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)
Slowburn
Peter Gabriel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bewildered, burnt out, hardly able
To sit astride the high wire cable
It's hard to balance, a little unstable
Through broken eyes and contact lenses
I watched you draw your future tenses
See kisses of flame blow out of your lips
Don't get me wrong, I'll be strong
When the slow burn sunset come along
You've gotta stay the night
I gotta think that you might
We've tried a handful of bills and a handful of pills
We've tried making movies from a volume of stills
Words fell like hailstones bouncing at our feet
Covering our feelings with a frozen sheet
A chance to move, I take a shot
I get cold, you get hot
We look outside, lyin' awake
See birds breaking surface on a silent lake
But don't get me wrong, I'll be strong
When I'm back on the Isle of Avalon
Don't get me wrong, I'll be strong
When the slow burn sunset come along
You've got to stay the night
I've got to think you might
Don't try to make it easy, it'll cut you down to size
Darlin' we've gotta trust in something
We're shooting down our skies
Shooting down
Shooting down our skies
The lyrics of Peter Gabriel's "Slowburn" are full of metaphors and surreal images that may require some reflection to be fully grasped. At its core, the song is about a troubled relationship, portrayed as a highwire act that the two protagonists can barely balance on. The Tower of Babel reference suggests that their communication and understanding are hindered by the multiplicity of languages and perspectives that they bring to the table. The allusion to broken eyes and contact lenses implies a distorted perception of reality, as well as a sense of alienation and distance.
The chorus, with its repetition of "Don't get me wrong, I'll be strong when the slow burn sunset come along", could be interpreted in various ways. On one hand, it could express the singer's determination to endure the difficult times of the relationship, to wait for its eventual resolution or demise. On the other hand, it could also suggest a fatalistic resignation, accepting that the problems won't go away but hoping to make the best of them. The line "You've got to stay the night, I've got to think you might" further emphasizes the ambivalence and uncertainty that mark the couple's interactions.
The second verse of "Slowburn" paints a picture of attempts at escape and self-destruction, using prescription drugs, art, and words as insufficient means of coping with the emotional turmoil. The metaphor of hailstones, usually associated with destruction and nuisance, represents the failed attempts at communication and revelation, leading to a veil of silence and numbness. The reference to the Isle of Avalon, a mythical place associated with King Arthur and his last resting place, could be seen as a longing for an unreachable ideal or a fantasy world where love is simpler and more fulfilling.
Line by Line Meaning
We're character actors from the Tower of Babel
We have a diverse and scattered background, much like the people in the Tower of Babel story
Bewildered, burnt out, hardly able
We are confused, exhausted, and struggling to cope with life's challenges
To sit astride the high wire cable
It's hard to balance, a little unstable
Our lives are like walking a tightrope, always trying to balance ourselves and stay stable
Through broken eyes and contact lenses
I watched you draw your future tenses
I saw you envision your future through my own distorted view of the world
See kisses of flame blow out of your lips
You're back telling me your Apocalypse
You express your passionate ideas, but they seem like the end of the world to me
Don't get me wrong, I'll be strong
When the slow burn sunset come along
You've gotta stay the night
I gotta think that you might
Despite our differences, I am committed to standing strong and being there for you when you need me
We've tried a handful of bills and a handful of pills
We've tried making movies from a volume of stills
We have tried different things to cope with our problems, but nothing seems to work
Words fell like hailstones bouncing at our feet
Covering our feelings with a frozen sheet
Our words hurt each other and create emotional barriers
A chance to move, I take a shot
I get cold, you get hot
We look outside, lyin' awake
See birds breaking surface on a silent lake
We have moments of hope and inspiration, but they are fleeting and we struggle to connect with each other
But don't get me wrong, I'll be strong
When I'm back on the Isle of Avalon
I have a sense of belonging and strength in a particular place or memory
Don't try to make it easy, it'll cut you down to size
Darlin' we've gotta trust in something
We're shooting down our skies
We need to face life's challenges and trust each other, rather than avoiding them and tearing each other down
Shooting down
Shooting down our skies
Our negative actions and words are damaging our relationship and our potential future
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Peter Gabriel
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fatgeologist
I still think this is Gabriel's best solo album. All the others are a bit patchy and contain a number of songs that I can take or leave, whereas I love every track on this.
TheFRANKKELLY
I agree,
CLARK THE SHARK SHOW
This album ,.. is as AWESOME as any album can get ! THIS and "A Trick of the tail" a couple of mind blowing releases ,..totally different from each other !!
Zinkoff
This song is a work of art. Ever time I listen to it, I feel like I am tripping on acid. So beautiful.
Nick Fabiano
I’ve been reading all the comments on all the songs from this album. Most are terrific an show what fans you all are of Peter Gabriel and Genesis. The guitar work on this song is excellent as so many of you point out. I would love to have heard what Steve Hackett would have done with this track in particular.
I saw Steve recently and he played a song that didn’t make Selling England. It was written by Peter and him. A really beautiful song. I never thought PG and SH had any special chemistry from everything I’ve read; but find that song it’s called Deja vu. It’s on YouTube as Steve Hackett - Deja Vu
Mattias Vejdegren
2:41 brilliant melody line shivers down my spine 💕💕😃
Marc Landry
Man I love that guitar work. Don't know who is playing on Gabriel's 1st album but the guitar/effect/style sounds almost identical to the guy who plays on Bat Out of Hell (song), Todd Rundgren perhaps? Both albums came out roughly the same year. If this album was the ONLY thing Gabriel ever did, he still would have been viewed as a freakin genious all these years.
da324
Steve hunter and Dick Wagner. Wagner plays the solo here and The Flood. Google them. They also played the ripping leads on Aerosmith's Train Kept' a Rollin'.
HAL 9000
Wagner plays the solo from 3:14 to the 3:50, In Wagner's own words.." I can be heard on track's 'Here Comes The Flood' and a searing guitar solo on 'Slowburn'." Hunter and Wagner are both in the rest of the mix
Guillaume Antona
The outro solo is really perfect