Born and raised in west London, Collins played drums from the age of five and completed drama school training, which secured him various roles as a child actor, with his first major role, aged 13, as the Artful Dodger in the West End musical Oliver!. He then pursued a music career, joining Genesis in 1970 as their drummer and becoming lead singer in 1975 following the departure of Peter Gabriel. Collins began a successful solo career in the 1980s, initially inspired by his marital breakdown and love of soul music, releasing the albums Face Value (1981), Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982), No Jacket Required (1985) and ...But Seriously (1989). Collins became, in the words of AllMusic, "one of the most successful pop and adult contemporary singers of the '80s and beyond". He also became known for a distinctive gated reverb drum sound on many of his recordings. In 1985, he was the only artist to perform at both Live Aid concerts. He also resumed his acting career, appearing in Miami Vice and subsequently starring in the film Buster (1988). In 1996, Collins left Genesis to focus on solo work; this included writing songs for Disney's Tarzan (1999) for which he received an Oscar for Best Original Song for "You'll Be in My Heart". He rejoined Genesis for their Turn It On Again Tour in 2007. Following a five-year retirement to focus on his family life, Collins released an autobiography in 2016 and completed his Not Dead Yet Tour in 2019. He then rejoined Genesis in 2020 for a second reunion tour, ending in March 2022.
Collins's discography includes eight studio albums that have sold 33.5 million certified units in the US and an estimated 150 million records sold worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling artists. He is one of only three recording artists, along with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, who have sold over 100 million records both as solo artists and separately as principal members of a band. He has won eight Grammy Awards, six Brit Awards (winning Best British Male Artist three times), two Golden Globe Awards, one Academy Award, and a Disney Legend Award. He was awarded six Ivor Novello Awards from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, including the International Achievement Award. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999, and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010. He has also been recognised by music publications with induction into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Collins
Studio albums
Face Value (1981)
Hello, I Must Be Going! (1982)
No Jacket Required (1985)
...But Seriously (1989)
Both Sides (1993)
Dance into the Light (1996)
Testify (2002)
Going Back (2010)
Wear My Hat
Phil Collins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like some long lost friend of mine.
She said 'Excuse me, but do you remember me ?'
I said 'No, I don't believe I do'
So she looked me up and down
And undressed me with her eyes,
Then she said 'You've got everything I need, you've got everything I want'
So I said 'OK,
You can wear my hat,
You can have my coat,
You can take my shirt
Cause I don't need it.
You can wear my shoes,
You can take my socks,
Come on take my bag it's yours
If you love it,
You can have it if you love it,
Ain't no problem if you love it,
Come on take it if you love it.
So her friend came up to me
With a pen and paper in her hand,
Expressing some interest in the number of my room,
She said 'Excuse me, but do you remember me? '
I said 'No,' she said 'Can I appeal to you?'
So I looked her up and down
And realizing her insinuations I blushed
She said 'Listen babe you don't know me,
No you don't know me but you owe me,
And I love you,
Yes I love you,
Put your arms around me 'cause I love you,
I got all your records and I love you'
So I suggested
You can wear my hat,
You can have my coat,
You can take my shirt
Cause I don't need it.
You can wear my shoes,
You can take my socks,
Come on take my bag it's yours
If you love it,
You can have it if you love it,
Ain't no problem if you love it,
Come on take it if you love it.
Well later on that day this guy came to me
With a scrap of paper in his hand
He said 'Hey buddy can you sign your name for me?'
I said 'Why, do I owe you money?' He said 'No'
I said 'Listen pal do I know you? Have we ever met?
Why do you want my name on this little piece of paper?
He said 'I love you,
I don't know you but I love you,
Like my brother I love you,
Put your arms around me 'cause I love you'
I said 'Hey let's not rush things
You can wear my hat,
You can have my coat,
You can take my shirt
Cause I don't need it.
You can wear my shoes,
You can take my socks,
Come on take my bag it's yours
If you love it,
You can have it if you love it,
Ain't no problem if you love it,
Come on take it if you love it.
You can wear my hat,
You can wear my hat,
You can wear my hat,
Come on wear my hat.
The song is titled Wear My Hat and it is a track from Phil Collins's 1996 album Dance into the Light. The lyrics tell the story of a man who encounters three women who express strong feelings of affection for him, despite him not knowing them well or at all. The first woman who approaches him at the beginning of the song is someone he does not remember or recognize, but shows an interest in him. She insinuates that she is physically attracted to him and compliments him, saying he has everything she needs and wants. The man then offers her to take anything she wants from him. The chorus repeats the words "you can wear my hat" over and over, emphasizing the man's offer of giving the woman anything she wants.
The second woman who approaches him later in the song is accompanied by a friend and asks if he remembers her. He says no and she explains that she loves him and has all of his records. The man blushes at her insinuations and offers her the same deal, telling her that she can take whatever she wants from him. The third encounter involves a man who asks for the man's autograph, telling him that he loves him like a brother. The man again offers to let him take what he wants from him, not out of obligation but simply because he is friendly and open-hearted.
The song is an exploration of love, openness, and generosity. Phil Collins seems to be saying that when we encounter other people with open hearts, we are more likely to have positive experiences and connect with them on a deeper level. The repeated refrain of "you can wear my hat" is a playful way of emphasizing the point that love and connection do not have to come with strings attached or conditions.
Line by Line Meaning
She came looking for me with her arms open wide,
A woman approached me enthusiastically as if we were long lost friends.
Like some long lost friend of mine.
The woman looked familiar to me but I couldn't remember where I knew her from.
She said 'Excuse me, but do you remember me ?'
The woman asked me if I remembered her.
I said 'No, I don't believe I do'
I told her that I couldn't recall ever meeting her before.
So she looked me up and down
She looked at me from head to toe.
And undressed me with her eyes,
She stared at me in a suggestive way.
Then she said 'You've got everything I need, you've got everything I want'
She expressed that I had everything she wanted and needed.
So I said 'OK,
I agreed to her request.
You can wear my hat,
I offered her my hat to wear.
You can have my coat,
I gave her my coat.
You can take my shirt
I offered her my shirt.
Cause I don't need it.
I didn't need the clothes she was taking.
You can wear my shoes,
I allowed her to wear my shoes.
You can take my socks,
I let her have my socks.
Come on take my bag it's yours
I told her she could have my bag.
If you love it,
I emphasized that she could take anything she wanted if she loved it.
You can have it if you love it,
I assured her that she could have anything she loved.
Ain't no problem if you love it,
I told her it was no problem for her to take anything she liked.
Come on take it if you love it.
I encouraged her to take anything she fancied.
So her friend came up to me
Another woman approached me.
With a pen and paper in her hand,
She had a pen and paper in her hand indicating she wanted something from me.
Expressing some interest in the number of my room,
She asked about the number of my room, suggesting she wanted to come to my room.
She said 'Excuse me, but do you remember me? '
She also asked if I remembered her.
I said 'No,' she said 'Can I appeal to you?'
I told her that I didn't remember her and she asked if I would listen to her.
So I looked her up and down
I checked her out from head to toe.
And realizing her insinuations I blushed
I felt embarrassed when I realized what she was implying.
She said 'Listen babe you don't know me,
She explained that I didn't know who she was.
No you don't know me but you owe me,
She asserted that I owed her something even though I didn't know who she was.
And I love you,
She professed her love for me.
Yes I love you,
She reiterated her love for me.
Put your arms around me 'cause I love you,
She asked me to hug her.
I got all your records and I love you'
She told me that she had all my records and still loved me.
So I suggested
I made a suggestion to her.
You can wear my hat,
I offered her my hat to wear.
You can have my coat,
I gave her my coat.
You can take my shirt
I offered her my shirt.
Cause I don't need it.
I didn't need the clothes she was taking.
You can wear my shoes,
I allowed her to wear my shoes.
You can take my socks,
I let her have my socks.
Come on take my bag it's yours
I told her she could have my bag.
If you love it,
I emphasized that she could take anything she wanted if she loved it.
You can have it if you love it,
I assured her that she could have anything she loved.
Ain't no problem if you love it,
I told her it was no problem for her to take anything she liked.
Come on take it if you love it.
I encouraged her to take anything she fancied.
Well later on that day this guy came to me
A man approached me later that day.
With a scrap of paper in his hand
He had a piece of paper in his hand.
He said 'Hey buddy can you sign your name for me?'
He asked me to sign my name on the piece of paper.
I said 'Why, do I owe you money?'
I asked him if I owed him any money.
He said 'No'
He said that I didn't owe him any money.
I said 'Listen pal do I know you? Have we ever met?
I asked him if we had ever met before.
Why do you want my name on this little piece of paper?
I questioned why he needed my name on the paper.
He said 'I love you,
He told me that he loved me.
I don't know you but I love you,
He expressed his love for me even though we had never met.
Like my brother I love you,
He compared his love for me to the love he has for a sibling.
Put your arms around me 'cause I love you'
He asked for a hug because he loved me.
I said 'Hey let's not rush things
I cautioned him not to rush things.
You can wear my hat,
I offered him my hat.
You can have my coat,
I gave him my coat.
You can take my shirt
I offered him my shirt.
Cause I don't need it.
I didn't need the clothes he was taking.
You can wear my shoes,
I allowed him to wear my shoes.
You can take my socks,
I let him have my socks.
Come on take my bag it's yours
I told him he could have my bag.
If you love it,
I emphasized that he could take anything he wanted if he loved it.
You can have it if you love it,
I assured him that he could have anything he loved.
Ain't no problem if you love it,
I told him it was no problem for him to take anything he liked.
Come on take it if you love it.
I encouraged him to take anything he fancied.
You can wear my hat,
I offered him my hat.
You can wear my hat,
I repeated my offer for him to wear my hat.
You can wear my hat,
I repeated the offer one final time for him to wear my hat.
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: PHILLIP DAVID CHARLES COLLINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jadedemotions9891
She came looking for me with her arms open wide,
Like some long lost friend of mine.
She said 'Excuse me, but do you remember me ?'
I said 'No, I don't believe I do'
So she looked me up and down
And undressed me with her eyes,
Then she said 'You've got everything I need, you've got everything I want'
So I said 'OK,
You can wear my hat,
You can have my coat,
You can take my shirt
Cause I don't need it.
You can wear my shoes,
You can take my socks,
Come on take my bag it's yours
If you love it,
You can have it if you love it,
Ain't no problem if you love it,
Come on take it if you love it.
So her friend came up to me
With a pen and paper in her hand,
Expressing some interest in the number of my room,
She said 'Excuse me, but do you remember me? '
I said 'No, ' she said 'Can I appeal to you?'
So I looked her up and down
And realizing her insinuations I blushed
She said 'Listen babe you don't know me,
No you don't know me but you owe me,
And I love you,
Yes I love you,
Put your arms around me 'cause I love you,
I got all your records and I love you'
So I suggested
You can wear my hat,
You can have my coat,
You can take my shirt
Cause I don't need it.
You can wear my shoes,
You can take my socks,
Come on take my bag it's yours
If you love it,
You can have it if you love it,
Ain't no problem if you love it,
Come on take it if you love it.
Well later on that day this guy came to me
With a scrap of paper in his hand
He said 'Hey buddy can you sign your name for me?'
I said 'Why, do I owe you money?' He said 'No'
I said 'Listen pal do I know you? Have we ever met?
Why do you want my name on this little piece of paper?
He said 'I love you,
I don't know you but I love you,
Like my brother I love you,
Put your arms around me 'cause I love you'
I said 'Hey let's not rush things
You can wear my hat,
You can have my coat,
You can take my shirt
Cause I don't need it.
You can wear my shoes,
You can take my socks,
Come on take my bag it's yours
If you love it,
You can have it if you love it,
Ain't no problem if you love it,
Come on take it if you love it.
You can wear my hat,
You can wear my hat,
You can wear my hat,
Come on wear my hat.
@gloryreynolds9443
Phil Collins music is a celebration 🎉 of life 🧬
@brandonmoore7497
I wanna wish a Happy early 73rd Birthday 🎂 to Phillip David Charles Collins!!! You Can Wear My Hat Phil Collins!!!!’
0:54
@willbertthebloggers6427
My mom liked Phil Collins a lot and this is the first Mothers day without her, and hearing this song is making me want to write music again xx
@heatherhaley9765
I play this song all the time. When im bartending i always say if this song doesn't put u in a good mood NOTHING will.
@DadDanPredator
Danny DeVito cameo was awesome!
@tiedyemanatee9291
If you ever feel sad, put this song on and dance like crazy
@davec101
This needs more up votes <3
@JonBaktun
“I don’t know you but I love you!”
@danitzaastorga1633
Absolutly yes!!!!
@WillieDWashington
TRUTH!!!!