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The Knife is a song by progressive rock band Genesis from their second album Trespass from 1970. In some ways it is the first "classic" Genesis song as it was performed live often in the band's early days (a live version appears on the Genesis Live album from 1973) and has appeared sporadically in the band's setlists all the way up through 1982 (after 1975, however, they performed an edited four-minute version of the song). It was released as a two-part single in May of 1971, but it did not chart.
The song was unusually aggressive for Genesis at the time, as most of their work consisted of soft, pastoral acoustic textures and poetic lyrics. It features a bouncy, march-like organ riff, heavily distorted guitars and bass, and chaotic drumming. (Peter Gabriel said he wanted to write something that had the excitement of "Rondo" by The Nice.) The song's lyrics concern Gabriel's reflections on violent revolutions, showing how those who use violence in the name of freedom are often only interested in establishing their own dictatorship.
"The Knife" was the most popular stage song from Trespass, usually being performed as an encore. During one performance in 1970, Peter Gabriel became so carried away at the end of the song that he jumped off the stage into the audience and landed on his foot, breaking his ankle as a result.
The cover artwork for the single features (from left to right) Gabriel, Rutherford, Banks, Phil Collins and Steve Hackett; the latter two did not perform on the track but joined the group shortly after the album was recorded, replacing John Mayhew and Anthony Phillips.
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