Octopus lyrics

Song information

Artist: Van Der Graaf Generator
Album: Aerosol Grey Machine

Lyrics

(Hammill)

I want to paint you long poems full of fire
You who I do not know

Now my mind is tested with love which
Twists and wavers from side to side and which
Some day soon you may see..
I want you to cascade
Through ten thousand rainbows with me
And dredge mountains from the sea:
You who I now begin to know

But emotion is pent up inside
Too scared of dying again to live
And meanwhile I must endure your
Red-copper hair screaming like a water-baby
Black eyes stare from my ceiling..
You who I now truly know

Now I cannot see too clearly
And already my trellis stands bare
How can I break free of these overclinging arms
Which entwine and enfold me
And reach to the clear blue sea?
I want you to know, but how can I tell you?
I want you to see but my own eyes are blind

The octopus now enfolds me
I know you too well...