I did not know that. That is weird, wild stuff.

In which our heroine relates interesting (to her, anyway) tidbits of information gleaned from her travels along life’s highways and byways.

Okay so, my favorite Peter Gabriel song is “Solsbury Hill” (which, not coincidentally to this post, was just on the radio). I’ve never more than idly wondered what it was about, however. It always felt like some sort of childhood reminiscence, and that feeling was enough to satisfy me. To my complete surprise, I recently discovered that it was actually inspired by a Bruce Springsteen concert, and that the “eagle [that] flew out of the night” in the first verse was, in fact, The Boss. Consider the following lyrics:

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

That’s about as good a description of what a Springsteen concert feels like as anything I’ve read.

This would have been about 1975 or ’76, the Born to Run tour. Gabriel was still in Genesis but feeling artistically stultified and unsure of his musical future--basically, wanting to leave the group but lacking the nerve. (I can’t believe he never just woke up one morning, realized he was in a band with Phil Collins, and immediately tendered his resignation.) Then a friend took him to see Bruce, and he was so inspired and emboldened by the experience that he went home, told his mates he was leaving the band, and set about writing his first solo record, on which “Solsbury Hill” appeared.

Interesting, no? Now before we go, let’s have a quick Top Five:

Top 5 Peter Gabriel Songs

5) “Biko”
4) “I Don’t Remember”
3) “Games Without Frontiers”
2) “In Your Eyes”
1) “Solsbury Hill”