The song fades in with the sounds of running water, wind chimes, and birds chirping; a layering of sounds derived primarily from "environmental tapes" collected by lead vocalist Jon Anderson.

The bass ascends through a line based on the notes of the second mode of the D harmonic minor scale (also called Locrian natural 6), adding an exotic flavor to the already cacophonic texture.

Like a classical composition, this melodic passage is the establishment of a theme that will go through many variations throughout the piece.

At about 12 minutes into the song, Rick Wakeman, recorded on the pipe organ of London's St Giles-without-Cripplegate church, begins the main theme of this segment, which changes from a major to a minor key as the music progresses.

The song came about because Steve was playing these chords one day, and I started singing, 'Two million people barely satisfy.'

And he went [sings], 'In her white lace, you could clearly see the lady sadly looking / saying that she'd take the blame for the crucifixion of her own domain ...'

[4] Howe says that Anderson, to his regret, found he was unable when performing it live to consistently sing the closing verse and chorus at the note he had hit in the studio, so the band often performed that part in E flat instead of F. "This, to my ear, is rather unsatisfactory", he complained.

In a 1996 interview, Anderson mentions that the song—indeed, the whole album—is inspired by the Hindu/Buddhist mysticism of Hermann Hesse's 1922 book Siddhartha.

Anderson was concerned about how the words sounded, sometimes more than what they meant, creating, thus, lyrics that often don't seem to mean anything, such as "The time between the notes relates the colour to the scenes".

Japanese acid rock conglomerate Ruinzhatova included the song on their 2003 album Close to the RH.

A radically altered interpretation by British band Nick Awde & Desert Hearts appears on their 2010 EP Close to the Edge B/W Rocket Man/Meryl Streep, which features no drums or guitar, and substitutes the Hammond solo opening the "Seasons of Man" section with baritone saxophone by Wizzard horn player Nick Pentelow.