In the worlds of painting, acting, writing, comedy, and music, there seems to be a common running element that people in those forms of entertainment share. That element often involves painful experiences. Actors may draw from their pain to emote their character’s feelings during a scene. Comedians will often use their painful experiences as fodder for their routines. Anyone looking for an example of painters using their pain to create art need look no further than Pablo Picasso. As for writing, Ernest Hemingway once said: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” And the same can be said for music, especially when it comes to songwriting. Very often, songwriters will write their songs at the spur of the moment, usually shortly after a triggering event takes place.
Sometimes those events can be something joyful such as getting married, the birth of a child, or just watching the sunrise. However, there are also times when song ideas come after traumatic events such as a breakup, divorce, or the death of a loved one. For Phil Collins, the inspiration for “In the Air Tonight” came his divorce from his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli, in 1980. During an interview in 2016, the musician explained how the song came about: “I wrote the lyrics spontaneously. I’m not quite sure what the song is about, but there’s a lot of anger, a lot of despair, and a lot of frustration.” In this video from 2004, we see Collins performing his iconic ’80s classic.
Image via YouTube
The song was released in 1980, the same year of his divorce, and has since become Collins’ signature song. Part of what really makes the song so impactful is the drum break towards the end, which is considered one of the greatest drum breaks in history. Collins is one of few singers who plays the drums and sings. His drum work in this song punctuates the turbulent emotions swirling in the song in a way that no lyric can.
Image via YouTube
You can watch Phil Collins turning his pain into great art in the video below.
