In 1974, the rock band Genesis released Selling England By the Pound. This was their fifth studio album and it reached #3 on the UK Charts. The band finally achieved success after seven years of struggling, but lead singer Peter Gabriel wasn’t happy. He felt their music was stale and his creative output was floundering.
Gabriel’s wife Jill was going through a difficult pregnancy at the time. “We were recording in Wales,” Gabriel said, “and my daughter was between life and death. There was a five-hour drive to visit my wife and daughter. It was absolutely exhausting. The rest of the band couldn’t understand… it was something the others found pretty threatening.”
Gabriel’s daughter survived, but his resentment remained. In late-1974, Genesis released the double-album The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. The record reached #10 on the charts, but Gabriel had had enough. He agreed to tour with Genesis for six months then quit the band just as they were on the verge of worldwide success.
Friends and music writers said the decision was foolhardy. They couldn’t understand why he walked away from fame, money and musical acclaim. Gabriel issued a press release:
I felt I should look at/learn about/develop myself… and pick up on a lot of work going on outside music. Even the hidden delights of vegetable growing and community living are beginning to reveal their secrets. I could not expect the band to tie in their schedules with my bondage to cabbages. The increase in money and power, if I had stayed, would have anchored me to the spotlights. It was important to me to give space to my family, which I wanted to hold together, and to liberate the daddy in me.
Gabriel devoted his life to his wife and newborn daughter Anna. He took piano and composition lessons, tended to his garden, read spiritual books and attended meditation classes at a local commune. When he learned the commune’s name was “Genesis,” he opted out. By the end of 1975 he grew restless.
He began spending time with neighbor Robert Fripp who’d left his own group King Crimson. The two jammed together and rediscovered a passion for songwriting. In late-1975 Gabriel took a walk atop Solsbury Hill, a flat-topped knoll above the village of Bath. While reflecting on his future, he had an epiphany. He realized he needed to dive into his fear and self-doubt and embark musically on a new path. This required letting go of the familiar and embracing the unknown.
He began recording demos. His first effort explained to the world why he’d left Genesis. He titled the song “Solsbury Hill,” turning to the insights he’d procured while walking on his favorite bluff. The opening lyrics paint a vivid picture of his inner state.
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
Standing, stretching every nerve
I had to listen, had no choice.
The eagle was a talisman, a powerful symbol representing courage, insight and freedom from bondage. He was letting everyone know that the still small voice in his soul was pointing him in a new direction. The third verse expresses his need to heed the call of his soul in the face of all reason.
I did not believe the information
Just had to trust imagination
My heart going “Boom-boom-boom”
“Son,” he said, “Grab your things, I’ve come to take you home.”
He “had no choice” but to listen to the wisdom of his heart (“Boom-boom-boom”) and trust his imagination flying in the face of logic and common sense. This wasn’t an easy decision. Gabriel was a founding member of Genesis and his bandmates were his best friends. They’d journeyed together from teenagers to men. But he sensed their musical offerings were becoming too safe and conservative. He needed to break away and explore his own muse.
Gabriel explained the difficulty of his decision in a 1977 interview. “It’s about being prepared to lose what you have for what you might get, or what you are for what you might be. It’s about letting go.”
At the time he left Genesis, Gabriel was as confused as everyone else. He feared he might be throwing away his musical future. He didn’t know why he was taking this path. He just knew he had to take the risk.
To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Though my life was in a rut
’Til I thought of what I’d say
Which connection I should cut
Gabriel heard his detractors. Friends thought “he was a nut.” Some rooted for him to fail. Gabriel was steadfast. Music wasn’t just a way to make a living. It was a path toward self-actualization a journey toward healing.
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going “Boom-boom-boom”
“Hey, “ he said
“Grab your things, I’ve come to take you home”
Gabriel chose Bob Ezrin to produce the song. Recording took place at the Soundstage Studios in Toronto. The first version had seven different parts. Ezrin pared it down to three. Gabriel wanted to include the song on his first solo album, but he was unhappy with the lyric “make your life a taxi not a tomb.” Once he replaced this with the refrain “Grab your things, I’ve come to take you home” the song was complete.
“Solsbury Hill” has an unusual 7/4 time signature (similar to the tempo of Pink Floyd’s “Money.”) This yields a cadence with a missing beat in each measure echoing the lyrical themes of struggle and perseverance. The end of the song settles into a calming 4/4 measure. Steve Hunter (guitarist for Lou Reed) drives the tune with a 12-string guitar riff. The steady drumbeat at the song’s core is credited to Allan Schwartzberg who pounded on a thick telephone directory. There’s also a flute hook played by Gabriel himself. (Gabriel and Jethro Tull were among the few rock bands to utilize a flute.)
“Solsbury Hill” was released as a single in March 1977. Initial critical reaction was tepid. Melody Maker wrote that “the beautifully syncopated rhythm is utterly addictive.” NME added the melody was “simple and infectious” as if “a proverbial weight had lifted from Gabriel’s shoulders.”
“Solsbury Hill” peaked at #68 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1977. It gained momentum over time and was featured on film soundtracks like In Good Company, Vanilla Sky and Finding Dory. Artists that covered the song include Erasure, Kyte, Sarah McLachlan, Sia and Lou Reed.
Ultimately “Solsbury Hill” is about being true to yourself and following your intuition. It’s about reinvention and having the courage to find a new path. It’s scary to risk leaving the known for the murkiness of the unknown. But sometimes you have to “trust your imagination” and listen to the “Boom-boom-boom” of your heart.