h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Dunno how others feel about Genesis, but I think "Trick of the Tail" was the band's high point. Clever songs that told stories. Strange that Gabriel had left by that point, because his subsequent stuff is more in that vein than the band's. Phil Collins and Mike Rutherford also did solo stuff that was more like that than Genesis' later releases.

I liked Trick of the Tail best too.....but have always wondered just what a Squonk is? Any ideas?

"Not flesh, nor fish nor bone... a red rag hangs from open mouth...alive at both ends but a little dead in the middle"

What was all that about?

Surely you've read the sleeve???

'The Squonk is of a very retiring disposition and due to its ugliness, weeps constantly. It is easy prey for hunters who simply follow a tear stained trail. When cornrered it will dissolve itself into tears.
True or False?'

So there you go... you can then form a hypothesis on Squonk. A hideous beast which seems alive on the outside, but inside it feels dead, possibly due to it's ugliness. It also has a red rag in it's mouth. The ugliness causes it to cry, whose tears can be seen by hunters at night. The hunter comes along, pretends to be the squonks friend and then captures it, causing it to dissolve itself into a pool of tears... A brief and shallow explanation, but I think that about sums it up...

'All in all you are a very dying race,
placing trust upon a cruel world,
you never had things you thought you should have had,
and you'll not get them now,
and all the while in perfect time, your tears are falling on the ground...'

Thank you MrGrunt.

I had forgotten about the sleeve notes. It is actually some years since I last saw a copy of the album (my brother took it with him when he left home).
Still, I was wondering if the squonk was purely an invention of Genesis or if it could perhaps be some sort of a reference to some other legend or story which already existed before the band came up with the song.
I don't worry too deeply about such things but it would be nice to know. The "red rag" bit somehow sounds like it could be a quote from somewhere. It always sounded vaguely familiar.

It is a fine song anyway.

ommigosh

They're probably all gone by now anyway. The same way as the Dodo, and they were pretty ugly too but more tasty hence their extinction!