The Court of the Crimson King

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"The Court of the Crimson King"
Single by King Crimson
from the album In the Court of the Crimson King
A-side	"The Court of the Crimson King, Pt. 1"
B-side	"The Court of the Crimson King, Pt. 2"
Released	October 1969 (1969-10) (UK) January 1970 (1970-01) (US)
Recorded	21–23 July 1969
Genre	Progressive rock[1]
Length	9:25 (album version) 7:16 (edited version) 3:22 (single version, Part One) 4:25 (single version, Part Two)
Label	Island (UK WIP-6071) Atlantic (US 2703)
Composer(s)	Ian McDonald
Lyricist(s)	Peter Sinfield
Producer(s)	King Crimson
King Crimson singles chronology
"The Court of the Crimson King" (1969) "Cat Food" (1970)
In the Court of the Crimson King track listing
show 5 tracks Side one "21st Century Schizoid Man" "I Talk to the Wind" "Epitaph" Side two "Moonchild" "The Court of the Crimson King"

"The Court of the Crimson King" is the fifth and final track from the British progressive rock band King Crimson's debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King. Also released as a single, it reached #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.^[2]

Background[]

The track is dominated by a distinct riff, adapted from Samuel Barber's "Essay for Orchestra" (1938), performed on the Mellotron. The main part of the song is split up into four stanzas, divided by an instrumental section called "The Return of the Fire Witch." The song climaxes at seven minutes, but continues with a little reprise, called "The Dance of the Puppets," before ending on an abrupt and free time scale.^{[clarification needed]} The music was composed by Ian McDonald, and the lyrics were written by Peter Sinfield.

	"The Court of the Crimson King" (1969) Menu 0:00 37 second sample from King Crimson's "The Court of the Crimson King," demonstrating the sound of the first incarnation of the band, with its classically-influenced style and use of the Mellotron instrument.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Personnel[]

• Robert Fripp – guitars
• Greg Lake – bass guitar, lead vocals
• Ian McDonald – Mellotron, harpsichord, organ, flute, calliope, backing vocals
• Michael Giles – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Peter Sinfield – lyrics

Charts[]

References[]

External links[]

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics