"I've Seen All Good People" is a song by the English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

band

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

, written by frontman

Jon Anderson Jon Anderson (born John Roy Anderson, 25 October 1944) is a British, and latterly American, singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the former lead singer of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes, which he formed in 1968 with bassis ...

and bassist

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

and recorded on their third studio album, ''

The Yes Album ''The Yes Album'' is the third studio album by English progressive rock band Yes, released in the UK on 19 February 1971 and in the US on 19 March 1971 by Atlantic Records. It was the band's first album to feature guitarist Steve Howe, who ...

'' (1971). The almost 7-minute song is in two parts; the first, titled "Your Move", was released as a single in 1971 which peaked at number 40 in the US, which helped the group build momentum. The second part is entitled "All Good People". The tune uses

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

as a lyrical metaphor for navigating interpersonal relationships, and contains several allusions to the music of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

. It has received positive reviews from several critics and has been considered one of Yes's best-known songs, with

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Mike DeGagne stating that "the harmonies are resilient from start to finish" and that the track "still stands as one of their most appealing" works. Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

has also singled it out for praise.

Lyrics

The first part of the song, "Your Move", alludes to the game of

as a metaphor for male–female relationships. Examples include the phrases "move me onto any black square", "make the white

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

run so fast", and "the goal is for us all to capture only one". A reference to

's work is in the lyric "send an instant karma to me", with "

Instant Karma! "Instant Karma!" (also titled "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)") is a song by English musician John Lennon, released as a single on Apple Records in February 1970. The lyrics focus on a concept in which the consequences of one's actions are ...

" being a single released by Lennon in 1970. Another reference occurs just before the three-minute mark of the song, in the closing moments of "Your Move", where the chorus of Lennon's song "

Give Peace a Chance "Give Peace a Chance" is an anti-war song written by John Lennon (originally credited to Lennon–McCartney), and recorded with the participation of a small group of friends in a performance with Yoko Ono in a hotel room in Montreal, Quebec, C ...

" is sung by the backing vocalists under the main melody. More generally, Anderson has stated that the line "'cause it's time, it's time in time with your time" was an attempt to say that he would "do anything that is required of me to reach

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

" and that he wants the listener to feel "in tune and in time with God."

Composition and legacy

In the studio recording on ''

'', the song opens with Jon Anderson, Chris Squire and

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist in the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, London, Holloway, North London, Howe d ...

singing the sentence "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day / So satisfied, I'm on my way." twice ''

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

'', in three-part harmony. This is followed by a solo intro by Steve Howe on a

laúd Laúd () is a plectrum-plucked chordophone from Spain, played also in diaspora countries such as Cuba and the Philippines. The laúd belongs to the cittern family of instruments. The Spanish and Cuban instruments have six double courses i ...

, a Spanish lute. Howe also sometimes plays the solo on a standard acoustic guitar. As the laúd begins a repeated four-bar

phrase In grammar, a phrasecalled expression in some contextsis a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English language, English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adject ...

, it is joined by

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...

and

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

as Anderson resumes singing the lyrics, solo and in three-part harmony. Dual recorders enter on the third verse. Finally, a

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

joins them, playing the same chords as the laúd until the first part of the song ends on a loudly sustained and unresolved organ chord. The second part, "All Good People", consists of many repetitions of the sentence "I've seen all good people turn their heads each day so satisfied I'm on my way" sung to the same melody as before, but over a driving rock accompaniment, ending in a powerful vocal harmony and organ phrase which begins on a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

of E, D, C, G, then A. Each repetition of the verse is one whole step lower than the previous as the song fades out. Anderson has stated that he wanted to have the song develop quietly but then open up into a big grandiose,

church organ Carol Williams performing at the West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel. In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or mo ...

sound. ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' critic

called the song a "great cut", being one in which he thought Yes' "arty eclecticism comes together." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that "Your Move" is "very pretty." The song has been included on several compilation albums, such as 1981's '' Classic Yes'' and 2004's '' The Ultimate Yes'', since its initial release on ''The Yes Album'' in 1971. It has been performed during many of Yes'

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

s, and appears on many of Yes' live albums. As of 2021, the most recent live album to feature the song is '' The Royal Affair Tour: Live from Las Vegas'', which was recorded in July 2019 and released in October 2020.

Personnel

Yes *

lead vocals, percussion *

bass guitar, backing vocals, bass pedals *

(erroneously listed as "vachiala"), electric guitars, backing vocals * Tony Kaye

, piano *

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...

drums, percussion Additional musicians * Colin Goldring – recorder on "Your Move"

In media

The song is used in the opening scenes of the episode "The Tragedy of the Commons" of the fifth season of Fargo. The song appears on the soundtrack of the film ''

Almost Famous ''Almost Famous'' is a 2000 American comedy drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. It tells the story of a teenage journalist, played b ...

''. A remix of the song appears in the trailer for the 2024 film ''

Here Here may refer to: Music * ''Here'' (Adrian Belew album), 1994 * ''Here'' (Alicia Keys album), 2016 * ''Here'' (Cal Tjader album), 1979 * ''Here'' (Edward Sharpe album), 2012 * ''Here'' (Idina Menzel album), 2004 * ''Here'' (Merzbow album), ...

''. The song is also featured in the films '' Mr. Deeds'' and '' The Family Fang''.

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1971 songs Yes (band) songs Songs written by Chris Squire Songs written by Jon Anderson Song recordings produced by Eddy Offord Atlantic Records singles