Big Time Lyrics
This is a great song. I think there is no mystery as to its meaning. It's clearly a hugely negative commentary on commercialism and materialism which we are taught to worship at the expense of substance, value, and humanity. My favorite lines?
1) my heaven will be a big heaven and I will walk through the front door 2) I will pray to a big god as I kneel in the big church 3) I show them round my house, to my bed...I had it made like a mountain range with a snow-white pillow for my big fat head
Peter Gabriel is brilliant and unafraid. Gotta love that!
I always thought he was saying "Higher" and not "Hi There" meaning he's taking it higher. And when he sings this song it sounds like he says "My heaven will be a big hell" but I guess I got those two things wrong. ha ha But anyway, I think he was pretty obvious with his intentions of the song, specially with the 80s being thought of as the materialistic decade (the me decade)... you know, "shop til' you drop" and all that. Though I think the last 20 years has been very materialistic compared to the 80s and has gotten...
I always thought he was saying "Higher" and not "Hi There" meaning he's taking it higher. And when he sings this song it sounds like he says "My heaven will be a big hell" but I guess I got those two things wrong. ha ha But anyway, I think he was pretty obvious with his intentions of the song, specially with the 80s being thought of as the materialistic decade (the me decade)... you know, "shop til' you drop" and all that. Though I think the last 20 years has been very materialistic compared to the 80s and has gotten worse... well until the economy started to implode the last 5+ years. I like Peter's newer music but I miss his 80s youthfulness and spunk, stuff like Shock the Monkey and Red Rain. Awesome music.
I've never paid attention to the last line in the song...
Haha... Yeah, his big bulge, lol
Haha... Yeah, his big bulge, lol
Wow, I am shocked everyone missed the biggest thing about this song. Didn't anybody notice the irony that a song about being "Big" and "great" uses no polysyllabic words?
"The place that I come from is a small town. They think so small, they use small words. but not me." Except he describes his greatness almost completely in monosyllabic words.
One of the most fervently ironic (and self-mocking) songs ever written.
To me, this song is about, quite literally, a man's ambitions as he moves from the small town life to the "Big Time". The way it's presented kind of evokes a certain naivete, with the singer expecting to be so great and so happy in his new life. It suggests that reality may come crashing down around him soon.
I too have felt this way. As a child, I moved from a rural area in North Carolina to Raleigh, the capital city. I was on my way up, and I was excited. I wasn't ready for reality, and I got a dose of it. But this song isn't about reality - it's about anticipation, and that's something we can all empathize with.
The theme song for this year's WWE WrestleMania 22 in Chicago!
I think that this is sarcasticaly making fun of cocky celebrities.
Sure, it's about ambition, and about the way ambition changes your image of yourself - the video has a great time playing around with the clichés of stardom, with Peter multiplied by twenty screens.
Beautiful guitar playing too. I love the funky, flexible riff that Robert Fripp pushes out on top of the track.
Everyone says it's about 80's narcissism, yuppies and such. I don't doubt it.
What is it that Peter says at the beginning? It sounds to me like "Hi there," but the lyrics in "So's" booklet say "Suc cess." What is it?
i just find that weeeeeird...why did he agree to that?...anyhow..he says hi there..i think the suc cess thing is just a precurser to the song or whatever..
yes people i guess you've all got it! anyway this song is like a perfect party song along with kate bush's "big sky", both BIG SONGS ;D