Released: June 30, 1978
Songwriter: Tony Banks
Producer: David Hentschel Genesis
When they went to bed that night no-one would have believed
That in the morning light would not be there
The dark hung heavy on the air like the grip of a jealous man
No place was there known to have been spared
Then panic took control of minds as fear hit everyone
The day the light went out of the daytime sky
Artificial light could hardly penetrate the gloom
Nothing out of reach could be observed
Looting, pillage, murder, rape became the rule of that day
Who hit him no one knew or whom he hit
Cars were caught in pileups and the planes could never land
The day the light went out of the daytime sky
"Now I can rest here after my journey
Now I can feed here before I continue"
Some there were who's heads were clear who sought, tried to find
The nature of this deadly foe, the dark
It seemed the sun was still somewhere though hidden from their sight
By something, though amorphous, yet alive
And so they looked for ways to rid themselves of the parasite
The day the light went out of the daytime sky
"Now I can rest here after my journey
Now I can feed here before I continue"
They tried in many fruitless ways to see the noonday sun
By blasting with their missiles through the dark
But soon a kind of sleepy state came over everyone
Till nothing seemed to stir or even breathe
And when the darkness chose to disappear not many had survived
Then came a shadow - another had arrived
And again the light went out the daytime sky
That in the morning light would not be there
The dark hung heavy on the air like the grip of a jealous man
No place was there known to have been spared
Then panic took control of minds as fear hit everyone
The day the light went out of the daytime sky
Artificial light could hardly penetrate the gloom
Nothing out of reach could be observed
Looting, pillage, murder, rape became the rule of that day
Who hit him no one knew or whom he hit
Cars were caught in pileups and the planes could never land
The day the light went out of the daytime sky
"Now I can rest here after my journey
Now I can feed here before I continue"
Some there were who's heads were clear who sought, tried to find
The nature of this deadly foe, the dark
It seemed the sun was still somewhere though hidden from their sight
By something, though amorphous, yet alive
And so they looked for ways to rid themselves of the parasite
The day the light went out of the daytime sky
"Now I can rest here after my journey
Now I can feed here before I continue"
They tried in many fruitless ways to see the noonday sun
By blasting with their missiles through the dark
But soon a kind of sleepy state came over everyone
Till nothing seemed to stir or even breathe
And when the darkness chose to disappear not many had survived
Then came a shadow - another had arrived
And again the light went out the daytime sky
more tracks from the album
Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992
- Entangled
- I’d Rather Be You
- Paperlate
- It’s Gonna Get Better
- You Might Recall
- Illegal Alien
- Hearts on Fire
- Feeding the Fire
- Duke’s Travels
- Vancouver
- Dreaming While You Sleep
- It’s Yourself
- Evidence of Autumn
- The Brazilian
- Naminanu
- Submarine
- The Day the Light Went Out
- On the Shoreline
- Ripples
- I Can’t Dance
- Land of Confusion
- Invisible Touch
- Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
- Your Own Special Way
- Pigeons
- Inside and Out
- Burning Rope
- Deep in the Motherlode
- The Lady Lies
- No Reply at All
- Man on the Corner
- Open Door
- Do the Neurotic
- Mama (Work in Progress)
From the albums
- Genesis Archive 2: 1976–1992 (2000)
- Extra Tracks (1976-1982) (2007)
Genesis popular songs
- That’s All
- Land of Confusion
- Supper’s Ready
- Dancing with the Moonlit Knight
- I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)
- Mama
- Invisible Touch
- I Can’t Dance
- The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
- Carpet Crawlers
- Jesus He Knows Me
- Firth of Fifth
- In Too Deep
- Follow You Follow Me
- The Cinema Show
- In the Cage
- The Battle of Epping Forest
- Fly on a Windshield
- The Musical Box
- Ripples
- Watcher of the Skies
- No Son of Mine
- A Trick of the Tail
- Back in N.Y.C.