Solsbury Hill

I don't care what it is about. It stirs something in my soul whenever I hear it! To me, it's a song about hope, being lost and then found.

I attended a Christian boarding school around the time this song was on the radio. I have remained convinced the song was about Mr. Gabriel's experience in a boarding school in England until now. I nearly had a nervous breakdown at the beginning of my Senior year and my mother picked me up and offered me one of her Salem cigarrettes. She took me home to reconsider my options. (I no longer smoke.) I graduated that year as valedictorian. My school's mascot was the Eagle. Thank you Mr. Gabriel for a song that is so meaningful to so many who are struggling, for so many reasons.

Peter Gabriel has gone on record to say that the idea that he was inspired by Bruce Springsteen to leave Genesis to be on his own and consequently to write Solisbury Hill, is completely untrue. He was unhappy with being in the music business, having his life planned for him two years out. Rolling Stone, October 10, 2011. He saw Springsteen in 1975 in London and was "blown away", but this was not connected to his departure from Genesis.

I have called this song my favorite since a few years after it was released. I was in junior high at the time and listened to a lot of music in the 70s and 80s, but this song held a special place for me in those formative years, and it still does today. Anyone who thinks it is just one encrypted message to decode does not give the author enough credit. To me it is clearly about the raw emotion of soul-searching, the pure adrenaline that comes from taking a risk to believe in something against the grain, and the feeling of epiphany you get from realizing that change is what you needed. Of course Peter's break from Genesis was part of the inspiration, but he cleverly used lyrical imagery, a driving beat and other musical elements to evoke those emotions in others who had similar life experiences. If you are a religious person, you can't help but find God in the lyrics. If you are a soldier, images of battle may come to mind. If you are obsessed by UFOs, maybe the '77 hit you should be commenting on is "Come Sail Away" by Styx. I have hiked on a few mountaintops and know the feeling of "If I fall off here, I'm dead". The eagle is a great symbol of a creature that is in his element in places where we aren't comfortable. You can respect things that are outside your comfort zone or bigger than you if you have the courage to face your fears and get up out of the rut that limits your perspective - and what you will see is worth all the risk. You will know you are truly alive when your heart starts going BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. Life is short - Live it and don't be an empty silhouette! Thanks Peter!

I think whether Peter Gabriel intended to or not, he wrote a song that honored his Creator.