Music Monday: Songs of Our Lives Meme

[chomiji]

30: A song that reminds you of yourself

Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel

"Peter Gabriel - Solsbury Hill" (Watch on YouTube)

I was haunted by this song from when I first heard it. It came out the year I turned 19, not long after I had my first major depressive episode on my own as an adult. The weird mysticism, the percussion beat to the odd 7/4 time signature, the theme of alienation from those who think they know you ("To keep in silence I resigned / My friends would think I was a nut"), and the yearning to go home (and at this point, my real home was pretty broken) hit me hard.

And then at the end, the singer realizes he doesn't need his things, all he needs is his actual home, where he can be himself. My spirit still rises in anticipation every time I hear the opening bars, and my heart is full in sympathy every time he sings "My heart going 'boom boom boom.""

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing, stretching every nerve
Had to listen, had no choice
I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom, boom, boom
"Son", he said, "grab your things, I've come to take you home"

To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Though my life was in a rut
'Til I thought of what I'll say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom, boom, boom
"Hey", he said, "grab your things, I've come to take you home"

(Hey, back home)

When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom, boom, boom
"Hey", I said, "you can keep my things, they've come to take me home"

The video is weird as all get out: I'm not sure what the cabbage theme at the fade-out has to do with anything.