Gabriel, especially with this album, starts with the rhythm and builds the song from there, only writing lyrics as the very last stage. Lyrics have even changed while the album is being mixed and the videos are being filmed - Sledgehammer originally had a lyric about feeling “encased in ice” and the video had a scene based on that.
Sometimes, the words are just whatever fit to the rhythm.
“There have been many great songs with really appalling lyrics, but none with really appalling music.” - Peter Gabriel
I always thought it was “She’s so far below.” Far below what? I had no idea. I still hear it that way in my head even though I know what the real lyric is.
I noticed a few in the older thread referencing the relationship between Peter Gabriel and his former bandmates. At this years RnR HoF, Phil didn’t seem especially pleased by Peter’s absence. I know I was a little perturbed by Gabriel’s attitude - he couldn’t be arsed to sing for 5 frikkin’ minutes because he’s preparing for a tour. It’s not like they were performing a full set or anything (Peter was disappointed at the results of a reunion show when they didn’t practice). It could have been that Phil was tired of the question (journalists aren’t smart enough to think of original questions, so interviewees have to hear the same question dozens, even hundreds of times). Let the conspiracy theories fly. Mine is that Peter is holding out until he gets in as a single act.
My interpretation of “Games Without Frontiers” was always that war was by nature a game without frontiers … the essence of it is that you cross the frontier between your land and another’s and do bad things in their land until they either do what you want, or you get your ass kicked, in which case they may very well cross their frontier into your lands and do bad things to YOU. By nature, war is a game that erases frontiers.
I always thought the lyric was “She’s so boop-ti-us,” which makes no sense, and had I known that Kate Bush was doing the singing, I would have accepted that it probably wasn’t intended to.
Only just this past week I realized that he was not saying “She’s so funky, yeah”!! And that was only because the DJ mentioned after the song was over that it was “jeaux sans frontieres”. :smack:
I have no idea what other versions or shows or videos people are talking about, but Peter Gabriel’s original came out when I was in jr. high, and it never confused me, though I might have been wrong about ‘games without frontiers, war without fears’ meaning…even little kids will play at what they see the adults playing at, ie. war. The kids don’t take it seriously, it’s just a game to them, but by growing up with that attitude, it’s that much easier to fall into war as an adult way of handling things, without a second thought about whether it’s really necessary.
I was 12. That was <and is> my opinion, and I could have been <be> wrong.
But that’s my interpretation and I’m sticking to it!
I believe there are two different videos for the song.
One of them has a LOT of WWII imagery. A lot of “Duck and Cover” type of stuff.
From that, I always thought it was a song on war, getting to a point that it is not humane*.
*Yes, no war is humane, but if there are “Rules of War”, you can begin to see my point. If we can push a button and wipe off a country, I think the song stands for itself. US did it to Japan, twice, after-all.
If looks can kill they probably will.
Given where war is currently, it is only a matter of time before we can give in totally to our impulses on the battlefield. Given that the obviously Race centric kids were playing at the start, I think the over militaristic theme in the future is not as deep as others feel it is.
I think 99 Red Balloons [And the German song of the same name that inspired it, that I’m not going to dare try and spell.] is along similar lines.
War. Gone too far, is bad for all involved. Period.
