Firth of Fifth

1973 song by Genesis

"Firth of Fifth"

Song by Genesis
from the album  Selling England by the Pound
Released| 28 September 1973
Genre| Progressive rock[1][2]
Length| 9:40
Label|

* Charisma
* Atlantic

Songwriter(s)|

* Tony Banks
* Phil Collins
* Peter Gabriel
* Steve Hackett
* Mike Rutherford

Producer(s)|

* John Burns
* Genesis

"Firth of Fifth" is a song by the English progressive rock band Genesis. It first appeared as the third track on their 1973 album Selling England by the Pound, and was performed as a live piece either in whole or in part throughout the band's career.

## Composition

[edit]

Steve Hackett's guitar solo on "Firth of Fifth" has become a favourite among Genesis fans.[3]

The title is a pun on the Firth of Forth, the estuary of the River Forth in Scotland. The song theme relates to the "river of constant change", as quoted in the closing line. Though the song is credited to the entire band, most of the music was composed by keyboardist Tony Banks, with a prominent solo by guitarist Steve Hackett based on the flute melody composed by Banks. Banks had written the bulk of the song by 1972, presenting it as a candidate for the album Foxtrot (1972), but it was rejected. He redesigned the piece, which the group accepted as a candidate for Selling England by the Pound.[4] Banks, who worked on the lyrics with Mike Rutherford, later dismissed them, saying they were "one of the worst sets of lyrics [I have] been involved with".[citation needed]

The song has three distinct musical parts. It starts out with a classical-style grand piano introduction played by Banks in the key of B flat.[5] That section is rhythmically complex, with certain bars in the rare time signatures of 13
16 and 15
16, alternating with bars of 2
4.[6] The section changes tempo and segues into the first verse (of three) of the song, accompanied by Phil Collins on drums and a chord progression between Hammond organ (Banks), bass (Rutherford) and guitar (Hackett).

After the first two verses, a short bridge leads into an instrumental section that starts with a flute melody played by Peter Gabriel, followed by a synth-driven section which restates the opening piano theme. Hackett then restates the flute melody using violin-like guitar tones.[7] Peter Gabriel sings the third verse of lyrics and a closing line before Banks concludes the song on piano, restating a motif from the opening section before fading out.

## Live performances

[edit]

Daryl Stuermer playing the guitar solo in "Firth of Fifth" live with Genesis in 2007

From autumn 1973 onwards, the song's piano intro was omitted during live performances.[3] Tony Banks felt he could not play the introduction live effectively, because he used an RMI electric piano on stage, which was not touch-sensitive.[citation needed] During one concert, Banks accidentally played one of the initial piano notes wrongly, which caused Phil Collins to have to start his drums to fix the mistake by starting Peter Gabriel's verses early. The error led to the introduction being deleted in later concerts.[citation needed]

Gabriel used to tell a story on stage before the performance of the song, which was about a group of travellers who are dying of thirst and come across a group of corpses. Because the human body is made up of 75% water, they begin to jump on the corpses to try to extract water from their mouths. However, they soon realise that they expend more energy trying to extract water from their bodies than they can receive. A Scotsman in the group realises that and stops jumping over the fifth body, calling the mouth "Firth", precisely because he is Scottish.

The song survived the departure of Peter Gabriel in 1975, with Phil Collins taking over to sing lead. A live recording of the song at the Palais des Sports in Paris was included on the live album Seconds Out.

The song was removed from the group's 1978 tour following the departure of Steve Hackett in 1977.[3] It was reinstated for the 1981 tour,[8] and performed for the Six of the Best reunion show in 1982.[3]

A 1981 live recording from the Savoy in New York was included as the B side of the UK release of the 12" single of "That's All".[9]

The instrumental section of the song, featuring the guitar solo, was resurrected for the Mama Tour in 1983–84, as well as the We Can't Dance tour in 1992, with touring member Daryl Stuermer playing Hackett's guitar parts.[3] That section of the song featured on the Calling All Stations tour in 1998, with Anthony Drennan playing guitar. It was resurrected for the 2007's Turn It On Again: The Tour and in 2021–22 during the Last Domino? Tour, again featuring Stuermer, with Collins's son Nic playing drums during the latter tour. The instrumental segues directly into "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" in the 1992, 2007 and 2021–22 versions.

Hackett has continued to play the song live since leaving Genesis.[3] It appears on his solo album of re-worked Genesis songs, Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited (1996) and The Tokyo Tapes (1998), with John Wetton singing and playing bass on both versions. The song was also included as an encore on his Genesis Revisited tour (2013-2014), featured on the live album Genesis Revisited: Live at Hammersmith (2013) and also on Selling England By The Pound & Spectral Mornings: Live At Hammersmith (2020).

## Reception

[edit]

The song has had a strongly positive critical response as one of the best examples of progressive rock. Particular highlights of the track include Banks' piano introduction and Hackett's guitar solo.[1] Rock author Edward Macan describes "Firth of Fifth" as "one of the finest nine and half minutes of music that Genesis ever put down".[10] Genesis biographers Dave Bowler and Bryan Dray describe Hackett's solo as "the crowning moment of Hackett's time with the band."[7]

Hackett has spoken favourably about his contributions to the song, saying, "It'll always be twinned with me, and I still enjoy playing it. It's a great melody for guitar."[11]

## References

[edit]

Citations

1. ^ a b Lambe 2012, p. 47.
2. ^ Macan 1997, p. 115.
3. ^ a b c d e f Couture, François. "Firth of Fifth - Genesis". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
4. ^ Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 79.
5. ^ Macan 1997, p. 109.
6. ^ "Firth of Fifth - Genesis". Scribd. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
7. ^ a b Bowler & Dray 1992, p. 81.
8. ^ "The Abacab Tour". The Genesis Archive. 1981-07-21. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
9. ^ That's All UK 12" single sleeve notes.
10. ^ Macan 1997, p. 136.
11. ^ Thompson 2011, p. 159.

Bibliography

* Bowler, Dave; Dray, Bryan (1992). Genesis: A Biography. Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd. ISBN 978-0-283-06132-5.
* Macan, Edward (1997). Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-195-09887-7.
* Lambe, Stephen (2012). Citizens of Hope and Glory: The Story of Progressive Rock. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1-445-60737-5.
* Thompson, Dave (2011). 1000 Songs that Rock Your World: From Rock Classics to one-Hit Wonders, the Music That Lights Your Fire. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-1-440-21879-8.

* v
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Genesis

* Tony Banks
* Mike Rutherford
* Phil Collins

* Peter Gabriel
* Anthony Phillips
* Chris Stewart
* John Silver
* John Mayhew
* Mick Barnard
* Steve Hackett
* Ray Wilson

Studio albums|

* From Genesis to Revelation
* Trespass
* Nursery Cryme
* Foxtrot
* Selling England by the Pound
* The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
* A Trick of the Tail
* Wind & Wuthering
* ...And Then There Were Three...
* Duke
* Abacab
* Genesis
* Invisible Touch
* We Can't Dance
* Calling All Stations

Live albums|

* Genesis Live
* Seconds Out
* Three Sides Live
* The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts
* The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs
* Live over Europe 2007

Compilations|

* Turn It On Again: The Hits
* Platinum Collection
* The Last Domino? – The Hits

Box sets|

* Genesis Archive 1967–75
* Genesis Archive #2 1976–92
* Genesis 1976–1982
* Genesis 1983–1998
* Genesis 1970–1975
* Genesis Live 1973–2007
* R-Kive
* BBC Broadcasts

EPs|

* Spot the Pigeon
* 3×3

Singles|

* "The Silent Sun"
* "The Knife"
* "Watcher of the Skies"
* "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)"
* "The Carpet Crawlers"
* "A Trick of the Tail"
* "Your Own Special Way"
* "Follow You Follow Me"
* "Many Too Many"
* "Go West Young Man"
* "Turn It On Again"
* "Duchess"
* "Misunderstanding"
* "Abacab"
* "No Reply at All"
* "Keep It Dark"
* "Man on the Corner"
* "Paperlate"
* "Mama"
* "That's All"
* "Home by the Sea"
* "Illegal Alien"
* "Taking It All Too Hard"
* "Invisible Touch"
* "Throwing It All Away"
* "In Too Deep"
* "Land of Confusion"
* "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight"
* "No Son of Mine"
* "I Can't Dance"
* "Hold on My Heart"
* "Jesus He Knows Me"
* "Never a Time"
* "Tell Me Why"
* "Congo"
* "Shipwrecked"
* "Not About Us"
* "The Carpet Crawlers 1999"
* "The Silent Sun 2006"

Other songs|

* "The Musical Box"
* "Get 'Em Out by Friday"
* "Supper's Ready"
* "Dancing with the Moonlit Knight"
* "Firth of Fifth"
* "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway"
* "The Lady Lies"
* "Behind the Lines"
* "Domino"
* "Anything She Does"
* "Driving the Last Spike"
* "Fading Lights"

Video albums|

* In Concert
* Three Sides Live
* The Mama Tour
* Live at Wembley Stadium
* The Way We Walk
* The Video Show
* Live in London
* When in Rome 2007
* Genesis Movie Box 1981–2007

Tours|

* Selling England by the Pound Tour
* The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Tour
* A Trick of the Tail Tour
* Wind & Wuthering Tour
* Invisible Touch Tour
* We Can't Dance Tour
* Calling All Stations Tour
* Turn It On Again: The Tour
* The Last Domino? Tour

Related musicians|

* Bill Bruford
* Chester Thompson
* Daryl Stuermer
* Nick D'Virgilio
* Nir Zidkyahu
* Anthony Drennan
* Daniel Pearce
* Nic Collins

Related articles|

* List of Genesis medleys
* Brand X
* Flaming Youth
* Mike and the Mechanics
* GTR
* Stiltskin
* Simon Collins
* Sound of Contact
* Jonathan King
* Tony Smith
* The Musical Box
* Six of the Best
* Genesis: Together and Apart
* The Farm

* Genesis discography
* List of Genesis band members
* Genesis awards
* Category

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