While I agree with Songbird’s explanation for Phil Collins’s song “In the Air”, I would still like to see some documentation. If Collins has discussed this so much, surely there must be an interview quote from him somewhere on the subject.
This mailbag piece, unfortunately, is not weapon enough against ignorance. I can’t rub it in my friends’ faces without some harder evidence.
The snopes page on this song lists a few magazine articles as references but they don’t say exactly if he explains that particular song in any of them.
toadspittle, ask your friends why it’s your duty to prove that the interpretation isn’t true? Why is not just as valid to believe that the song is about aliens disguised as humans, who once abducted Phil in a massive experiment? I know it may not work on your friends, and it would be nice to have something clear, but shouldn’t they realize they should be the ones to produce the drowned body? (concert dates, date of the death, anything at all.)
Side note to Songbird (nitpick on Eminem’s “Stan”) : Not that I’m a big fan of Eminem, but the song “Stan” is supposedly about a disturbed fan of Eminem’s who kills himself because the rapper never answers his letters (or something like that). So one would not have expected Eminem to die in the song, but some fan of his. I suppose there’s rumors that that song is true as well (i.e. that Eminem didn’t write it in a moment of self-glorification but actually received the letter from Stan.)
Here are some links for you:
http://members.nbci.com/philfan/man.html
“One of the most memorable track from the album was ‘In The Air Tonight’ which he said “I don’t even know what it’s about” on VH1 “Storytellers”. This album contains some painful songs, and deep hurt inside him.”
http://www.philcollins.nu/faq.htm
Thanks, Lesa.