Finally I have found a copy of this song online - "Let Me Count The Ways" by Steve Hackett from his 1980s album, Till We have faces.
I fell in love with this piece way back in the 1980s - basically when the album was released. I had it on cassette tape. Being a slow learner, I took ages to realise that one of the things that made it unusual was that it is in 3/4 time. Duh. Steve Hackett's ability to make his guitar sing in an organic fashion is shown off in spades on this track. His tone is rich and fat and warm. And his phrasing is like singing.
You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake son.