Frontman Peter Gabriel wrote the lyrics, which mainly describe a personal journey of scenes from the Book of Revelation and good versus evil, with several real life experiences providing further inspiration.

After the opening acoustic sections were arranged, it was considered a companion piece to "The Musical Box" until Gabriel pitched the tune "Willow Farm", which took the song into a different direction.

"Supper's Ready" became a centrepiece of Genesis live shows from 1972 to 1974, and a showcase for Gabriel's on-stage storytelling and costumes to act out the various parts.

[6][7] In the summer of 1972, the Genesis line-up of Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins, and Steve Hackett began to write new material for their fourth studio album, Foxtrot.

They retreated to a rehearsal space beneath the Una Billings School of Dance in Shepherds Bush, London, where the bulk of the song's instrumentation was worked out.

[9] Early on the band considered "Supper's Ready" to be a follow-up piece to "Stagnation" from Trespass (1970) and "The Musical Box" on Nursery Cryme, as those songs developed in the same way.

[10][11] To avoid repetition, the group incorporated a tune that Gabriel had written on the piano called "Willow Farm", which took the song into a different direction as it contained what Banks described as an "ugly, descending-chords sequence" and jarring sound.

Banks plays a keyboard solo throughout which he wanted to be purely instrumental, but Gabriel started singing on it which he disagreed with until he realised how strong it sounded upon playback.

The second incident also happened late at night, whereby Gabriel looked out of the window of Jill's parents' house to see what he perceived to be an entirely different lawn, across which seven shrouded men were walking.

[13][11][14] Hackett gave further details, claiming there had been "some drug taking" and that Jill experienced a bad trip, to which Gabriel managed "to talk her around and get her out of the horrors" ... "So that's a part of what the song was about, but in a way there's a kind of redemption implication that goes with that.

"[11] These experiences led Gabriel to contemplate notions of good against evil and the supernatural, and eventually inspired the lyrics to not only "Lover's Leap", the opening section, but the entire song.

He gave a more detailed summary in Tony Palmer's book All You Need Is Love–"The ultimate cosmic battle for Armageddon between good and evil in which man is destroyed, but the deaths of countless thousands atone for mankind, reborn no longer as Homo sapiens".

[15] Gabriel also cited the Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress as a source of inspiration, as with the story to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974), his final album with the group.

[17] After an Italian tour in August 1972, Hackett flew back to England several days before the rest of the band to record his guitar parts to the end of "Supper's Ready".

'"[19] Genesis associate and road manager Richard Macphail recalled when he first heard the song: "No matter what we were doing, we'd have to listen to 'Supper's Ready' all the way through; it became a daily ritual.

[18] Gabriel originally sang the piece an octave higher which strained his voice, to which Hackett suggested he sing one lower, and they used both vocals in the mix.

[18] "The Guaranteed Eternal Sanctuary Man" was also a piece from Banks, which Hackett described as "deliberately naïve" and features him playing "economical" guitar parts.

[20] "Ikhnaton and Itsacon and Their Band of Merry Men" is a more dynamic and lively piece, the title of which references the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten.

[27] "Supper's Ready" was performed live in its entirety for the first time at Brunel University in Uxbridge, on 10 November 1972, several months into the Foxtrot Tour.

[30][31] The tour lasted until mid-1973, by which time it became a centrepiece of the live show and a showcase for Gabriel's on-stage storytelling and costumes to act out the various parts.

"[35] For "Apocalypse in 9/8", Gabriel wore a Magog outfit consisting of a black cloak with a triangular box headgear with lights for a pair of eyes.