Into the Lens by Yes

March 8th, 2010 | by admin |

From Wikipedia:
“I Am a Camera” is a synthpop song by The Buggles from 1981 of “Video Killed the Radio Star” fame, from their second album, Adventures in Modern Recording. Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes started writing the song before joining up with Yes. A version of the song was released as “Into the Lens” on the Yes album Drama. When Horn and Downes continued with the new The Buggles album, the song was completed as “I Am a Camera”. The two versions feature slightly different lyrics, notably “I will never let you go, and you always let the feelings show” (Yes version) compared to “I will never let you go, if you only let the feelings show” (The Buggles version).

In the music video made for the song, during the beginning, there are a pair of Horn’s trademark glasses. On one of the lenses is a video and the other is glass. Horn comes out of the video side of the glasses (as illustrated). There are scenes involving Horn singing, broken glasses and opticians’ tools. The video is seemingly set in a dollhouse. Towards the end, Horn is seen lying on the floor passed out.

The title is a quote from Christopher Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin (1939). The full sentence reads, “I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.” There was a play (1951) and subsequent film (1955) based on the novel under the name I Am a Camera.

Lyrics:
Memories, how they fade so fast
Look back, that is no escape
Tied down, now you see too late.
Lovers, they will never wait.

I am a camera

Take heart, I could never let you go
And you, always let the feeling show
Love us all, how you never broke your heart
You lose them
If you feel the feeling start.

I am a camera, camera, camera

And you, may find time will blind you
This to just remind you
All is meant to be.

Here, by the waterside
There, where the lens is wide
You and me
By the sea
Taken in tranquility.

Taken, taken so easily
To pass into glass reality
Transform, to transfer, to energy.

Taken, taken, so easily
To pass into glass reality
Transformer, transferring energy

Duration : 0:8:34


[youtube wvz6cUWsw9w]

  1. 25 Responses to “Into the Lens by Yes”

  2. By dinkeldal on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    meesterlijk!
    meesterlijk!

  3. By djpeterbstone on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    yes is so timeless. …
    yes is so timeless. yeah, whether its the yes album, or big generator, or tales, or even ABWH. its really well made, and really heartful and soul-filled music.

  4. By vzqk50 on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Amen!
    Amen!

  5. By edismit on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    @eddievhfan1984 …
    @eddievhfan1984 what song what a powerful indeed that it is,,i have heard it time by time actually 50 times by day and i dont get tired of it!!! that groups make to the new ones,this music is of the year 2050???grandes poderosos,invencibles ,unbeatebles,,dios bless to yes,trevor amazing vocals,cris squier my favorite bass player,howe from other world,geofrey how masterkeybordist,alan white mature profesional,,,song come from heaven!!,mexico will make a piramid in your honor !!

  6. By eddievhfan1984 on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    For me, as long as …
    For me, as long as the mandate of Yes persists, it’s stil a good record. Which is why I can also like some of the “Big Generator”-era music. Because there is still a certain spirit, grandeur, thread, etc., that pervades in all Yes music.

  7. By BigWhiteTurkey on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    I aint crazy about …
    I aint crazy about the Yes of the next decade – but still liked alot and saw twice during the 90215 alone.

    I have to say (and the reason that I am commenting) Jon and Vengelis scores a groove in my memory.

    So maybe good things can happen when things are reworked/torn down. Don’t forget that Howe was not exactly idle either.

  8. By nancyl2 on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Yes is a fantastic …
    Yes is a fantastic band. This band like the XTC I think should be out there being heard by ALL.. The words in their creations are so ahead of their times. I have had Dear Friends share both of these great bands with me. I cannot ever stop thanking them for alerting a PC lacking-skill gal where to click to become immersed in its melodious sounds. Love to “J” and “B”. :-) )

  9. By Razamabaz on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    @billinsporttt I …
    @billinsporttt I don’t agree. I think this album was much better than it is given credit for. I think the problem with a lot of yes fans is simple. Its because Jon Anderson wasn’t singing.

  10. By dinkeldal on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    een meesterwerk van …
    een meesterwerk van Yes

  11. By XxEm0xRaWrxX on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    wow, the memories
    wow, the memories

  12. By alcatras4 on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Bands have to …
    Bands have to evolve and incur in territories unknown to them, otherwise they can’t evolve musically and personaly. Even though diehard Yes fans…..like myself ..frown on this album, I myself think it definetly has that YES charachter with a twist. In other words, it was necessary step for them in order to grow and evolve as musicians and as people and show their chameleon musical craft, which is imense. Personaly I like it and a couple of these are actually my faves.

  13. By mdaguinaco on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Cuando era
    niño y …
    Cuando era
    niño y soñaba…tenía como disco preferido el de esta portada.A través
    de los años, recuerdo las letras de “Into the lens…” Probablemente la
    canción a la que mas cariño o amor le he tenido…Siempre en mi mente
    su letra!…Y el titulo de este album?????….”DRAMA”…..Don´t you love it?…And the answer is “YES” !!!!!! Love to all!..

  14. By whatottenchu on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Howe shines on this …
    Howe shines on this song and album

  15. By billinsporttt on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    As a lifelong Yes …
    As a lifelong Yes fan thru all their incarnations, during the time of this release, I was devastated by Jon & Rick’s departure. This album, while it has it’s strong moments, is truly the son of these musicians, & the many line-ups. Chris appears to have exorcised some demons here, but it is clear that this one-time output from this line-up represented hostility between Jon & Chris. In retrospect, it is musically inferior when compared to the bands many other albums…

  16. By almklit on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    I like yes when …
    I like yes when they stripped there sound down from the original progressive stance although gates of delirium is my all time fave.

  17. By foppa123 on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    too bad this new …
    too bad this new wave version of Yes didn’t last very long.

  18. By abbgt on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Wonderful song. …
    Wonderful song. Strong album. If only the 1980s YesWest had been recorded with this production quality/style. Hard to believe Horn was involved in the production of both it’s so different.

  19. By chazisflying on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Well, the Beatles …
    Well, the Beatles said “All You Need Is Love”, then they broke up… no utopia, nothings perfect…. but we do have YES MUSIC!

  20. By ClungeFlap on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    The Buggles 2nd …
    The Buggles 2nd album was pretty much Trevor Horn solo, although Geoff Downes was on some tracks, as was Bruce Woolley

  21. By zanzalot on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Actually the …
    Actually the Buggles did lol.

  22. By noktvrnaspiritvs on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    AWESOME SONG, …
    AWESOME SONG, AWESOME CLIP!!!
    Thanks!!!

  23. By bjarnifreyr on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    Gentle Giant made a …
    Gentle Giant made a song the same year about the same thing, called. I am a camera… Love both songs..

  24. By lilciara106 on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    I love the song….
    I love the song….

  25. By deepskyblue on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    This song is …
    This song is heavenly.

  26. By grandirensemble on Mar 8, 2010 | Reply

    yes lo maximo
    yes lo maximo

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