And You and I
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| “And You and I” | |||||
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| Single by Yes from the album Close to the Edge |
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| Released | 1972 | ||||
| Genre | Progressive rock | ||||
| Length | 10:09 | ||||
| Label | Atlantic Records | ||||
| Yes singles chronology | |||||
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| Close to the Edge track listing | |||||
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"And You and I" is the second track from progressive rock band Yes's album Close to the Edge. The song is just over ten minutes in length and consists of four sections.
TV producer and writer Joss Whedon allegedly named his production company Mutant Enemy Productions after the line in this song.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Parts
| Part | Start Time | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Cord Of Life | 0:00 | 3:47 |
| Eclipse | 3:47 | 2:29 |
| The Preacher, The Teacher | 6:16 | 3:10 |
| Apocalypse | 9:26 | 0:42 |
[edit] I. Cord of Life
The song opens with Steve Howe tuning his guitar, and his voice can be heard at the beginning of the track, then playing mostly natural harmonics, played around what will become the central melody, using a 12-string Acoustic guitar which quickly forms into a simple but beautiful chord progression over distant organ chords. Then, the Moog comes, sounding like a child's instrument, for a simple solo, which presents us the main theme of the next part, but in a completely different arrangement. After that, the vocals begin at about 1:40. The line "All Complete in the sight of seeds of life with you" is spoken, which is repeated throughout the song. At about 2:50, there's an utter change. Anderson sings a sharper melody, accompanied by a second vocal track by Anderson harmonizing with himself, plus Chris Squire and Steve Howe providing a counter-melody and alternate lyrics, with their voices fed through a Leslie Speaker.
[edit] II. Eclipse
"Eclipse" is the slowest part of the song based on a measured and deliberate melody reminiscent of Sibelius. It is led by Rick Wakeman's epic Mellotron and Minimoog synthesizer. The lyrics are all from the first stanza of "The Cord of Life", but are sung in a different melody, which is also epic and slightly sad. Finally ending with the 12-string acoustic guitar leading into "The Preacher, The Teacher".
[edit] III. The Preacher The Teacher
The melody and lyrical structure is very similar (for the most part) to that of "The Cord of Life", with some variations. The exception is that "The Preacher, The Teacher" has a fast synthesizer solo by Rick Wakeman at one point during the song. The last stanza again consists of lines from "The Cord of Life", now sung in a different order and a completely different mood. The section ends with a cadenza-like orchestral statement, on Mellotron and Moog, reminiscent of neo-Wagnerian compositions from Strauss or Bruckner.
[edit] IV. Apocalypse
"Apocalypse" is the shortest piece of the song, only about 40 seconds long, it consists only of four lines:
And you and I climb, crossing the shapes of the morning.
And you and I reach over the sun for the river.
And you and I climb, clearer, towards the movement.
And you and I called over valleys of endless seas.
[edit] Lyrics
The lyric, "As a Foundation left to create the spiral aim", is a slight reference to Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series.[citation needed]
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