| Peter Gabriel – Shaking The Tree Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Thinger, that's just hilarious. "Stop supporting the rights of women or I won't buy your albums!" I don't think Pete would mind if one misogynist stopped listening to his music. In fact, he'd probably be pleased. (Though no doubt he'd prefer that you change your mind and see that men and women are both worthy of self-expression and freedom.) |
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| Peter Gabriel – Wallflower Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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A gorgeous song about persecution and hope. I agree with Otter's take on it - it's about someone ;locked up for their beliefs, treated by "doctors" because their political or social or artistic beliefs prove that they are "sick" and need to be "healed". The prisoner holds on, though, knowing the truth and refusing to be broken down and brainwashed. Natalie Portman's imprisonment in the film V for Vendetta is a good illustration of the principles of this song, and shows the "freedom" that can be achieved by refusing to be broken, despite being imprisoned. |
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| Peter Gabriel – The Rhythm Of The Heat Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Yeah, he was originally going to call it "Carl Jung in Africa" but decided that title was far too pretentious and went with the title we have. Jung did a lot of work on the "shadow self", the subsumed opposite we all have within us, similar to Freud's id. In literal terms this is about a researcher (probably Jung himself) engaging in some kind of tribal ritual around a bonfire - beating drums, evaporating his own saliva off his palms, denying modern technology and allowing himself to regress into a primitive state. He is terrified and fascinated by this wild, primititve man he discovers within himself. In the same way, we are all repulsed by the primal urges we all have, but are still tempted by them - tempted to give in to rage, to lust, to gluttony, etc. That's my take anyway. |
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| Peter Gabriel – The Family and the Fishing Net Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Yeah, this one is a cynical take on the rituals and superstitions of weddings. You can tell he doesn't like them much! The "fishing net" of the title refers, I think, to a family snaring their daughter a husband, and a woman snaring a husband with the promise of sex. It's pretty clear that the husband is just going through it because he wants permission to fuck this woman It's actually a very negative song, but I can't help loving it. :) |
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| Peter Gabriel – The Drop Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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PG said in one of his online video diaries that The Drop is about the last great mystery: death. The symbol he uses is waiting to parachute out of a plane, knowing it will be his turn soon, and watching the people who have gone ahead of him vanishing through a layer of cloud. He wonders where they've gone - Are they safe? Are they still falling? Have they landed somewhere? Or are they just gone? This is an allegory for our own deaths and the deaths of those we know. We see those who die before us - they have vanished from sight, and maybe we have faith in an afterlife, maybe there is a safe landing place after the fall, an afterlife of some kind. We know that one day we will die too, and wonder what it will be like to pass through that final veil. Will we see our friends again, or will be just fall into nothing? |
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| Peter Gabriel – Shaking The Tree Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| This is an unusually literal song from PG, all about women's empowerment, and talking about women claiming their rights in a positive way, talking to the men in their lives and trying to grow together, rather than fighting them. This and Today I Am A Daisy by Deborah Conway are, I think, the two most positive songs about modern feminism. | |
| Peter Gabriel – San Jacinto Lyrics | 16 years ago |
| Yeah, I have always heard it as a mix of observations from a young native man, and an old one. They try to hold on to their old ways - "hold the line" - but they are flooded more and more by white culture and it gets harder every day to remain true to the old ways. The literal story is a young man going through a coming of age ritual of some kind - climbing a mountain, going through an ordeal, possibly being bitten by a rattlesnake or drinking its venom. | |
| Peter Gabriel – Moribund The Burgermeister Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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The literal meaning is the story of a medieval town leader (burger meister = town master) trying to deal with an outbreak of madness in the townsfolk, and his determination and self-doubt. Underneath that, though, I think, is an allegory about the natural human panic at being thrown out of our depth, having our idea of how the world works challenged on a profound level, and being frightened of change. I think both the literal and allegorical stories are sly references to parents being freaked out by how their children dance (and, by extension, their music, their speech, their morals, and so on). |
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| Peter Gabriel – Lovetown Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Like an awful lot of PG songs, I think this is about difficult and faltering relationships, in this case a couple who just stayed together too long and made each other miserable, when they should have split up long before and been happier. The key line, I think, is "Do those teeth still match the wound?" I wondered for years what that line meant, and eventually decided it refers to sinking your teeth into someone, refusing to let them leave, bloody-mindedly maintaining a relationship which is making one or both partners unhappy. The bite wound is still there, it hasn't healed, because you just won't let go. |
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| Peter Gabriel – Kiss That Frog Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I don't think this song has a clear literal meaning so much as a set of ideas. Central among these, I think, is the fact that you'll probably have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince, but people can surprise you and love can be found in the places you least expect it. Also, I think it deals with the fact that sex can be confusing and scary, and not just the first time. Giving yourself up physically to someone takes a leap of faith and a lot of trust. Yeah, this song is packed with interesting ideas and imagery. |
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| Peter Gabriel – Here Comes The Flood Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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I have read an interview with PG in which he states that Here Comes the Flood is the story of what happens when the entirety of the world's population becomes telepathic, and we can no longer lie to each other or keep secrets. Here is a snippet of that interview: When I wrote this song [Here Comes The Flood] I had an obsession with short-wave radio and I was always amazed at the way in which the radio signals would become stronger as daylight faded. I felt as if psychic energy levels would also increase in the night. I had had an apocalyptic dream in which the psychic barriers which normally prevent us from seeing into each others' thoughts had been completely eroded producing a mental flood. Those that had been used to having their innermost thoughts exposed would handle this torrent and those inclined to concealment would drown in it. ('Peter Gabriel' by Armando Gallo, Omnibus Press, 1986.) So many of the lyrics made sense after reading that! |
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| Peter Gabriel – Games Without Frontiers Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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Okay, these have popped up through the thread, but here's a recap: - The lyrics contain "Jeux Sans Frontiers", "Games Without Frontiers", and "It's a Knockout" - "Jeux Sans Frontiers" is French for "Games Without Frontiers" - "Jeux Sans Frontiers" was also the name of a ridiculous TV game show in which teams of regular everyday people would have to complete physical tasks with novelty props and the danger of falling in tanks of water, etc. - The British version of that show was called "It's a Knockout". PG draws a clear parallel between three lines of thought - a ridiculous, pointless game show in which people perform physical challenges to score points and beat each other - Childhood games, including how kids will pick on exclude each other, making rules to say who can come in their fort, and so on - The international arena of politics and warfare Essentially, the main message is that politics and war are stupid, childish pastimes, and our world leaders should just grow up. It is peppered with references to past public figures, such as Hitler. My research suggests Enrico is Enrico Fermi, a key player in The Manhattan Project...? |
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| Peter Gabriel – Digging In The Dirt Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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To me this song has always been, as many have said, about digging through the dirt of time the uncover the sources of your pain and anger. The music video adds a lot to the meaning, as well, with images of PG as a child, being tormented by two adults I presume are his mother and her boyfriend. In my opinion, this song portrays the furious mix of rage, grief, sorrow, and hope felt by a man with a tormented past, who is desperately trying to heal his old wounds, and trying not to drive away someone he loves in the process. I have always felt that the "angry" stanza (Don't talk back, etc.) is actually spoken out loud, though whether he's talking to himself or his lover, or both) is unknown. He has a furious outburst, then softens, apologetic, saying "Please, I'm trying to work through this, stay with me a bit longer." There is actually a little-known third verse (comes between the first and second verses) heard in an extended mix (it's a B-side, don't recall which single): Something in me, dark and sticky Growing bigger every day. It's taking over. It's taking over. I cannot make it go away. Nothing really new, but it builds on the stuff that's already there. Oh, as for the "I feel it in my sex" line, I think that just refers to rage being thought of as a masculine emotion, and how historically violence and male sexuality have gone hand in hand. It gives the whole thing a psychosexual slant, which leads back to Freud and psychoanalysis. |
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