The Court of the Crimson King

The song, sometimes billed In the Court of the Crimson King, has music by McDonald and lyrics by Sinfield. It was developed over three days. It is built on a repeated four-bar riff on the Mellotron and divided into four stanzas by an instrumental section, The Return of the Fire Witch. It climaxes at seven minutes, pauses, and goes on with a short interlude, The Dance of the Puppets, before ending with a reprise of the main theme. It was written by McDonald and Sinfield for their earlier group The Creation, and began as a country and western song. It has been said to invoke a medieval atmosphere, with folky arabesques, bombastic drum rolls and baroque flute.

Released as a single, it reached number 80 on the Billboard Hot 100, the only King Crimson single to chart there. Cashbox praised its "unusual lyric imagery and instrumental impact", and Billboard called it a "driving blues ballad" with a "top vocal workout". The 2019 anniversary box includes an instrumental take, which Pitchfork found intriguing as an in-progress footnote but hard to hear without the wordless vocal theme and the Mellotron.