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1986- red rain – peter Gabriel
Each song I’ve chosen has personal meaning to me, in one way or another. 1986′s choice is no different.
Red Rain is the opening track from Gabriel’s classic So album. Produced by Daniel Lanois, it charted at number one in the UK album chart. The track is full of intricate musical details from the very start. Each sound creates an additional layer giving the track a dream-like surreal atmosphere. You can also hear the world music influences that show up in so many of his songs. The lyrics elude to many things. Gabriel himself has said a lot of his inspiration for the song came to him in a dream.
The sign of good writing, whether through a lyric or a novel, is that it can touch each listener or reader in a different way, giving us a chance to interpret what we have heard or read in our own way and this is definitely an excellent example of that. For me, the lyrics touch a part of me who knows only too well about the struggles we encounter and how they make us feel, and when Gabriel sings ‘It’s so hard to lay down in all of this’ I know exactly what he means…
Alannah Murphy is a former rock musician turned writer, currently working on a rock'n'roll novel set in London. 
Yeah, such a fan of Red Rain and also loads of Peter Gabriel stuff. Like Mercy Street or Here comes the Flood, eg.
Thanks for it, Alannah – absolutely love the musical turn that your blog takes!
Mercy Street is great, he’s got so many good songs. Glad you’re enjoying this, I am too, as I never know which song I will choose most of the time, so I surprise myself, and it’s great to remember why all this music means something to me
In 1986, I was in a small town in the far North. The only radio station I could get was CBC and it was 95% classical. So this is not familiar. I remember Genesis, but wasn’t strongly attracted to the music.
As an aside, Phil Colin’s ex-wife lives here on my island. Just a little bit of trivia…
I’d go mad only having classical music, I like it, but only when in a certain mood. I’ve never really been a Genesis fan either, but love Peter Gabriel’s solo work, and thanks for that bit of trivia Amy, veyr amusing
Love this song…
Me too ^_^
I’ve never been a fan of “progressive” rock for some reason, perhaps, I’ve just not been exposed to it enough but I am familiar with some of what Peter did with Genesis. He’s a great artist, and I never knew the story behind his classic “Solsbury Hill” written after his departure from Genesis…
Ah, yes. Peter Gabriel. I became aware of him in his Genesis days, but really became a fan with “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” album in 1974. I was so confounded, and captured by “the Carpet Crawlers”, that I started to seek out all I could find of his (and their) music. Thanks for the reminder!
This song speaks to me as well. The chorus of “Red rain is pouring down . . . all over me” resonates:
http://nrhatch.wordpress.com/2011/09/05/storms-and-tempests/
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass . . . it’s about learning how to dance in the rain. ~ Vivian Greene
Thanks, Alannah!
Great post Nancy and to that saying, I’d add that it’s also a matter of learning to endure the storms, because they do pass…
Love to see how this song resonates with you…