“Solsbury Hill” is the debut solo single
of English musician 🎹 Peter Gabriel.
He wrote the song about a spiritual experience
atop Little Solsbury Hill in Somerset, England. [1]
Climbing up on
Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing,
time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close,
I heard a voice
frame of reference (physics) 🔎
A set of axes which enable an observer to measure the position and motion of all bodies in some system relative to the reference frame. [3]
And the sun went down
as I crossed the hill
And the town lit up
the word got still
Tom Petty 🎹
Learning to Fly
Standing, stretching
every nerve
I had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information 🔎
frame of reference (philosophy) 🔎
A set of assumptions, ideas and standards that form a viewpoint from which philosophical, religious and other ideas may be evaluated.[4]
Just had to
trust imagination
My heart going
boom, boom, boom
Son, he said,
grab your things
I’ve come to take you home
The ability to confront and deal with reality by using the creative power of the mind; resourcefulness. [5]
To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut 🔎
I do think it a tragedy, however, that government school children are left in the dark about the existence of influential groups with complex social agendas 🔎
aimed at their lives. [6]
John Taylor Gatto 👤
The Underground History of American Education 📚
When illusion spin her net
I’m never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
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.” [8]
All my instincts, they return
and the grand facade 🔎,
so soon will burn
Peter Gabriel 🎹
In Your Eyes
Sometimes this philosophy has been hidden from the public and at other times it has been placed in plain view- though always in such a way as to remain unrecognized by outsiders. [9]
All those signs,
I knew what they meant
Some things you can invent
Some get made,
and some get sent
Coldplay 🎹
Speed of Sound
Oh, there’s a river that winds on forever
I’m gonna see where it leads
Lord Huron 🎹
Ends of the Earth
Notes & References:
Wikipedia contributors. (2023, April 16). Solsbury Hill (song). ↩︎
Frame of Reference (Physics) 🔎 A set of axes which enable an observer to measure the position and motion of all bodies in some system relative to the reference frame.
Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frame_of_reference ↩︎Frame of Reference (Philosophy) 🔎 A set of assumptions, ideas and standards that form a viewpoint from which philosophical, religious and other ideas may be evaluated.
Source: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/frame_of_reference ↩︎Imagination 🔎 The ability to confront and deal with reality by using the creative power of the mind; resourcefulness. ↩︎
Songs Referenced:
Tom Petty – Learning to Fly
Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes
Coldplay – Speed of Sound
Lord Huron – Ends of the Earth
Peter Gabriel – Solsbury Hill
