 Even scholars of Shakespeare and Joyce don't read their heroes' writing this closely. When the diminutive Genesis frontman hit the Top Twenty with "In the Air Tonight" in 1981, fans interpreted its lyrics (apparently a commentary on Collins' failed marriage) literally. "Well, if you told me you were drowning/I would not lend a hand": Collins is said to have witnessed the drowning of a real-life friend from afar. A stranger who was closer to the drowning man offered no help. Like a game of Telephone, the folklore took on further embellishments: Collins supposedly tracked the man down and gave him a free concert ticket, then debuted the song with a spotlight trained on the offender. By some accounts the negligent man later committed suicide, or was arrested as a result of Collins' diligence. In a postscript, Eminem's psychopathic fan "Stan" compares his rapper-hero, who he believes has abandoned him, with the man on the beach: "That's kinda how this is, you could have rescued me from drowning/Now it's too late, I'm on a thousand downers now." "In the Air" is certainly not drowning, as it's recently been remade by rappers DMX and Lil' Kim and alt-rockers Full Blown Rose.
JAMES SULLIVAN
(Posted Oct. 12, 2004)
 Rock's Wildest Myths Main Page
Back to News Main |
|
|
