Nursery Cryme - Songs

Songs

Though credited solely to Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford, "The Musical Box" began as an instrumental piece written by Anthony Phillips called "F#" (later released as "Manipulation" on the Box Set remaster). The lyrics are based on a Victorian fairy story written by Gabriel, about two children in a country house. The girl, Cynthia, kills the boy, Henry, by removing his head with a croquet mallet. She later discovers Henry's musical box. When she opens it, Henry returns as a spirit, and starts aging very quickly. This causes him to experience a lifetime's sexual desires in a few moments, and he tries to persuade Cynthia to have sexual intercourse with him. However, his nurse arrives and throws the musical box at him, destroying them both. The album cover shows Cynthia holding a croquet mallet, with a few heads lying on the ground.

In live performances, Peter Gabriel would wear an "old man" mask for the final verse and unzip the chest part of his black jumpsuit. Dramatic lighting would be used each time he shouted "NOW!" "The Musical Box" was featured in their live repertoire right up to Phil Collins' departure after the We Can't Dance tour in 1992, albeit with only the closing section being included as part of a medley.

A Genesis tribute band, The Musical Box, is named after the song.

"For Absent Friends" is a song about two widowed individuals going to church and praying for their deceased husbands/wives. It is the first song by the band to feature drummer Phil Collins as the lead vocalist and was the first song written by the new members Collins and Steve Hackett within the band context. Progressive death metal band Opeth wrote a short instrumental with the same name, as a tribute to Genesis on their 2002 release, Deliverance. Guitarist Steve Hackett recorded a waltz version of the song for Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited, with vocals by Colin Blunstone.

The lyrics to "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" tell an apocalyptic story about a "regal hogweed" being brought from Russia by a Victorian explorer to the Royal Gardens at Kew. The inspiration for this story is a large, phototoxic weed, Heracleum mantegazzianum, which poses a hazard in the United Kingdom and other countries. The song was a staple of Genesis' live performances.

"The Fountain of Salmacis" tells the story of the nymph Salmacis, who in Greek mythology attempted to rape Hermaphroditus. In the story, Salmacis and Hermaphroditus become joined as one, which is mirrored in the lyrics where Peter Gabriel sings "We shall be joined as one." Pete Lazonby used a sample of the song for the 1994 trance track Sacred Cycles.

"Harold the Barrel" tells the story of a restaurant owner who commits suicide. The song suddenly dies to a droning whisper at the end, symbolising Harold's sudden leap from a window ledge.