Domino (In the Glow of the Night / The Last Domino) Lyrics
(B-Side to "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight")
[Intro]
The grey of evening fills the room
No need to look outside
To see or feel the rain
I reach across to touch her
But I know that she's not there
Rain keeps running down the window pane
Time is running out for me
[Verse 1]
Can't you see what you are doing to me?
Can't you see what you have done?
As I try to pass another long and sleepless night
A hundred crazy voices call my name
As I try to pass them by, I almost can believe that she is here
[Chorus]
Here, in the glow of the night
Do you know what you have done?
Do you know what you've begun?
Do you see, we shall never be together again?
All of my life
Ooh, the lonely people, empty rooms
And all the pointless violence, silent tombs
Could it be that we shall be together again?
Sheets of double glazing help to keep outside the night
Only foreign city sirens can cut through
Nylon sheets and blankets help to minimize the cold
But they can't keep out the chilling sounds
Will the nightmare soon give way to dreaming that she is here with me?
[Chorus]
Here, in the glow of the night
Do you know what you have done?
Do you know what you've begun?
Do you see, we shall never be together again?
All of my life
Ooh, the lonely people, empty rooms
And all the pointless violence, silent tombs
Could it be that we shall be together again?
Could it be, we shall be together again?
[Bridge]
In silence and darkness
We held each other near that night
We prayed it would last forever
[Part II: The Last Domino]
(B-Side to "Invisible Touch")
Blood on the windows
Millions of ordinary people are there
They gaze at the scenery
They act as if it is perfectly clear
Take a look at the mountains
Take a look at the beautiful river of blood
[Verse 4]
The liquid surrounds me
I fight to rise from this river of hell
I stare round about me
Children are swimming and playing with boats
Their features are changing
Their bodies dissolve and I am alone
[Interlude]
Now see what you've gone and done
Now see what you've gone and done
[Verse 5]
Well now you never did see such a terrible thing
As you seen last night on the TV
Maybe, if we're lucky, they will show it again
Such a terrible thing to see, oh
But there's nothing you can do
When you're the next in line
But you got to go, domino!
[Verse 6]
Now I'm one with the living, and I'm feeling just fine
I know just what I gotta do
Play the game of happiness and never let on
That it only lives on in a song
[Chorus]
Well there's nothing you can do
When you're next in line
You got to go, domino!
[Post-Chorus]
Do you know what you have done?
And, do you know what you've begun?
[Bridge]
In silence and darkness
Hold each other near tonight
For, will it last forever?
Will it last forever? Forever
[Chorus]
There's nothing you can do
You're the next in line
But you got to go, domino!
[Outro]
Do you know, do you know?
Do you know what you have done?
Do you see what you've begun?
'Cause there's nothing, nothing, nothing
There's nothing you can do, there's nothing you can do
Do you see? Do you see what you have done?
About
This song’s lyrics were based on a dream had by its author Tony Banks, the band wrote the music.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
According to Songfacts, Tony Banks said in an excerpt from DVD The Way We Walk:
The first part is very personal, coming from an individual’s point of view of how he might be affected by what one person set in motion without realizing what he was doing. It’s a war situation I was thinking of where a guy has lost his woman, and his attitude of “look what you’ve done” in speaking to the guy who pressed the button that made the whole thing happen.
The second half is a different approach. It’s a more surreal approach to the idea with a nightmarish quality to it. The domino itself is the idea that there’s nothing you can do if you’re next in line. It sounds good when it’s sung and it’s also a good image.
He also recalled the origin of the song:
Mike (Rutherford) played a guitar riff, and if Mike’s fairly static on a simple little riff, it gives me a chance to play any chord I like, and I just played every chord that would fit over that riff. Put them in a certain kind of order and you get a certain kind of result. The two halves were not the same song originally. The second half developed out of a jam that we called ‘Hawkwind’ because it reminded us of the English group who used to do a lot of psychedelic jams. It was just keeping a thing going in the bass and making funny noises on the top. It’s an excuse to use those horror-film chord sequences that I always like. Not so much dramatic as melodramatic.
- 4.In Too Deep
- 6.Domino (In the Glow of the Night / The Last Domino)
