This was released as the advance single, before the album came out. At the time Phil Collins said of the lyrics, "It's about a young man. You don't really really know what's going on but the father is a bit of a bastard".
I've always felt that this is about someone who left home as a teenager after suffering abuse. It's not clear whether the man of the house was abusing the boy, or the mother...maybe both. The boy escapes to various "hiding places", probably never settling in a home of his own...constantly full of thoughts about his childhood. Eventually he confronts his father intending to "talk it over" but is angrily told "you're no son of mine".
In short, a song about an abusive dad. Possibly deliberately vague, open to interpretation like so many Genesis lyrics.
This was released as the advance single, before the album came out. At the time Phil Collins said of the lyrics, "It's about a young man. You don't really really know what's going on but the father is a bit of a bastard".
I've always felt that this is about someone who left home as a teenager after suffering abuse. It's not clear whether the man of the house was abusing the boy, or the mother...maybe both. The boy escapes to various "hiding places", probably never settling in a home of his own...constantly full of thoughts about his childhood. Eventually he confronts his father intending to "talk it over" but is angrily told "you're no son of mine".
In short, a song about an abusive dad. Possibly deliberately vague, open to interpretation like so many Genesis lyrics.