Holidays in Eden

Introduction: Steve Hogarth wrote on Marillion.com "The first lyric by John Helmer on this album. A girl he knew had gone on holiday to South America and 'gone native' for a while. When she got back home she had problems picking up the threads of her old life. We could all relate... "

'Forgetfulness is a river, and you know where the river leads'
Lethe, in Greek mythology, the river of forgetfulness is situated in the underworld. The spirits of the dead drank from its waters to forget the sorrows of their earthly life before entering Elysium. Conversely, when the Trojan Prince, Aeneas visited the world of the dead, he found a great number of souls wandering on the banks of the stream. His father, Anchises, with whom he was joyously reunited, told him that before these spirits could live again in the world above, they must drink of the river of oblivion to forget the happiness they had known in Elysium.

'The Fall'
The fall refers to the expulsion from Eden. I'm sure you all know the Biblical story, but God creates man and woman and lets them live in Paradise (Eden). They can eat from any tree save the tree of knowledge. The serpent tempts Eve, who tempts Adam, and they eat the fruit. They realise that they are naked and cover themselves. God discovers that they have disobeyed him and expels them from paradise. This is the fall from grace, and is the 'original sin' that every human is said to be born with.

'See no, Hear no, Speak no evil'
This is a reference to the three wise monkeys, a pictoral maxim based on a 17th century carving at the Toshogi Shrine in Nikko, Japan. Part of a larger work based on Confucius’s code of conduct, the monkeys were carved by Hidari Jingoro.

The monkeys are Mizaru, covering his eyes, who sees no evil; Kikazaru, covering his ears, who hears no evil; and Iwazaru, covering his mouth, who speaks no evil.

'Darkness has no heart'
A novel by the(1857-1924) Polish born, English novelist Joseph Conrad, who is amongst the great modern English prose stylists. Heart of Darkness tells the tale of the culture shock experienced by a man who spends time with the natives in the Congo. He reverts to nature, becoming almost savage as his need to survive comes to the fore. Upon his return to Victorian London, he is unable to relate to the people and customs that he was once a part of.

Apocalypse Now is also based upon Heart of Darkness - Ed)

'Paradise Regained'
Comptons Interactive Encyclopedia: "MILTON, John (1608-74). Next to William Shakespeare, John Milton is usually regarded as the greatest English poet. His magnificent 'Paradise Lost' is considered to be the finest epic poem in the English language. In other epics and in shorter verse forms Milton showed further proof of his genius. Although they are not as well known, Milton's essays in prose are powerful arguments on such subjects as divorce and freedom of the press. He was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell's republic and advocated divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. He became blind in later years and died in solitude.

He dictated his masterpiece, 'Paradise Lost' (1667), to his daughters. This is an epic poem telling of the fall of the angels and of the creation of Adam and Eve and their temptation by Satan in the Garden of Eden ("Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit/ Of that forbidden tree..."). It is written in blank verse of great solemnity.Paradise Regained (1671) is Milton's sequel to Paradise Lost. He considered the later work his masterpiece, but most readers have not agreed with him."

'Well, that was fun, wasn't it?'
At the end of the track, someone with a west country accent (?), shouts 'Well, that was a laugh, wasn't it?' but you have to listening to the album at a fairly ear splitting volume to hear this!

Lyrics: Steve Hogarth & John Helmer