Steve Hackett wrote the music, but was too shy to approach Peter Gabriel, the main lyric writer as he had just joined the band (it was the summer of 1971). Instead, Hackett approached Phil Collins, who also recently joined and the two of them finished the song together. Collins sings it. It was included on the album to encourage the newbies, I think. Tony Banks later said he didn't particularly like it.
The story is very simple: two widowers (we don't know if they are male or female) leave a park on a cold Sunday afternoon and then go to church, all the while lamenting their lost partners and seeing reminders of their younger days in the playground and the young mother. Straightforward and tender after the violent histrionics of the Musical Box, the previous track on the album.
Steve Hackett wrote the music, but was too shy to approach Peter Gabriel, the main lyric writer as he had just joined the band (it was the summer of 1971). Instead, Hackett approached Phil Collins, who also recently joined and the two of them finished the song together. Collins sings it. It was included on the album to encourage the newbies, I think. Tony Banks later said he didn't particularly like it. The story is very simple: two widowers (we don't know if they are male or female) leave a park on a cold Sunday afternoon and then go to church, all the while lamenting their lost partners and seeing reminders of their younger days in the playground and the young mother. Straightforward and tender after the violent histrionics of the Musical Box, the previous track on the album.