Solsbury Hill (song)
Encyclopedia
"Solsbury Hill" is a song by British musician Peter Gabriel
, about a spiritual experience atop Solsbury Hill
in Somerset
, England. Gabriel wrote the song after his departure from the progressive rock
band Genesis
, of which he had been the lead singer since its inception, explaining the reasons behind his departure. Despite the eloquence and purity of the vision atop Solsbury Hill, there may be some ambivalence of being free or going solo: "And liberty she pirouette when I think that I am free." It was his debut single. The single was a Top 20 hit in the UK and reached the Top 70 on the Billboard Hot 100
.
It has been used in a number of movies, for example in the soundtracks of the 2001 film Vanilla Sky
, and the 2004 film In Good Company. The song has been covered by many artists, including moe.
, Dave Matthews
, Erasure
, Sarah McLachlan
, Saga
, and Justin Hines
, among others.
The song uses a 7/4 time signature for the vast majority of the song. The last two measures of each chorus are in 4/4.
in 2003 for their cover version
s album Other People's Songs
and released as a single in the UK on 6 Jan 2003 and in the US on 14 Jan 2003. The track was chosen for the album by Erasure member Vince Clarke
. Clarke and singer Andy Bell
turned the song into a mid-tempo electronic
dance tune, displaying the signature Erasure sound. The only major change made to the structure of the song was the modification of the 7/4 time signature
to a more basic 4/4—except for the chorus, which slips back into 7/4 time for one line.
, as well as Dave Matthews & Friends
.
The band Kyte
recorded a cover for their album, Two Sparks, Two Stars. Ingram Hill
recorded the song for their EP "Why the Wait".
Dave Matthews & Friends
covered the song for the first time on December 12, 2003 in University Park, Pennsylvania
.
Scala & Kolacny Brothers
covered the song on their Circle album in 2010, keeping the standard time signature
, but performing with only a piano accompanied by an all female choir, adding the track to their growing list of rock covers.
Mercury Rev
played a cover of Solsbury Hill during their encore following their performance of their classic album Deserter's Songs
at the The Roundhouse
in London on May 21, 2011.
Sarah McLachlan played a cover of Solsbury Hill as far back as in her 2005 tour..
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, about a spiritual experience atop Solsbury Hill
Solsbury Hill
Little Solsbury Hill is a small flat-topped hill and the site of an Iron Age hill fort. It is located above the village of Batheaston in Somerset, England. The hill rises to above the River Avon which is just over to the south. It is within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, England. Gabriel wrote the song after his departure from the progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
, of which he had been the lead singer since its inception, explaining the reasons behind his departure. Despite the eloquence and purity of the vision atop Solsbury Hill, there may be some ambivalence of being free or going solo: "And liberty she pirouette when I think that I am free." It was his debut single. The single was a Top 20 hit in the UK and reached the Top 70 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
.
It has been used in a number of movies, for example in the soundtracks of the 2001 film Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky
Vanilla Sky is a 2001 American psychological thriller film directed, co-produced and co-written by Cameron Crowe. The film is an English-language remake of the 1997 Spanish movie Abre los ojos , the screenplay for which was written by Alejandro Amenábar and Mateo Gil...
, and the 2004 film In Good Company. The song has been covered by many artists, including moe.
Moe.
moe. is an American jam band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989. The band members are: Rob Derhak , Al Schnier , Chuck Garvey , Vinnie Amico , and Jim Loughlin ....
, Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
, Erasure
Erasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
, Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...
, Saga
Saga (band)
Saga is a progressive rock quintet, formed in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. Jim Crichton and Welsh-born vocalist Michael Sadler have been the principal songwriters for Saga. Ian Crichton is the band's guitarist; apart from his work with Saga, he has recorded several solo albums as well as sessions...
, and Justin Hines
Justin Hines
Justin Hines is a Canadian singer-songwriter who was born in Newmarket, Ontario.Hines has a rare genetic joint condition called Larsen's syndrome and uses a wheelchair. He is a strong supporter of charity and has performed at many fund raising events...
, among others.
The song uses a 7/4 time signature for the vast majority of the song. The last two measures of each chorus are in 4/4.
UK maxi-single (1983, 1988)
- "Solsbury Hill" – (3:24)
- "Moribund The Burgermeister" – (4:17)
- "Solsbury Hill (Full Length Live Version)" – (4:45)
12" UK single (1990 re-issue)
- "Solsbury Hill" – (4:22)
- "Shaking The Tree" – (5:06)
- "Games Without Frontiers (Live)" - (6:06)
7" Netherlands single (1983)
- "Solsbury Hill (Live)" - (4:41)
- "Kiss Of Life (Live)" - (5:01)
Erasure's cover version
"Solsbury Hill" was recorded by British synth pop duo ErasureErasure
Erasure are an English synthpop duo, consisting of songwriter and keyboardist Vince Clarke and singer Andy Bell. Erasure entered the music scene in 1985 with their debut single "Who Needs Love Like That"...
in 2003 for their cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s album Other People's Songs
Other People's Songs
Other People's Songs is a cover album by Erasure.The album was originally conceived as a solo project for singer Andy Bell. Once Vince Clarke, the other member of Erasure, became involved, it was released as Erasure's tenth studio album. The tracks were handpicked by Clarke and Bell as ones that...
and released as a single in the UK on 6 Jan 2003 and in the US on 14 Jan 2003. The track was chosen for the album by Erasure member Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke
Vince Clarke is an English synthpop musician and songwriter. Clarke has been involved with a number of successful groups, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, The Assembly and Erasure....
. Clarke and singer Andy Bell
Andy Bell (singer)
Andrew Ivan "Andy" Bell is the lead singer of the English synthpop duo Erasure. He also has a solo career, with the albums Non-Stop and Electric Blue.-Early life:Andy Bell originates from the Dogsthorpe area in Peterborough...
turned the song into a mid-tempo electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
dance tune, displaying the signature Erasure sound. The only major change made to the structure of the song was the modification of the 7/4 time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
to a more basic 4/4—except for the chorus, which slips back into 7/4 time for one line.
CD Single #2 (LCDMUTE275)
- "Solsbury Hill" (37B Mix)
- "Solsbury Hill" (Manhattan CliqueManhattan CliqueThe Manhattan Clique are producers, remixers and writers Philip Larsen and Chris Smith. Regular visitors to the higher reaches of the Music Week Club and Pop charts in the UK, plus the Billboard dance chart in the US, Manhattan Clique are equally at home with their more underground MHC guise as...
Extended Remix) - "Ave MariaAve MariaAve Maria may refer to:*Ave Maria , the "Hail Mary", a traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus-Music:...
"
DVD Single (DVDMUTE275)
- "Solsbury Hill" (Radio Mix)
- "Video Killed The Radio StarVideo Killed the Radio Star"Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song by the British synthpop/New Wave group The Buggles, released as their debut single on 7 September 1979, on Island Records from their debut album The Age of Plastic. It celebrates the golden days of radio, describing a singer whose career is cut short by...
" - "Dr Jeckyll and Mistress Hyde" (Short Film)
U.S. CD Maxi Single (9200-2)
- "Solsbury Hill" (Radio Mix)
- "Solsbury Hill"
- "Tell It To Me"
- "Searching"
- "Video Killed The Radio Star"
- "Solsbury Hill" (37B Mix)
- "Solsbury Hill" (Manhattan Clique Extended Remix)
- "Ave Maria"
- "Dr. Jeckyll And Mistress Hyde" (Short Film)
Other cover versions
The song has also been covered by indie-rock outfit Ruby IsleRuby Isle
Ruby Isle is a band created when Mark Mallman joined with his high school friend Dan Geller and drummer Aaron LeMay...
, as well as Dave Matthews & Friends
Dave Matthews & Friends
Dave Matthews & Friends is an American jam band that was put together for a tour to support Dave Matthews' solo debut, Some Devil. Most of the musicians participated in the album's production...
.
The band Kyte
Kyte
Kyte are an electronic indie pop group, from Leicestershire, England.Kyte comprise Nick Moon , Tom Lowe , Scott Hislop . Their earlier musical output was often labelled shoegazing and post rock but they have since moved into a more electro and pop influenced sound...
recorded a cover for their album, Two Sparks, Two Stars. Ingram Hill
Ingram Hill
Ingram Hill is a rock band from Memphis, Tennessee.In the summer of 2000, after attending the University of Memphis childhood friends Justin Moore and Phil Bogard joined with Shea Sowell and Matt Chambless to form the band. They spent much of the next year and a half touring throughout the...
recorded the song for their EP "Why the Wait".
Dave Matthews & Friends
Dave Matthews & Friends
Dave Matthews & Friends is an American jam band that was put together for a tour to support Dave Matthews' solo debut, Some Devil. Most of the musicians participated in the album's production...
covered the song for the first time on December 12, 2003 in University Park, Pennsylvania
University Park, Pennsylvania
University Park, Pennsylvania is an unincorporated community in Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States, and is the location of the flagship campus of the Pennsylvania State University....
.
Scala & Kolacny Brothers
Scala & Kolacny Brothers
Scala & Kolacny Brothers is a Belgian women's choir, conducted by Stijn Kolacny and arranged and accompanied by Steven Kolacny on the piano. Formed in 1996 and winning the Belgian 'Choir of the Year'-contest in 2000, they have made five studio albums, starting with On The Rocks in 2002.Most songs...
covered the song on their Circle album in 2010, keeping the standard time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, but performing with only a piano accompanied by an all female choir, adding the track to their growing list of rock covers.
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev
Mercury Rev is an American alternative rock group, that formed in the late 1980s in Buffalo, New York. Original personnel were David Baker , Jonathan Donahue , Sean Mackowiak, a.k.a...
played a cover of Solsbury Hill during their encore following their performance of their classic album Deserter's Songs
Deserter's Songs
Deserter's Songs is the fourth studio album by the Buffalo, New York-based rock band Mercury Rev, released in late September 1998. British music magazine NME named Deserter's Songs album of the year for 1998...
at the The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse
The Roundhouse is a Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England, which has been converted into a performing arts and concert venue. It was originally built in 1847 as a roundhouse , a circular building containing a railway turntable, but was only used for railway...
in London on May 21, 2011.
Sarah McLachlan played a cover of Solsbury Hill as far back as in her 2005 tour..
External links
- Solsbury Hill song explained on SolsburyHill.org