed
That in the morning light would not be there
The dark hung heavy on the air like the grip of a jealous man
No place was there known to have been spared
Then panic took control of minds as fear hit everyone
The day the light went out of the daytime sky

Artificial light could hardly penetrate the gloom
Nothing out of reach could be observed
Looting, pillage, murder, rape became the rule of that day
Who hit him no one knew, or whom he hit
Cars were caught in pileups and the planes could never land
The day the light went out of the daytime sky

"Now I can rest here after my journey
Now I can feed here before I continue."

Some were there who's heads were clear who sought, tried to find
The nature of this deadly foe, the dark
It seemed the sun was still somewhere, though hidden from their sight
By something, though amorphous, yet alive
And so they looked for ways to rid themselves of the parasite
The day the light went out of the daytime sky

"Now I can rest here after my journey
Now I can feed here before I continue."

They tried in many fruitless ways to see the noonday sun
By blasting with their missiles through the dark
But soon a kind of sleepy state came over everyone
Till nothing seemed to stir or even breathe
And when the darkness chose to disappear, not many had survived
Then came a shadow - another had arrived
And again the light went out of the daytime sky

Not sure about those falsetto parts...but maybe I need to read the lyrics? The chords and overall structure's rather creative though. Either Follow You Follow Me, or Ballad of Big would have been the ones I would've considered using this to replace. Not sure why everyone keeps mentioning Say It's Alright Joe (which is definitely one of the top five tracks). 🤔

I was disappointed in the album when it came out , but this is a great song. In those days albums couldn't be so long, so they left this song off. With CD's the length of the album could be longer.

I hear you, but sometimes I think albums should be left as they are, without the added extras, which could always be released on compilations. As for ATTWT, I was only 9 when it came out and unaware of Genesis, in fact this was the first Genesis album I heard back in 1985. I've been hooked on their music ever since, and this album will always be in my Genesis top 5, at least for sentimental reasons. My number 1 was always A Trick of the Tail, closely followed by Foxtrot.

For me, the first álbum Genesis are A Trick of the Tail, the begining!!

This one surely should have found a spot on ATTWT.

I agree with you, it could replace Ballad of bug...

This is a song that really benefits from having the lyrics in front of you. The bass playing is also really nice in this one. ATTWT in general has a really unique mood to it, comforting and lush, while at the same time extremely ominous. There's something slightly off about even the very by-the-numbers Follow You Follow Me. (Might be part of the reason I hated that song so much the first time I heard it.) This album is one that you'll definitely not dig first time, but it certainly grows on you.

How awesome do you have to be to relegate something this good to a B-side? Best B-side, ever.

I don't really think it's nearly as strong as any of the songs that did make it onto the album..

@Cameron I think that's his point. ATTWT had what, 11 songs on it? Imagine having written a bunch of songs in just a little over a year, and have a song like this be the 12th best song you wrote? I couldn't imagine having that much musical talent.

Damn man. I didn't think about it like that.

Very good song. Most Marillion songs sounds like this for me. Sounds very contemorary too, or, maybe its is not a compliment,

+margus kiis I know every marillion album every song but I don't agree with you.

+lesclaypool0727 OK, I am not such a fan of Marillion, so I can be really wrong. But such a massive synth intro and passages and fast recitative singing with quasy complicated (actually pretty simple one) song structure sounds familiar. 80s new prog anyway.

If you don't hear enough Marillion when you not told me that.

+lesclaypool0727 Just listened Misplaced Childhood, sounds really really really familiar.

My favourite album Misplaced, I heard about fourty times.

Not their best song from 1978, but at least better than Say It's Alright Joe. I wonder why they didn't replace the latter for the former in the album.

+Klaus Sgroi I love Say It's Alright Joe equally.

More love for Say It's Alright Joe, here as well. :)

Really enjoyed playing it piano once or twice from the sheet music, too. Lots of m7 chords, IIRC.

My fave Non-Album-Single-B-Side by GENESIS - before Collins started to sang so extremely loud and ugly!
(Pat, Switzerland)

+patcharisma Tony Banks said Phil sounded more convincing as a singer when Duke came out. The more loud and ugly, like you said.

Really does sound like one of their early songs, especially the bass line and guitar

Thank you for pointing it out, DarthABBA; had never really noticed that before! Somehow i feel i appreciate the song just a bit more now -- but how could that even be possible?! haha

I know you mentioned bass & guitar, but i (also) hear a certain "Harold the Barrel" kinda thing going on between Mike & Tony here. Were there other earlier songs you were thinking of, Darth? (Or later ones even..?)

..."ALIEN AFTERNOON"...

I got the single: Side 1....many too many and side 2 Vancouver and Many and the day the light went out

Along with "evidence of autumn" one of the best tracks I have heard by them that was not originally on an official studio album.

Thanks. Do you know the name of the unreleased song from "A trick of the tail?" It sounds like a continuation of "Los Endos"(or vice versa) but I don't remember the name of it.

+Mike Reiss "It's Yourself"

try sqounk

Squonk was on a trick of the tail. Of course I know that one.

try you tube search los endos should be able to listen to whole album

And Then There Three is the album that changed my life.

Hooked is the word Simon . And they were such a good band live.

I've been a life-long, all eras fan but as a teen ATTWT was the one album i just couldn't get into. (But i'd only just gotten Gabriel-era catalog in those days -- after being turned on to the band by the "Abacab" video on a young MTV -- and ATTWT was quite a bit different in it's tone from the stuff with Pete.)

Then one day about a decade ago my car was on the fritz and the woman had me driving her big Cadillac. A terrible snow storm hit and the only cassette i had in there was ATTWT. What a wonderful "winter" album it is! People were doing like 5 mph on the highway for miles at a time; i remember the tape flipping to Side 2 and then back again to Side 1...

And THAT was Day the, uh Light came on for me and i realized how damn fine of an album it really is. ^_^

That's great. It's a spiritual moment when you listen to this album, not really getting it, and then the penny drops. It's a magnificent album

Oh indeed for me as well. I've never been the same.

halcyon289 omg. Me too.

a song bought out of emotional pain,yer missus runs off with the painter and decorater too vancouva,its happened to us all

Spot The Pigeon is a pure diamond in the rough mixes of 1977

A song about one of many possible Apocalypses.

David Hentschel " mediocre producer", really ?????

Exactly.

A excellent lost song, with strong Banks inspiration, moods very close to "and they were three", obviously...

Very good song. Not their greatest but it's good.

To me this song suffers from the same muddled sound that plagued much of And Then There Were Three. In my opinion David Henschel was a mediocre producer. A Trick of the Tail was a great album despite of, not because of, Henschel.

raelraven2 interesting viewpoint. I myself find the And then there were three album different from all the rest, its very keyboard heavy which for me suits the tone of the album, and it brings back a lot of happy memories for me. I was a 16 year old listening to this, embarking on life after leaving school.

I've bought the vynil of this and Down&Out is incredibly strong in the drums! Instead other songs are more focused on the keyboards.. not easy to makes all happy.. Burning Rope is quite Piano Friendly..

I thought Many Too Many would have been a good closer. :)

@stoopidmonkeyful Its on Genesis Archive #2 1976 - 1992

just before Phil find his raw voice

Nothing wrong with Scenes from a night's dream - Say it's alright joe would have been my candidate for 'spare' track

My fave genesis album, its really addictive

OMG! Where did you find this Genesis Deep Vaulter?!

I know how you feel, stoopidmonkeyful!

Been listening to them about 35 years now and only just discovered this one 3-ish years ago myself. :)

Great sound.

Shoulda dropped "Ballad of Big" for this one

Buy the Genesis box sets to get these songs on cd instead of waitng for people to post them on youtube

oh, wow! i've never heard this song before! to think i'd heard everything they'd put out. it's always amazing to discover more genesis songs.

I just imagine how this song would have sounded live... And no, Don't Throw out Say its Alright Joe, its one of the best And then... Songs for me ;-)

I think the Day the light went out has been replaced with Scene's from a Nights Dream, which is also pretty good ):

Yeah, i don't get why there's all the hate for SIAJ. I really enjoy that tune!

Also, SIAJ is one of the few (or only?) tracks from the ATTWT album where you can just sit there and play it on piano from the sheet music without having to power up one's whole keyboard rig, lol !! :)

GALACTUS HUNGERS!

should have replaced "Say It's Alright Joe" with this. Mike said in an interview that "that song was a waste". Kick Ass B-Side!!!

Been a fan for 30> years, didn't know this song existed, good stuff! Thanks 4 posting.....

Same here! Great stuff!

One of their best that never made it on to the album. Fab song,and so Genesis.

@bassmanjoe I fully agree!

beautiful!!!