Interpretation
The lyrics of the song "Anyway" by
Genesis deal with various themes, including aging, death, and the search for meaning in life.
In the first part of the song, the singer describes the end of life ("All the pumping's nearly over for my sweet heart") and that it's now time to face death ("Time to meet the chef"). He feels old and cold and struggles to catch his breath ("Feel cold and old, it's getting hard to catch my breath"). The lyrics play with the idea that we ultimately turn to ashes ("′S back to ash, now, you've had your flash boy") and that our blood turns to oil and our flesh to coal ("The rocks, in time, compress, Your blood to oil, Your flesh to coal").
The chorus of the song states that it doesn't matter how death comes, whether on a pale horse or with a train ("Anyway, they say she comes on a pale horse, but I'm sure I hear a train"). The singer no longer feels pain and may be losing his mind ("O boy! I don't even feel no pain, I guess I must be driving myself insane").
The lyrics pose the question of whether the earth plugs a hole in heaven or heaven plugs a hole in the earth ("Damn it all! does earth plug a hole in heaven, or heaven plug a hole in the earth"). It's about how strange it seems to be profound when you're actually just dying underground ("how wonderful to be so profound, when everything you are is dying underground").
The singer feels drawn to something and asks to be lowered at the rainbow ("I feel the pull on the rope, let me off at the rainbow"). He imagines he could be exploding in space, but instead is simply quietly buried in stones ("I could have been exploding in space, Different orbits for my bones, Not me, just quietly buried in stones"). He asks his Creator for more time before he dies ("Keep the deadline open with my maker!").
At the end of the song, the singer is greeted by someone and told that he didn't have to wait long ("The doorbell rings and its, "Good morning Rael, So sorry you had to wait, It won′t be long, yeh! She's very rarely late"). This could indicate that death has finally reached him.
Overall, the lyrics of the song convey a dark mood and raise questions about death and the meaning of life. They provoke thought and leave room for different interpretations.