Una voz en off presenta un combate de boxeo, de fondo empieza a surgir la suave y cálida melodía de los teclados, se suceden las voces en off hasta que saltan la guitarra y el bajo otorgando a Afraid of Sunlight un inicio luminoso, diferente de la melancolía y oscuridad de Brave, el anterior disco de Marillion.
Gazpacho es una de mis canciones favoritas de Marillion, a la calidez de la música se contrapone la dureza de la letra y la historia que cuenta, basada en la vida Jake La Motta (llevada al cine por Scorsese en Toro salvaje). Dolor, malos tratos, auge y caída de un hombre, miedo, el poder de la fama. Es una de las grandes letras de Steve Hogarth.
El final de la canción me enmudece, un epílogo donde se desatan las guitarras de Rothery acompañadas por los demás músicos en una jam sobrecogedora, la mejor forma de deshacer la canción e iniciar el viaje que es Afraid of Sunlight.
Now the ring is just a band of gold…
Gazpacho (Marillion)
Saw you walking on your velvet lawn
Is it lonely on the moon?
You took a dive and swallowed all you could
Did you drink too much too soon?
Nothing left for you to fight about
And no one wants to see you try
The nearest neighbours are a mile away
Does the ocean hear you cry?
Punching at the sky
They say the King is losin' his grip again
They said you're bullet proof, they said you feel no pain
It seems the hero is misunderstood again
Is it love or is it surgery
Makes her seem so ill at ease
As she's begging you to please calm down
In her silk Armani on her knees
Did you carry out those threats I heard
Or were you only playing macho?
And the stains on her Versace scarf
Were they really just Gazpacho?
They say the King is watching his back again
They say the King is losing his grip again
Raging like a bull to an empty ring
D'you think they will forgive a hero anything?
Now the ring is just a band of gold
And your wife needs police protection
While you're sparring with the journalists
You're trying to win back her affection
Is this what it means to be a man
Boxing up all your emotion
So now she's gone and you're alone at last
You can tell it to the ocean
They say the King is losing his grip again
They say the King is countin' his numbered days
You never lost a fight in your whole life
You never had no trouble sleepin' through the night
The bottle and the doctor get you through the day
The boys who run the house'll make it all okay
You think they will forgive a hero anything
Maybe Hollywood
But maybe then again
Now the ring is just a band of gold
Drive the road
Traducción y unas interesantes notas sobre la canción en, cómo no, The Web Spain

Tags: Gazpacho, afraid of sunlight, Marillion