Lyrics to
Chicago Institute

This version of Chicago Institute was released by Manfred Mann's Earth Band in 1978.

Our About Manfred Mann's Earth Band page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Chicago Institute from 1978 as well as all of the other lyrics from Manfred Mann's Earth Band that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Manfred Mann's Earth Band or about the 1970s in general.

Way back there an explosion of hope
Hit out hard in a furnace of steel
I thought life was a fire
I thought life was a high time
(I thought life was a fire)
I thought life was a symbol
(I thought life was for livin)
I thought life was for livin
(I thought life was a symbol)
I thought life was a fire

There’s an institute in Chicago
With a room full of machines
And they live this side of the sunrise
And burn away your dreams
Once you fly to Chicago – in Chicago you will die
When that institute in Chicago has recorded you and I

There’s an empty house in California
But they’ll always let you in
And they’ll make you feel oh so easy
Like you never learned to sin
Oh yeah that’s how they made it how they made it seem so clear
Yes that empty house in California is our brave new world’s machine

At the institute in Chicago from the first day you were born
Oh they just can tell what your feelin
And they can’t see how you’re torn
When your name’s just a number – just a number you will die
Cos that institute in Chicago never knew you were alive

Way back there a reflection of me
Turned my head in a circle of time
I thought life was for living (living)
I thought life was a high time (high time)
I thought life was a fire (fire)
I thought life was a symbol (symbol)

---

Want more lyrics and songs by Manfred Mann's Earth Band?

Manfred Mann's Earth Band has released many songs over the years besides Chicago Institute. Manfred Mann's Earth Band released songs from 1972 to 2004 spanning across albums like Glorified Magnified, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Messin', Solar Fire, The Good Earth, Nightingales & Bombers, The Roaring Silence, Watch, Angel Station, Chance, Somewhere In Afrika, Criminal Tango, Masque, Soft Vengeance, and 2006. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1978 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Chicago Institute by Manfred Mann's Earth Band

The lyrics to Chicago Institute are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Manfred Mann's Earth Band used when the song was created in 1978. The lyrics to Chicago Institute have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Manfred Mann's Earth Band and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Chicago Institute by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Chicago Institute" means the words set to the music of Chicago Institute, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Chicago Institute and the lyrics to Chicago Institute are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Manfred Mann's Earth Band who came here looking just for the lyrics to Chicago Institute, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Visit our Manfred Mann's Earth Band profile for more Manfred Mann's Earth Band songs, lyrics & info!

)