Yes - Light Of The Ages Lyrics






A beacon is shining
‘Cross the cosmos, it’s guiding
Igniting the pathway for us
Through the winter of our lives
A faithful polestar arises
Within every heart
The courage to advance
Passed our plight at this stage is
The light of the ages

When troubles lay me low
As fierce winds blow
Turn my gaze beyond
To ride the inbound stream
There grace and mercy shine
And fear is a dream
Sorrow’s a dream

When darkness holds me down
And trials abound
Lift my gaze within
I’ll heed the primal sound
Exposing the grand scheme
I can see it’s a dream
Sorrow’s a dream

And a beacon is shining
‘Cross the cosmos, it’s guiding
Igniting the pathway for us
Through the winter of our lives
A faithful polestar arises
Within every heart
The courage to advance
Passed our plight at this stage is
The light of the ages

I will follow the all knowing
Ever glowing light
Through my soul’s long dark night

When darkness holds me down
And trials abound
Lift my gaze within
I’ll heed the primal sound
Exposing the grand scheme
I can see it’s a dream

And a beacon is shining
‘Cross the cosmos, it’s guiding
Igniting the pathway for us
Through the winter of our lives
A faithful polestar arises
Within every mind
The power to transcend
To perceive passed thought cages
The light of the ages
The light of the ages
I will follow
The light of the ages
Through my soul’s long dark night





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Yes Light Of The Ages Comments
  1. R.... G....

    I will follow the all knowing light ..
    through my souls long dark night.......

  2. j.... c....

    im sorry but no one replaces Jon Anderson for me

  3. K.... M....

    I guess that Chris didn’t get to show off enough. That is probably correct, who knows.

  4. K.... M....

    I bought it when I received this IPad, haven’t listened to it yet, apparently, Chris was not very happy with this one, I will give it a shot since I happen to own it.

  5. L.... S....

    This is honestly one of the best songs on the album

  6. T.... S....

    The only good track from Zombie Yes. Almost worth them existing for... not quite.

    T.... S....

    The Saltiest Shake oh come on.. if any other band wrote this album, you'd be all over it.

  7. M.... B....

    John Davison...(not Jon as he ripped that off Anderson0 is tonally under all the time and hasn't near the power of Jon Anderson. David Benoit sings YES better than Davison...This is a poor YES album, the worst of 20.  But so were about 4 others near the end. Elevator love - in  music. No soaring solos,harmonies or seductive time changes.. I LOVE  YES. Talk and Magnification are their last good albums. I think 90215, Generator and Talk are great rebirth albums and I think Rabin is fantastic ,but old school YES ended with Tormato, which is a highly underrated album. I know, you think I skipped DRAMA. hell no!  Drama is a fantastic transition album from 70's to 80's formats and has excellent songs. I would have loved to hear Jon Anderson tackle this album...peace out !!

    M.... B....

    David Benoit is not a singer. So you don't like the KEYS songs? 10x better than Thrown Tomato

  8. R.... G....

    When troubles lay me low
    As fierce winds blow
    Turn my gaze beyond
    To ride the inbound stream
    There grace and mercy shine
    And fear is a dream
    Sorrow's a dream

  9. R.... G....

    Igniting the pathway for us........

  10. R.... G....

    Jon Davison wrote this pretty impressive song nice lyrics indeed

  11. R.... G....

    Yes sort of probably needed this freshness . Initially, I did not like it.... but am really kind of coming round .
    I like this slow build. it is really cool
    In fact it is the only solid disc since Keys to Ascension....
    Wondering what Roy Thomas Baker thought of the finished product .

    haha not exactly like Queen or The Cars

    R.... G....

    U do know RTB produced this ? OK :)

  12. B.... V....

    Very beautiful ethereal song, going through different moods. I can live with songs like these on an album that asked many times listening to, before I finally caught the beauty of it and decided to buy it. Of course it is quite different from previous Yes albums, but I don't expect a band to do 50 times more or less similar efforts. AC DC fans may not mind "their" band doing so, Iron Maiden fans dance the same dance, but if Yes wants to continue as a prog rock band, there should be at least some changes every now and then. But fine with me if some fans don't see this change as progress, everyone is entitled to his or her opionion, as long as I can have my own one.

  13. j.... ....

    actually despite your assertion that it doesn't make sense I was thinking the broad context of one composer against another.
    your contention is based on the fact that you don't like Geoff Downes very much.
    so the problem we have here is really a problem of opinions I don't agree with yours and you apparently don't agree with mine I think we should leave it at that

  14. A.... ....

    Yes is coming to my town and I bought tickets. Had to explain to my wife how important this is to me, now she's coming too. I'm just catching up on who they are now, and I really am impressed with the new Jon. In extensive interviews, band members have always given the message that the band was meant to live on, in new incarnations with new songs and new members. They're doing a splendid job -- I can't wait to see them.

  15. D.... B....

    Someone needs to watch Awaken again from the Montreaux concert!  And his work on Tsongas was FANTASTIC!

  16. D.... B....

    Igor the "best keyboardist Yes EVER had?"  Better than Rick Wakeman??  Not on your life!

  17. d.... s....

    you might want to re edit this to re read in memory of chris squire

  18. d.... s....

    I am thinking of putting the lyrics on a tshirt as a back drop to a logo to something. Still early. Seeing them at the foxwoods show and michigan show,

  19. L.... ....

    Zzzzzzzz....move along...nothing to see here....

    L.... ....

    Its a good song shut up

  20. T.... ....

    Lee,

    There are actually a lot of good moments on this album, but overall something is not quite satisfying, much like the Rabin years. Nevertheless, I like Light of Ages, To Ascend, and Subway Walls enough to hear them over and over again. Yes lives on in 2014. Who can complain? Really, we have latched onto a great band that can still make music after 47 years. And then there is Ponty/Anderson looming in 2015, and what of Wakeman, Richard?

  21. C.... L....

    This song actually isn't that bad, but the album as a whole was pretty disappointing. 

    C.... L....

    You are disappointing

  22. L.... L....

    I'm a Yes fan. These guys worked hard to make this album. I like it a lot. I won't put them down. It's art. You either like it or you don't. These are proven artists. You don't call their art good or bad

    L.... L....

    Awesome comment friend...no, if I think their product sucks
    I ought to be able to express my opinion..
    You know that.....and We should have the right to say
    Blessings

    L.... L....

    I say good Emotional Medicine*

  23. f.... ....

    Profound words. My thanks to Jon Davidson.

  24. n.... ....

    i think overall this album lacks flare or adventure that i look for in YES music. This and subway walls are very impressive. However, I was far more struck by Magnification and Fly From Here as consistent and strong works.

    n.... ....

    Fly from here sucks

  25. L.... H....

    Looking at all of the great comments here, I thought I may as well put my opinion into the mix. I've already replied to Chris Rickert's comment below re which keyboard wizard might/would be best, but here I thought I'd weigh in with both the vocalist situation and the album compared to previous releases. First, Jon Davison. Is he "better" than Jon Anderson? Well it's not really a valid question - he's similar tonally but, unless he was a genetic clone of old 'Olias', it's obvious he'd be different and SHOULD be accepted as such. Anderson IS the originator (and still a beautiful, ethereal vocalist) but even HE doesn't sound the same as he used to! Davison is a seasoned professional (the work he's done with Glass Hammer is excellent) and is, generally, leagues above Benoit David (great on "Fly From Here" but his lack of experience showed up with the tours and the toll it took on his voice). The problem, I think, is that because Jon Anderson was there from the start - and has been on more albums than anyone else, the general mindset (or even "Mind Drive") is that nobody else can do the job as well - I remember the reception Trevor Horn got here in England...never thought I'd hear "boos" at a Yes gig!...and that kinda mentality pervades both Benoit and, now, Jon D. Give the guy a chance to settle in, ok?  As for the album itself: no, it's NOT a 'classic' like "CTTE" or "GFTO" or a total revamp of style like "90125" but somewhere in between. The album's biggest fault isn't the songwriting (except for the really embarrassing "Step Beyond" and the stylistically too jarring  and musically 'tepid' "In A World Of Our Own" and "It Was All We Knew") but the god-awful production. Roy Thomas Baker IS (or was) a great producer (just listen to "Queen II" or "A Night At The Opera" in their entirety and it's obvious) but I think that the ghost of the aborted 1979 Paris Sessions is still present - those old songs were potentially great too but 'flat as a pancake' sonically. And here, the grace of Yes is evident but the power has fizzled out - it doesn't have to be a "Tempus Fugit" or "Heart Of The Sunrise" to rock but something like "And You And I" or "To Be Over" STILL exhibits power. Even "Subway Walls" (on "H And E") has a muted quality. I'm not saying that Trevor Horn should have been retained from "FFH" (though that album IS sonically powerful) but, jeez, the band might have been better producing themselves. It's only the quality of 4 or 5 songs that makes "Heaven And Earth" worthy of the name Yes (and Squire's harmonies haven't sounded THIS good in ages), but the production is a dud.

    L.... H....

    +Dean Prescott - I agree wholeheartedly, buddy: it's not so much a case of "Open Your Eyes" but "Open Your Ears" (lol). and, often, the rewards are evident. Good examples of this are newer, neo progressive bands like Pallas or IQ, whose debut albums (and original lineups) were great, but successive albums and changing linups actually made things even better (I can recommend "The Wedge" by Pallas and the truly incredible "Subterranea" by IQ - both definitely worth checking out). And, let's not forget that, sometimes, things NEED to change to both freshen things up or, indeed, to continue at all - had Squire not met up with Rabin in the mid 80s, it's doubtful that there'd have been ANY Yes albums after Drama, and none of us would be posting here. Sure, in my humble opinion, nothing could compare to Yes' 'glory days' ("The Yes Album" to "Tormato") but I'd still sooner listen to "Magnification" or "The Ladder" than anything deemed 'popular' or 'chart-worthy' these days - which seldom has the care, craft, ingenuity and plain old musicianship of anything bands like Yes, early Genesis, ELP, Floyd, Tull and even early (pre 1980's) Queen produced.

    L.... H....

    Really an awesome estimation mate..... great ...
    Love ya .
    Strange...that I could not stand the disc....but am slowly liking it .
    Why should it take 5 years to ' grow ' into a disc . Weird .
    I agree ...there are no monumental songs ..
    Still......this is good and is really " catching up " ( haha ) to my
    rediculous life....
    I Like it a lot ........

    L.... H....

    Thanks Lee for the perspective that many listeners don't have, given the 5 decades of writing and what us hardcore fans have been weaned on. Bet you that 80% of the 'commenters' here don't know that pre 90125 Yes was written without computers., or have yet to even listen to 'Tales From a Topographic Ocean' without looking at their cell phones. Masterpieces of music require study, and uninterrupted attention. Yep kiddos, in the 'old days', music was written, not synthesized. Digital was a new vocabulary word in the mid 80's. As a 4 decade fan, I am very glad for the Heaven and Earth album. The writing is superb. "The Game", in particular, holds a special place because Squire wrote it knowing he was ill, and had only so much time. This album is a gift, and we should all be thankful for Geoff Downes stepping up to the plate. He's been one of the best keyboardists and writers and someone with an ear 'for the right sound' for the last 40 years. More talk and focus should also be given to Steve Howe and Alan White. You will be hard pressed to find anyone else as talented who is still writing and playing at their age. You'd also be hard pressed to find anyone who wrote and played as well as they did from 1968 to the present. These gentlemen from Yes are classical artists. When you listen to Yes, you listen to some of the most creative and talented people to have ever written and played music.

    L.... H....

    Dean Prescott - hey, us Prog Monsters love long, detailed songs so long, detailed replies are more than welcome - especially when the love of the band is evident. I happen to agree with you about Rick’s keyboard sounds on “Tormato” (an album I think is seriously underrated) - having tried to replicate his sounds and playing, I threw in the towel when it came to Polymoog and Birotron...horrible sounding machines - especially when trying to play the manic phrases Rick was putting down on that album. Anyway, Dean - thanks for the brilliant comment.

    L.... H....

    genesis0932 - thanks so much for the great comment, buddy. I’m pretty “old school” myself and, though digital has lead to “clean” recording but I miss the warmth (and even the noise) of analogue - for the same reasons I prefer 1973-1978 Queen who maintained a “no synths” policy during that period. Essentially, that mindset - and the old mindset of dealing with the limitations of analogue meant that bands, engineers and producers really worked slavishly to put out albums as great as “Close To The Edge”, “Queen II”, “Foxtrot”, “Brain Salad Surgery” and many more. I guess, by comparison, it’s us listeners who have to ‘put the work in’ to get something “more” out of more recent albums - just my opinion of course.

  26. C.... R....

    What they need at the VERY VERY least is Igor on keys ( the best keyboardist YES ever had, I should know! ) and piss off with all the unnecessary effects on the mix! 
    Drowning in digital shit!

    C.... R....

    Wakeman IS, arguably, the archetypal Yes keyboard player but his playing isn't what it was during his 'glory days' (worth with Bowie, "Fragile"-"Topographic", "Going For The One"-"Tormato", "Journey To..." etc. In fact some of his playing on some of the "KTA" studio tracks really isn't that great at all and, sadly, his performance live during the 35th Anniversary tour wasn't a patch on what he'd done for the "Union" mega-shows. As for Koroshev...he was a revelation during the "OYE", "Ladder" and "Masterworks" shows - effectively playing Wakeman, Kaye and Moraz phrases exceptionally well (not any Downes phrases unfortunately, as a certain Mr Anderson wouldn't consider doing any "Drama" era material), and his solo showcase was, frankly, staggering. Nothing against Wakeman, who I will ALWAYS rate for his past work but there are equally good Wizards out there nowadays (Rudess, Okumoto, Sherinian etc as well as the obvious Yes choices).

    C.... R....

    Sin dudas Igor fue el mejor tecladista de Yes, detras de Rick.

    C.... R....

    What I mean by "I should know" is that I have been playing keyboards for 42 years, and am very classically and jazz trained. I LOVE rick, no doubt...but for this particular "YES" album, Igor would be the best, for many reasons. Like i said, I LOVE Rick, and he was, and still is ( besides Keith Emerson) the finest prog keyboard player in history, and has been very influential in my professional career. If you like, I have several tracks on a website called soundcloud.com. My music is under Chris Rickert. Some other stuff is under Myriad. I have alot of prog, new age, jazz electronica and classical pieces there. YES wise, you may want to check out my track called "Hollow Victory"

    C.... R....

    +Chris Rickert and yet Rick did not write this so his participation is pure supposition. That's like saying the 1812 overture would have been better if Mozart wrote it.

    C.... R....

    Hmmmm.....um....no, it's actually nothing like that. For one thing,it would have been impossible for Mozart to write anything like the 1812 overture ( or is that your point??? ) for  what I hope are obvious reasons. Whether or  not Rick wrote any of this material is not the point.....Rick has added his playing and imaginative talents to MANY pieces of YES music that he did not write; and yet, they turned out far better BECAUSE of his involvement. Do you understand?

  27. 5.... ....

    A track crying out for a keyboardist with more flair. Overall, I like Geoff Downes, but he is clearly the weak link here.

    5.... ....

    @toj i toj As I wrote, I like Geoff Downes. But his talents (strengths) don't add to this piece. Downes can look at any box with a keyboard and find a way to get beautiful sound out of it. But he is more of a chord player, and I just think this piece could use more flourish than he gave it.

    5.... ....

    @toj i toj Geoff Downes has absolutely no imagination.  Just compare him doing Starship Trooper with how RW does it.  Rick adds to it, Downes just does the3 exact same thing that Kaye did.

    5.... ....

    +David Bonnema funny on the UNION tour rick acknowledged that he never played it right.

    5.... ....

    They never played Trooper on the Union tour

    5.... ....

    @David Bonnema He was referring to Yours Is No Disgrace

  28. V.... S....

    Like his predecessor Benoit David, Davison achieves Anderson's range and that's where the similarity stops.  To a point he sounds more convincing on some past Glass Hammer tracks. This song sounds like "new Prog"....a genre that seemed to create itself in the 90's rather than thoroughbred Yes music. Nice try, though.

    V.... S....

    +jpirard This is why I generally avoid these discussions, it's a matter of putting forth an opinion resulting in the ruffling of feathers and generating anything but good will. For me it's simply a matter of respect for the music - past, present, & future. You're bringing in business considerations, money, the personal matters of individuals involved, and so on. So instead of replacing Jon Anderson, the undeniable voice & creative force behind what we all know to be "YES" - with a peer group member of their artistic community worthy of collaboration with the likes of Howe/Squire etc., we're instead treated to two former members of Yes tribute bands hired for no other reason than they were both capable of sounding similar TO THE REAL GUY. Ask yourself, purely out of respect for this music & its audience - would such a maneuver be accepted had it been Jagger & the Stones? McCartney or Lennon & the Beatles? For me, Yes have achieved that level of importance. So - if you go to the drug store and buy a knock-off cologne boasting "smells just like Calvin Klein", you're paying a fraction of the price of authentic Klein FOR A REASON. Sure, you may smell wonderful, but it's still NOT THE SAME. Lastly, you're absolutely correct: IT IS MY PROBLEM. I'm very sorry, but I'm not a mindless sheep who's going to let an industry, label, press agent, or " insider" who claims to know Jon Davison dictate to me "what Yes is". When Yes are finally inducted into the R&RHOF, will Benoit David be included among its inductees? No? Wonder why? Hmm let's see.....

    V.... S....

    oh my..

    V.... S....

    +jpirard oh my goodness, that looks bad. YouTube cut my comment off right where I was attempting to cut loose with a profound (kidding!) metaphorical example: Go to the drug store and purchase a cologne that claims, "smells just like Calvin Klein" - you may smell wonderful for just a fraction of the cost, BUT IT'S NOT THE SAME! Anyway, I apologize if you got the wrong impression from my truncated post. I need to learn to use fewer words.

    V.... S....

    Benoit would not be there because he has left the music business entirely.

    V.... S....

    Vincent S you're wanting a band to sound the same 47 years after they formed? You're delusional..