Gabriel has been a champion of world music for much of his career. He co-founded the WOMAD festival in 1982. He has continued to focus on producing and promoting world music through his Real World Records label. He has also pioneered digital distribution methods for music, co-founding OD2, one of the first online music download services. Gabriel has also been involved in numerous humanitarian efforts. In 1980, he released the anti-apartheid single "Biko". He has participated in several human-rights benefit concerts, including Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! tour in 1988, and co-founded the Witness human rights organisation in 1992. Gabriel developed The Elders with Richard Branson, which was launched by Nelson Mandela in 2007.
Gabriel has won three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1987, six Grammy Awards, thirteen MTV Video Music Awards, the first Pioneer Award at the BT Digital Music Awards, the Q magazine Lifetime Achievement, the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Polar Music Prize. He was made a BMI Icon at the 57th annual BMI London Awards for his "influence on generations of music makers". In recognition of his many years of human rights activism, he received the Man of Peace award from the Nobel Peace Prize laureates in 2006, and Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2008. AllMusic has described Gabriel as "one of rock's most ambitious, innovative musicians, as well as one of its most political". He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010, followed by his induction as a solo artist in 2014. In March 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of South Australia in recognition of his achievements in music.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gabriel
Studio albums
Peter Gabriel (1977; known as Peter Gabriel 1 and Car)
Peter Gabriel (1978; known as Peter Gabriel 2 and Scratch)
Peter Gabriel (1980; known as Peter Gabriel 3 and Melt)
Peter Gabriel (1982; known as Peter Gabriel 4 and Security)
So (1986)
Us (1992)
Up (2002)
Scratch My Back (2010)
New Blood (2011)
Drop
Peter Gabriel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Toward the open door
Catch you looking down outside
To see what lies ahead
One by one
You watch them fall
Fall through cloud
You watch them fall
No idea where they're going
But down
Where they've gone
Where they've gone
Watching as the sun goes down
I sit inside this plane
Notice how the city lights
Are like the nerves inside a brain
One by one
They're going out
You watch them dim
One by one
You watch them fall
And wonder where they're falling to
Peter Gabriel's song The Drop is a surreal, introspective track that contemplates mortality and the fear of the unknown. The song opens with Gabriel describing an airplane's descent, positioning himself as an observer peering through the cracks of the fuselage door. The repetition of the phrase "one by one" emphasizes the sense of helplessness and inevitability of the passengers' eventual plummet. There's a sense that Gabriel is watching the passengers fall to their death, but in a deeper sense, he's contemplating the ultimate fate of all human beings. Through his descriptions, Gabriel invites the listener to confront the ways in which we all fall down, both literally and metaphorically.
The second part of the song sees Gabriel shift focus from the plane ride to the city below, where he notices the glowing city lights and compares them to the nerves of a brain. The imagery encourages the listener to see the interconnectedness of all things, and how we're all part of something greater. The final moment of the song leaves the listener wondering where we all end up when we fall, encouraging us to embrace the uncertainty of life and make the most of the time we have.
Line by Line Meaning
Moving down the fuselage
As the singer is traveling on an airplane, he is moving towards the rear of the plane.
Toward the open door
He is walking closer to the door through which one can exit the airplane.
Catch you looking down outside
The singer notices someone looking outside the airplane towards the ground.
To see what lies ahead
That person is trying to see what they will be encountering upon landing.
One by one
The artist is observing something that is happening repeatedly or in quick succession.
You watch them fall
People are dropping out of the plane.
Fall through cloud
These people are falling through the clouds in the sky.
No idea where they're going
The passengers dropping out of the airplane do not know where they are going.
But down
The passengers are only falling downwards, towards the ground.
Where they've gone
The artist is reflecting on the path the passengers who have fallen have taken.
Watching as the sun goes down
The singer is observing the sunset.
I sit inside this plane
The artist is sitting on the plane, but not among those falling.
Notice how the city lights
The singer is observing the lights in the city below.
Are like the nerves inside a brain
The singer is finding similarities between the lights in the city and the nerves inside a brain.
One by one
The singer is observing something that is happening repeatedly or in quick succession.
They're going out
The city lights are fading away, becoming less bright.
You watch them dim
The artist is watching the city lights as they become less bright.
And wonder where they're falling to
The singer is reflecting on where the lights in the city will end up, as they become less bright or disappear altogether.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: PETER GABRIEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@patrickstocks3576
Moving down the fuselage
Toward the open door
Catch you looking down outside
To see what lies ahead
One by one
You watch them fall
Fall through cloud
One by one
You watch them fall
No idea where they’re going
But down
Where they’ve gone
Where they’ve gone
Watching as the sun goes down
I sit inside this plane
Notice how the city lights
Are like the nerves inside the brain
One by one
They’re going out
You watch them dim
One by one
You watch them fall
And wonder where they’re falling to
@thatASMRchick
Your music never ceases to make me cry, Peter. I love this song so much. I wish i could give back all you've helped me through. But for now, thank you. You've helped me so much. Nothing has come close to your music for me. I know you don't know me and I don't know you, but your music touches such intimate parts in me. You give me strength where I never had it before. You/your songs help me get through the hard times. Thank you so much for being that strong voice for us all.
@brandonmoore731
@thatASRchick Peter Gabriel The Drop is one of my personal favorite song
@fcarolina20
You bring me peace Peter. Thank you for your art!
@patrickstocks3576
Moving down the fuselage
Toward the open door
Catch you looking down outside
To see what lies ahead
One by one
You watch them fall
Fall through cloud
One by one
You watch them fall
No idea where they’re going
But down
Where they’ve gone
Where they’ve gone
Watching as the sun goes down
I sit inside this plane
Notice how the city lights
Are like the nerves inside the brain
One by one
They’re going out
You watch them dim
One by one
You watch them fall
And wonder where they’re falling to
@lucasharris5727
This album is so wonderful. Thank you.
@brandonmoore7497
@Lucas Harris Peter Gabriel The Drop is one of my personal favorite song
@stevearle
This song so delicately rendered has the quality of timeless, effortless classisim that you feel you've heard it before and yes I know every harmony has met w/ every melody before but all the elements combine here to beautiful effect nonetheless.
@Copenhagendreamer
I love you Peter, meaning, I love all the buttons you push in me, expressing poetry in words and music like they were mine, but I could never do it, love you ! Never stop
@brandonmoore7497
@@petergabriel7032 Happy early 72nd Birthday
@MariaHelenaeSilvaTorres1953KC
Linda demais, adorei.