Escape to Home

I was enjoying this today (hysterical, link and enjoy if you haven't already), and noticed that once again Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill was used to good effect. I first heard this particular song in a movie, and subsequently in more than a dozen more movies, movie trailers, and television shows - not to mention the radio exposure.

You'd think I'd be sick of it, as I've become so many times before when overexposed to pop songs.

But I'm not. I have it in my iTunes. And I stopped this morning to wonder why this is.

The tune is bright and rhythmical and melodic, but I don't think that fully explains the particular charm this song seems to exert over a pretty wide range of demographics. So I thought about what it is that I really love about it, and I think I've reached a reasonable conclusion.

It's the lyrics... specifically, it's one line of lyrics. I think it's brilliant, I think it hits a universal chord that runs through the heart of every person who has ever been homesick, or lonely, or sad, or vulnerable, or scared, or who has ever just plain felt unloved. It's the promise of love, warmth, safety, and escape from our cares. It's the thing that sooner or later we've all wanted to hear more than anything else, the Greatest Promise. It's the thing we want to hear at our last breath, at the very end of life.

Grab your things, I've come to take you Home.