The classic Yes lyrics that not even Rick Wakeman understands: “It’s about a chess game”
Some of the best songs in history are ones with lyrics that offer a world of potential analytical exploration. Yes’ lyrics, most of which are penned by Jon Anderson, are precisely that, with connotations that rely more heavily on the poetic and surreal in a way that leaves the door ajar for any potential reading you might want to apply.
In the world of prog rock, this isn’t exactly uncommon. After all, those constant threads of poetic flair and vague ponderings are why prog gained its position as one of the most revolutionary movements in music in the first place. And why, incidentally, it ended up challenging the very parameters of musical expression, “breaking down the barriers to reject the rules of music,” as Peter Gabriel once said.
Yes, like many of their peers, essentially pioneered the core principles of psychedelic rock and built up to something more conceptually far-out and lyrically dense than their rockin’ predecessors managed to achieve. It took the band a few years to fully get into their stride, of course, but once they did, it sparked a broader prog boom that encouraged countless others to try to push the same sorts of artistic boundaries.
According to Anderson, the moment that Yes fully reached their potential was in 1971, initially sparked by The Yes Album before reaching new heights on its follow-up, Fragile. Not only was this a major milestone, being Yes’ first major release that showed everything they had to offer, it was also a turning point for prog in a broader sense, marking the release of a handful of other significant prog albums, including Pink Floyd’s Meddle and Jethro Tull’s Aqualung.
However, where Yes excelled was that their heart was always on the audience experience rather than anything they could conjure up in the silo of the studio. As Anderson once said, “We were very lucky to go in the studio and make records, but our main game was to put on a show and entertain the audience,” which is also likely why their lyrics are so intensely open for interpretation.
After all, Anderson might write from personal experience, but he always leaves space for the listener to apply whatever meaning they want. Even better, he welcomes it, enjoying the fact that people will try to analyse his words however they want, even if they’re way off the mark. That, in his view, is what prog is all about, even when his bandmates don’t always know what he’s going on about either.
Rick Wakeman once discussed this with Vulture and shared a couple of songs that still baffle him lyrically. One of which was ‘Going for the One’, the title track from the band’s 1977 album that saw them embracing an entirely different direction, opting for more direct lyrics with a single overarching concept. When Wakeman asked Anderson if it was about searching for something special in life or in the future, Anderson rather amusingly quipped, “No, it’s about a horse race.”
A similar thing happened once when a fan approached him about ‘I’ve Seen All Good People’. Sensing the challenge faced by anyone who attempts to correctly guess the inspiration behind Anderson’s lyrical musings, Wakeman’s interest in the conversation piqued immediately, and all he remembered thinking was, “Right, this’ll be interesting.”
But then he realised something far more important than how amusing it was to see people try but fail to figure Anderson out. After the fan explained their thinking, saying the song was “all about moving through the different planets and different planes of life,” Anderson simply responded, “Brilliant! Thank you!” and then off they went.
Wakeman then asked whether that was what the song was really about, to which Anderson mused, “No, it’s about a chess game. But if that’s what he thinks it’s about, that’s fantastic.”
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