Sunday, June 23, 2019

Solsbury Hill



From 1977, "Solsbury Hill" was Peter Gabriel's first solo single after leaving Genesis. Wikipedia has some interesting things about the song.
Gabriel has said of the song's meaning, "It's about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get ... It's about letting go." His former bandmate Tony Banks acknowledges that the song reflects Gabriel's decision to break ties with Genesis, but it can also be applied in a broader sense to situations of letting go in general.

The song is mostly written in 7/4 time, an unusual time signature that has been described as "giving the song a constant sense of struggle". The meter settles into 4/4 time only for the last two measures of each chorus. It is performed in the key of B major with a tempo of 102 beats per minute, with Gabriel's vocals ranging from F♯3 to G♯4.



4 comments:

Gelvan Tullibole 3rd said...

Salisbury if you don"t mind.

Miss Cellania said...

The spelling is explained at Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solsbury_Hill#Etymology

Hilda Wagner said...

I never understood what this song was about but I know it prompted me to leave town, go to a city where I knew no one to a college I did not know how to afford. I changed my life completely with this song in my head... It speaks on another level that I do not at all understand.

gwdMaine said...

I was intrigued by this and the J.H. Wagner comment. Didn't
know the history so I read some more. One of the things I
came across was Solsbury Hill Annotated Lyrics

Nice post.