In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Love I get so lost, sometimes
Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
When I want to run away
I drive off in my car
But whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are
All my instincts, they return
And the grand facade, so soon will burn
Without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
The heat I see in your eyes
Love, I don't like to see so much pain
So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive
And all my instincts, they return
And the grand facade, so soon will burn
Without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
The heat I see in your eyes
In your eyes, in your eyes
In your eyes, in your eyes
In your eyes, in your eyes
Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
When I want to run away
I drive off in my car
But whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are
All my instincts, they return
And the grand facade, so soon will burn
Without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
The heat I see in your eyes
Love, I don't like to see so much pain
So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive
And all my instincts, they return
And the grand facade, so soon will burn
Without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
In your eyes
The light the heat
In your eyes
I am complete
In your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
In your eyes
The resolution of all the fruitless searches
In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light,
The heat I see in your eyes
In your eyes, in your eyes
In your eyes, in your eyes
In your eyes, in your eyes
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This song is about someone whom is confessing thier love for someone else. They want to run and hide, but no matter what, fate keeps pulling them back to where they are now. A very beautiful love song indeed. The set of lyrics that go "And all my instincts, they return..." and so on, he's realizing that his facade of denial is fading and that there's no turning back, which means that he has to say what he feels...and by looking in the person's eyes, they feel as if, they're whole again. This is definitely a nice song to identify with.
I can see how people will get the song confused with god and the love for a woman. But in fact you are all correct. Peter Gabriel loves to reference god and he is a strong advocate in Humanitarianism. In most of his concert, he has a african singing the course "Your Eyes". He is speaking about pure love for humans. I thinking he wanted to wield two to give a double meaning since they both represent the samething. When you look in to someones eyes, you can sometimes see yourself. He looks into that persons eyes and sees a resolution to the worlds problem. The lack of love for someone just being a human. Not even a thousand churches to open this door. He relates it to churches because Jesus Christ is the Messiah of Humanism and since his death, the establishment has exploited his teachings to impossible matters. I almost cried when I heard this song in concert. Cause it was the setting his was at, the advocation he was making that it was clear he wishes for world peace.
@TasChiBandGirl
every time now i hear this song, i cry...my mother recently died and this song has a new meaning to me. My mother actually liked Sledgehammer & this brought me back to my Peter Gabriel CD.