VII: As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs (Aching Men's Feet)
After the red and black of the last section, the finale's blinding white declares the final victory of good over evil, alongside the epiphany that this fate for the world is "as sure as eggs is eggs." While making the ends of the song's circular structure meet, the title playfully writes it as "aching men's feet," which is justified by how strenuous this journey has been on the POV. Their reprise of the first section shows a sort of doubling back as well as up; rather than simply making a closed loop, the two have journeyed around the spine of an upward spiral.
The foe is vanquished "in the darkness of the fading night," and from here the POV are "freed to get back home", secure in their love and their spirit.
This section's lyrics draw heavily from the Bible, but its message of holding onto faith in the good of the world and its connection of spiritual enlightenment with romantic love is something that transcends a singular religion. The "Angel standing in the sun" announces the last supper of the song, calling the POV to finally return home.
Inside, they find "the Supper of the Mighty One," a generous and lavish bounty that contrasts the anti-Supper of 666 as well as the simple supper from the first section. The POV never consume any of the food, for like their physical endurance during this journey, it is simply a manifestation of their spiritual strength, as abstract quantities are given solid form and balance is restored to their world.
With the "Lord of Lords, King of Kings," I purposely obscure his face to reach for the deeper spiritual meaning of a messiah, but his beard may give a hint to his identity within the comic. The messiah of any faith must act as the bridge between the physical and spiritual realm, shown here through the revived Fox (the physical embodiment of the song, as well as the whole album) and the Lamb (a spiritual successor to Supper's Ready on a grander scale). So while giving the song's narrative its due end, the comic also projects a link between where Supper's Ready would take Genesis further down the road. Each work in an artist's life can act as a synecdoche for their oeuvre when the whole is understood.
In this final grand image, my training as an architect comes through to imagine what the New Jerusalem may look like. Similar to our world's Jerusalem, this one has an old and new city (right to left, like Hebrew text), but among each are landmarks that transcend their time through the beauty of tectonic form. I built it around 26 different architectural elements that have had a professional and personal influence on my life and work. Some are monuments that one may easily recognize, while others are so personal that I doubt almost anyone would identify it. Heaven/paradise/nirvana/whatever you wish to call it is a reflection of the individual's mind, and since the POV are my creation (as I drew them), they share my vision.
As their spiritual journey comes to an end, their love has held steadfast and true. In their faith in the world and in each other, they drift upward towards their new home in the sky, ascending to a higher plane of existence and a higher plane of love (at least until the song is played through again).
The End
If you made it through the entire video and/or read through my explanation of my work and thought process, I hope you enjoyed what you saw/read. I feel Supper's Ready is one of the greatest and most audacious pieces of modern music ever recorded, and any way that I can help share it with others is a mitzvah in my book. Thanks for watching!
