I am the assassin, with tongue forged from eloquence
I am the assassin, providing your nemesis
On the sacrificial altar to success, my friend
Unleash a stranger from a kiss, my friend
No incantations of remorse, my friend
Unsheathe the blade within the voice, my friend
My friend, my friend, my friend
Meet Fish. Early 80's, still in the makeup, sooo dated now. Poet with the broken heart. Drunk. Learned how to cut with words. Spoke to me quite a bit when I was younger, still does, for obvious reasons. Appeals to that dark side that I haven't quite conquered. Acquired taste. "A poor man's Genesis".
From Wiki-
This song concerns character assassination, the word of the title having been an invented verb by singer/songwriter Fish, mixing the words "Assassin" (a killer) and "Sassing" (which means a one who talks disrespectfully to another). The lyrics are full of speech metaphors alluding to verbal fighting, for example, "Unsheathe the blade within the voice."
No doubt.
Listen as the syllables of slaughter cat with calm precision
Patterned frosty phrases rape your ears and sow the ice incision
Adjectives of annihilation
Bury the point beyond redemption
Venomous verbs of ruthless candour
Plagiarise assassins fervour
Apocalyptic alphabet casting spell
The creed of tempered diction
Most of Marillion's lyrics were so damn English I had to go look up their meaning (wide boys and tower blocks needed some explanation), but Fish was obviously concerned with class warfare in Thatcher's time, and girls that broke his heart. Mix all that with high octane booze and things grow pretty dark.
I remember it well. I don't know if his lyrics about his homeland have stood the test of time, but the rest of it sure has.
And what do you call assassins who accuse assassins anyway, my friend?
Indeed.