Peter Gabriel

Released: May 23, 1980

Songwriter: Peter Gabriel

Producer: Steve Lillywhite

[Verse 1]
The streets are lined with camera crews
Everywhere he goes is news
Today is different, today is not the same
Today I make the action, take snapshot into the light
Snapshot into the light, I'm shooting into the light

[Verse 2]
Four miles down the cavalcade moves on
Driving into the sun
If I worked it out right, they won't see me or the gun
Two miles to go, they're clearing the road
And the cheering has really begun
I've got my radio, I can hear what's going on

[Bridge 1]
I've been waiting for this
I've been waiting for this
All you people in TV land
I will wake up your empty shells
Peak-time viewing blown in a flash
As I burn into your memory cells
'Cause I'm alive

[Verse 3]
They're coming around the corner with the bikers at the front
I'm wiping the sweat from my eyes
It's a matter of time, a matter of will
And the governor's car is not far behind, he's not the one I've got in mind
'Cause there he is, the man of the hour, standing in the limousine

[Bridge 2]
I don't really hate you, I don't care what you do
We were made for each other, me and you
I want to be somebody, you were like that too
If you don't get given you learn to take
And I will take you
Holding my breath
Release the catch
And I let the bullet fly

[Outro]
All turned quiet, I have been here before
A lonely boy hiding behind the front door
Friends have all gone home
There's my toy gun on the floor
Come back, Mum and Dad
You're growing apart, you know that I'm growing up sad
I need some attention
I shoot into the light

As a member of Genesis in the early ‘70s, Peter Gabriel helped move progressive rock to new levels of theatricality. He was no less ambitious as a solo artist, but he was more subtle in his methods. With his first eponymous solo album in 1977, he began exploring darker, more cerebral territory, incorporating avant-garde, electronic, and worldbeat influences into his music. The record, as well as its two similarly titled successors, established Gabriel as a critically acclaimed cult artist, and with 1982’s Security, he began to move into the mainstream; “Shock the Monkey” became his first Top 40 hit, paving the way for his multi-platinum breakthrough So in 1986. Accompanied by a series of groundbreaking videos and the number one single “Sledgehammer,” So became a multi-platinum hit, and Gabriel became an international star. Instead of capitalizing on his sudden success, he began to explore other interests, including recording soundtracks and running his company Real World. By the time he returned to pop with 1992’s Us, his mass audience had faded away and he spent the remainder of the '90s working on multimedia projects for Real World.

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