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"The Carpet Crawlers" | ||||
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Single by Genesis | ||||
from the album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway | ||||
B-side | "The Waiting Room (Evil Jam)" (live) | |||
Released | 18 April 1975 | |||
Recorded | August–October 1974 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock,[1] soul[2] | |||
Length | 5:15 | |||
Label | Charisma/Phonogram (UK) Atco/Atlantic (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford | |||
Producer(s) | John Burns and Genesis | |||
Genesis singles chronology | ||||
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"The Carpet Crawlers 1999" | ||||
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![]() Cover for the 1999 re-recorded version. | ||||
Single by Genesis | ||||
from the album Turn It On Again: The Hits | ||||
B-side | ||||
Released | 2 November 1999 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, pop rock | |||
Length | 5:39 | |||
Label | Virgin/Atlantic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Mike Rutherford | |||
Producer(s) | Trevor Horn | |||
Genesis singles chronology | ||||
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"The Carpet Crawlers" is a song by the English progressive rock band Genesis, recorded for their sixth studio album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks wrote most of the music, with the help of Peter Gabriel. Lyrically, the song tells the section of the album's story whereby Rael, the lead character, finds himself in a red carpeted corridor surrounded by kneeling people slowly crawling towards a wooden door. Rael dashes by them towards the door and goes through it. Behind the door is a table with a candlelit feast on it, and behind that, a spiral staircase that leads upwards out of sight.
The complex symbolism of Peter Gabriel's lyrics has been interpreted as referring to the fertilisation journey or as describing a scene inspired by Gnosticism in which humanity is misled by the 'callers': instead of the promise of heaven, the carpet crawlers find death and rebirth to a hellish environment.[3]
The song was released in April 1975 as the album's second single under the title "The Carpet Crawlers". In 1999, Genesis re-recorded the song with producer Trevor Horn that featured Gabriel and Collins sharing lead vocals, released as "The Carpet Crawlers 1999". This marked the last time both singers recorded with Genesis.
it also features one of the all-time examples of prog rock perfection: 'The Carpet Crawlers'.