The flickering needle jumps into red. New York crawls out of its bed.
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
Early morning Manhattan, Ocean winds blow on the land.
The weary guests are asked to leave the warmth of the all-night theater, having slept on pictures others only dream on.
The Movie-Palace is now undone, The all-night watchmen have had their fun. Sleeping cheaply on the midnight show, It's the same old ending -- time to go. Get out! It seems they cannot leave their dream.
The un-paid extras disturb the Sleeping Broadway. WALK to the left DON'T WALK to the right: on Broadway, directions don't look so bright. Autoghosts keep the pace for the cabman's early mobile race.
There's something moving in the sidewalk steam,
["Give me steam, and how you feel can make it real Real as anything you've seen [place you've been]. Get a life with the dreamer's dream" Peter Gabriel, "Steam", 1992
The symbolism of "steam" illustrates the world of shadow we're about to be transported to. Steam is real, yet obviously at the point of intangibility. It is the stuff between which reality and dreams, sanity and insanity collide.
And what of the significance of "Rael"? Transpose the "a" and the "e" and you get "real", which is referred to in the end of "It": "it is Real, it is Rael".
The juxtaposition of "is" and "Rael" is interesting, since it forms the word "Israel" at the climactic point of the album. Since this album is full of metaphors and references to everything under the sun, it is not out of order to assume that this was intentional. If we go along with this, then we're talking about the children of Israel. According to the dictionary, the Hebrew word "yisrael" means to struggle against God. Judeo-Christian references played a major role in the music of Gabriel-era Genesis, starting with the band's very name. The Lamb's songs might be considered within the context of the New Testament. Some things may begin to fall into place. Carrying the metaphor further, we can assume Real is a Christ figure. "The lamb lies down on Broadway" would then mean "Jesus Christ dies in New York." At the end of the story, Rael sacrifices his life for his brother John, in spite of the numerous times John had forsaken him, and he loves him anyway. This is a very Christian attitude. On an unrelated note, "Rael" spelled backwards is "Lear", which may be an intentional reference to the mad king of Shakespear.
Since Brother John was mentioned here in this annotation, we must point out that Steve Hackett's brother was named John. If this has any significance, it has never been officially acknowledged.]
And the lamb lies down on Broadway. 
Nightime's flyers feel their pains.
Drugstore takes down the chains.
Metal motion comes in bursts,
But the gas station can quench that thirst.
Suspension cracked on unmade road
The trucker's eyes read 'Overload'
Enough of this -- our hero is moving up the subway stairs into day- light. Beneath his leather jacket he holds a spray gun which has left the message R-A-E-L in big letters on the wall leading underground. It may not mean much to you but to Rael it is part of the process going towards 'making a name for yourself.' When you're not even a pure-bred Puerto Rican the going gets tough and the tough gets going.
And out of the subway, Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid Exits into daylight, spraygun hid,
With casual sideways glances along the wet street, he checks the motion in the steam to look for potential obstruction. Seeing none, he strides along the sidewalk, past the drugstore with iron guard being removed to reveal the smile of the toothpaste girl, past the nightladies and past Patrolman Frank Leonowich (48, married, two kids) who stands in the doorway of the wig-store. Patrolman Leonowich looks at Rael in much the same way that other Patrolmen look at him, and Rael only just hides that he is hiding something. Meanwhile from out of the steam a lamb lies down. This lamb has nothing whatsoever to do with Rael, or any other lamb -- it just lies down on Broadway.
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
The lamb seems right out of place,
Yet the Broadway street scene finds a focus in its face.
Somehow it's lying there,
Brings a stillness to the air.
Though man-made light,
at night is very bright,
There's no whitewash victim, As the neons dim, to the coat of white.
Rael Imperial Aerosol Kid,
Wipes his gun -- he's forgotten what he did,
And the lamb lies down on Broadway.
Suzanne tired her work all done,
Thinks money -- honey -- be on -- neon.
[This may be a reference to the somewhat popular song entitled "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen, 1966. The song "Suzanne" is about waking up and/or realization, which certainly parallels the "Lamb" epic. In the lyrics to Suzanne, it is obvious that her work is all done. Here's a sampling of the lyrics: "And you want to travel with her, and you want to travel blind, For she's touched your perfect body with her mind. "Now Jesus was a sailor when he walked upon the water, and he spent a long time watching from his lonely wooden tower, and when he knew for certain that only drowning men could see him, he said all men will be sailors then until the sea shall free them. But he himself was broken, long before the sky would open. Forsaken, almost human, he sank beneath your wisdom like a stone. "And you want to travel with him, and you want to travel blind, For he's touched your perfect body with his mind. This seemingly makes a tie to the suggestion that there is an undercurrent of Biblical references throughout the "Lamb" lyrics.]
Cabman's velvet glove sounds the horn
[This could be an obscure reference to Andy Warhol, a famous pop artist. He once arrived at at some important event driving a cab and was also very involved with the musical group, Velvet Underground. On another note, it's possible that Suzanne is riding in the cab. It also seems likely that since it is early morning and she is getting off work, that she may be a prostitute. This would encompass the "money" and "honey". Another reader said "I've always thought of it like this: neon signs are the 70's gauche way of attracting attention to what you have to sell, so..."]
And the sawdust king spits out his scorn.
Wonder women draw your blind!
Don't look at me! I'm not your kind.
I'm Rael! Something inside me has just begun,
Lord knows what I have done,
[This line is particularly hard to understand. It may, however, be a clue to what is about to happen to Rael. Has he taken a drug over- dose? Whatever, a possible interpretation of the entire story is that Rael dies in "Fly on a Windshield" and that most of what happens is Rael's spiritual journey through some purgatory. He escapes at the end in "It."]
And the lamb lies down on Broadway. On Broadway --
They say the lights are always bright on Broadway.
They say there's always magic in the air.
[These last two lines are a direct quote from "On Broadway", a classic Drifters song.]
