The "Tags"

It's almost impossible to "tag" the multi-layered PH's songs/lyrics.
However the tags/keywords are an attempt to "cross-reference" the subjects touched by PH in his songs.
Very often it may not seem the appropriate 'link', e.g. when "connected" by "Time" or "Love" which have multiple meanings and forms ...
The 'tags' are all subjective and DO NOT MIRROR Peter Hammill's opinions and/or interventions.

As PH said:
"I find myself astonished to see all these songs and subjects grouped together"
( PH on the Introduction of book "Mirrors, Dreams and Miracles")

"I don't know... the song is the song. It says too little, it shows too much. Enough." PH

"A song - at least in my view - should not be didactic... there should be ''holes'' in it, into which the listener can insert his own comprehension and experience." PH

"Thus, for me, there is no one true ''meaning'' for any song, but as many as there are listeners; to put it another way, a song properly written should speak truths which can be in diametrically opposed ways by different people. These truths should also be such that they cannot be easily stated in more direct forms; a lyric must need to be written, or there can be no song. " PH

"The lyric is, after all, to be hummed rather more than analyzed" PH

//
What is this site? At one level, it's like a maze, there are many different paths you can take. However, it's not a maze because there is no 'right path' and there is no center or even an exit. If you are old enough to remember the text based adventure games on computer, it's a bit like one of those. Again, though, there is no goal (or little bird or cage or dragon). It's an encyclopedia with live cross references. It's a book that's changing all the time and being written by everyone. It's a small universe in its own right, a mini-web.

Where do I start? Well, let's try searching for a word. Type the word 'drive' into the box on top right of the screen and hit the search button. Well, that's quite simple, we get a list of all the entries that include the word. But, the entries contain the word 'drive' in various contexts. What, if we wanted to find songs about driving? Well, click on the link for 'Auto' in the result list. We know that's about driving, right? Now, have a look at the song. Underneath the title are tags which refer to the subjects covered in the song. If you click on the word 'Driving', you get a list of all the other songs which have this as a subject. Some of the songs have all sorts of tags. Look at the entry for 'Driven'. Now, you can click on travelling and this brings us to another set of songs where travel is a theme or a reference to it. So, congratulations, your journey has begun.

Where can I learn more? A common question from people who don't have English as their first language is whether certain phrases are idioms and what meaning do they have? As you read the lyrics, look for highlighted words. These are links to other sources of information. Either, brief explanations of phrases or references to Wikipedia for specific subjects.

Can I find out what a song means?Tricky, this is not a place which offers any definitive interpretations of the songs. Simply because there are none. The interpretation depends on you.