Sledgehammer

The song is about sex. Don't overthink it. All three verses are clearly referring to sexual acts or sexual parts, and others have explained it perfectly above. Even the video begins with swimming sperm, and the last fruit he eats is a cherry.

The one line the "drug" proponents point to as the start of their explanation is "I've kicked the habit." A habit is also a religious garb, typically worn by nuns, monks, and other religious orders. Kicking the habit is followed by shedding his skin. The combination of those two suggests throwing away his inhibitions and/or peeling off his clothes. It is a great play on words. Enjoy!

Oh c'mon everybody--it's sex! Not to take away from anybody's higher-minded interpretations, but the terms used are almost blatant. Peter is awesome for being able to write so blatantly about sex and still have people wondering "Is that what he meant?"

First, listen to the overall tone of the song--it's upbeat, playful--almost silly. If PG wanted a brooding song, then by gosh he would have brooding music.

Second--What's all this, if not sexual innuendo? "You could have a steam train, If you'd just lay down your tracks." Well darling, if you lay down your "tracks" (legs?), you'll get the "steam train." (ahem). I just peripherally mention the notion of a train entering a tunnel....

"You could have an aeroplane flying, If you bring your blue sky back." I think this is maybe a "don't be a grouch" admonition (blue skies vs. being under a cloud). Maybe if she cheers up, he'll give her an airplane. :D

"You could have a big dipper, Going up and down, all around the bends." Think of the bends, and ups and downs as the curves on a female body. The Big Dipper...well, you get it.

"You could have a bumper car, bumping. This amusement never ends." Bumping. Bumping! Do I have to list the relevant euphemisms for sex that use the word "bump"?

"Show me round your fruit cakes, 'Cause I will be your honey bee. Open up your fruit cakes, Where the fruit is as sweet as can be." Imagery of a flower "opening" for a bee (pollination/fertilization), or a butterfly searching for nectar.

Third, the wind-up and the pitch...

"I kicked the habit" I agree with other commentators here that this is probably a nun's habit, symbolic of chastity (or being a "monk"). It could also mean getting out of a rut for the "new stuff" of adventure.

"Shed my skin" Literally, getting buck naked, but also shedding skin like a snake, which sheds skin when it is growing. You can even take that a couple of ways--emotionally and...you know...a snake. (Am I just dirty minded, or is Pete really hitting this sex theme hard--like a sledgehammer?)

"This is the new stuff I go dancing in." The song breaks this sentence up and makes it sound like two different thoughts, but it isn't. The new stuff he goes dancing in (he just shed his skin) is Ye Olde Birthday Suit. He's nekked, and he's looking for trouble!

"Oh won't you show for me? I will show for you." He's prancing around naked now, asking for a little reciprocation here. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

Even way back when I was a stupid teenager I thought this song might be about sex, but I thought everything was about sex then. It seems that I might have been right. But as much crap that gets put into song about sex, this song doesn't have a "dirty" feel to it--it's almost a one-on-one party. Very clever and oddly wholesome musical expression of sexual intimacy.

A lot of people (critics, et al) have pointed this out: "So" (the album this song comes from) was the first of Gabriel's albums to show his face unobscured. It was as if, for the first time, he was discovering that he was a fairly good-looking man--he had been ashamed of his face before and hiding it from the world. It seems as if one day, he woke up and said, "Hey, you know, I'm not that bad-looking a chap."

This song, filled with double entendres as it is, really brings that emerging "sexiness" (for lack of a better term). "Hey," Gabriel seems to be saying, as if discovering it for the first time, "I'm sexy! I'm the SledgeHammer!"

Gabriel's music has always been about the marriage of lyric, music, and image to present the most complete message. The music absolutely must fit the lyric and the image (including the album cover, video, and live performance) most bring the whole thing together into a full performance piece that must be enjoyed/experienced as a whole. This song is no exception: the absolutely funky music in the background (Thank you, sweet Jesus, for Nile Rodgers!) seems to bring Gabriel's emerging sexiness to the fore even more.

The song even seems to have the rhythm of sex embedded in it--try having sex with SledgeHammer playing, and you'll see what I mean. If you're not having hot animal sex within a few seconds, you're a better person than I am. ;)

Personally? I'm just waiting for the day I finally look into the mirror and say, "Y'know? I'm not that bad-looking a chap." :)

I'd be willing to bet money there's quite a few "born in the autumn of '86" babies who were conceived to this song.

i always thought that this song was about sex since the first time i heard it, all the innuendo are known or recognised by me even though english is a foreign language to me. i also read in those days that it was about liberation and peter's new creative direction and new found spirituality, i think that even if this song is not about sex, it must surely and purposely have been made to sound like sex, its too obvious for it not to be

This song is about sex. And sex is fun.

First off: Sledgehamemr = penis (obviously)

he's saying he'll use his sledgehammer (penis) to nail down her tracks (he wants to NAIL her)....that's a hilarious allusion by the way.

also...more sexual double-entendre in the song:

You could have a steam train If you'd just lay down your tracks (uh yeah)

You could have a big dipper Going up and down, all around the bends You could have a bumper car, bumping This amusement never ends (hahaha - this is great stuff)

Show me round your fruitcage 'Cause I will be your honey bee Open up your fruitcage Where the fruit is as sweet as can be (blatantly ridiculous)

You've been coming through Going to build that powerr Build, build up that power, hey I've been feeding the rhythm I've been feeding the rhythm Going to feel that power, build in you Come on, come on, help me do Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you I've been feeding the rhythm I've been feeding the rhythm It's what we're doing, doing All day and night (ok i think i've made my point)

About sex. That's it. The music video illustrates this quite clearly, as well.

What?! 20 comments?! Something's wrong here...

This is really the perfect pop song. Upbeat, happy, and a little naughty. Though I never really looked at the sexual innuendos before everyone else brought it up, lol. I really love the first part:

"You could have a steam train If you'd just lay down your tracks You could have an aeroplane flying If you bring your blue sky back

All you do is call me I'll be anything you need"

Just sounds like a really sweet way of saying he'll be there for her whenever she needs him. See guys? THAT'S how you reel chicks in! ;D

this song is so great. the video rules.

Brilliant song. The video is also cool, especially for that time.

Wow, It never occurred to me that this song would be about sex, but now that I think about it, it really does make sense.

Before I read everyone's comments about the blatant sexual innuendo that I somehow missed, I thought that this song meant that he would become the driving force to totally change some girl's life. Like a sledgehammer, he would break up and shake up her personality and view on life.

I thought my meaning was awfully profound but hey, if it's just about sex, then I guess that's cool too.