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Peter Gabriel — Growing Up
Album: Up
Avg rating:
7.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3317









Released: 2002
Length: 7:33
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Folded in your fleshy purse
I am floating once again
While the muted sounds are pumping rhythm
All the walls close in on me
Pressure's building wave on wave
'Til the water breaks - and outside I go, oh

One dot, that's on or off, defines what is and what is not, one dot
Two dot, a pair of eyes, a voice, a touch, complete surprise, two dot
Growing up, growing up,
Looking for a place to live
Growing up, growing up,
Looking for a place to live
Growing up, growing up,
Looking for a place to live

My ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
My ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

Three dot, a trinity, a way to map the universe,
Three dot
Four dot, is what will make a square, a bed to build on, it's all there,
Four dot

My ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
My ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

All the slow clouds pass us by

Make the Empire State look high
As you take me in your sea-stained sweetness
It spills, it tingles and it stings
All the pleasure that it brings
'Til the door has let the outside inside here

Well on the floor there's a long wooden table
On the table there's an open book
On the page there's a detailed drawing
And on the drawing is the name i took

My ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
My ghost likes to travel so deep into your space

Growing up, growing up,
Looking for a place to live
Growing up, growing up,
Looking for a place to live
Growing up, growing up,
Looking for a place to live
Growing up, growing up,
Looking for a place to live

My ghost likes to travel
My ghost likes to travel
Moving inside of your space
My ghost likes to travel
My ghost likes to travel
Moving inside of your space
My ghost likes to travel
Moving inside
My ghost likes to travel
Moving Inside of your space
My ghost likes to travel
Moving inside
My ghost likes to travel
Moving inside of your space

The breathing stops, I don't know when
In transition once again
Such a struggle getting through these changes
And it all seems so absurd
To be flying like a bird
When I do not feel I've really landed here.
Comments (385)add comment
 Alastair wrote:

Can't understand why any one would play this at anything else than max volume.  



Or on eleven
 William wrote:

This is from the pre-release version of the album that was leaked back in 2002. I like this mix a lot more than the one that was eventually released officially, so I've kept it — even though the source file is a 192k MP3 (not up to our usual quality standards).

If anyone happens to have a higher-resolution copy of this version after all these years, I'd love to get a copy.



Thank you ! (seven years after... ) ;-) 
 Harry_Tuttle_99 wrote:

Holy Crap! This is 30 Years Old?!? 

Sigh....We got OLD.

(Still sounds amazing ;) )


Released 2002, so 21 years old, but even that is surprising.
 sonicxtc wrote:

I'm a long time PG fan. I think this song is a cool combination of deep, mysterious, fun and danceable. CRANK IT UP and listen and groove. I'm referring to the ALBUM version. THIS version is a bit different.



I thought it was different but I'm not seeing any mention of it (until your comment).
Holy Crap! This is 30 Years Old?!? 

Sigh....We got OLD.

(Still sounds amazing ;) )
Can't understand why any one would play this at anything else than max volume.  
bimping this up to 8 Sounding really good in my car this evening.
Excellent!
All the goats here in Room 237 are eying the dancing bananas and shimmying along.
I'm a long time PG fan. I think this song is a cool combination of deep, mysterious, fun and danceable. CRANK IT UP and listen and groove. I'm referring to the ALBUM version. THIS version is a bit different.
I remember that PG and REM were planning to release albums with the same title at around the same time, and if I recall correctly, they were both cool with it.    Their albums ended up out at different times.  Still both awesome. 
Not his greatest.  Sometimes PG seems to think a good groove is all he needs.  
Yow!!!!!


                              

"There are 4 dots!"

 vit wrote:"Folded in your fleshy purse"


ThePoose wrote: 
He makes licentious references in so many of his songs.  He is a randy little bugger, isn't he?  Isn't that right, Sledgehammer?

Michael wrote:  The fleshy purse here is refers to being inside the womb, till the water breaks and outside I go... 

Are people really paying $150 to get this album as an LP? {#Eek} (That's what Amazon sells it for)
{#Bananajam}Stunned at this man's creativity & genius-level musicianship.
oh...
and Tony Levin sure has a sweet 'gig' !
"As you take me in your sea-stained sweetness
It spills, it tingles and it stings
All the pleasure that it brings
'Til the door has let the outside inside here"

pump      pump     pump  : )   super song imo
Brilliant talent.
Yet after the first half of this struggles to keep a >5 rating for me, suddenly somewhere after mid point it struggles to maintain a 4.
Overly ambitious maybe. Would NOT exactly seek out the album based on this example. Tiring even.
Downgraded it.  After a few years, it sounded boring and way too long.  {#Yawn}
 dingleberry wrote:
banal, really.  Probably didn't help that I thought it was my _horse_ likes to travel....

 
How could you be so wrong? Everyone knows it's “my _goats_ like to travel”.
Great version!!
 SynapseRider wrote:
My goats like to travel?

 
Yep, hearing that too! Ba-a-a-ah! {#Drunk}
 gjeeg wrote:
Everyone sees PG's face behind the water drops, no?
He's watching, listening to everything you say.
He who life can no longer surprise.

 
Wait...Did PG beat Chuck Norris?

Chuck Norris meme:
Image result for my goats like to travel
Besides music, Gabriel along with Richard Branson founded the Elders, a group who mediates conflicts around the globe ala tribal elders.
{#Bananajam}{#Bananajam}                       {#Bananajam}{#Bananajam}
                         {#Bananajam}{#Bananajam}
Thumbs up
keep it up
        On the table there's an open book, the man from Ohh leaved it there
                       After the slow clouds pass us by they're lighter.
                              Make the Empire State look high.
 fredriley wrote:

Goats harnessed

 
I bet $10 to show, please. 


 

BillG wrote:

This is from the pre-release version of the album that was leaked back in 2002. I like this mix a lot more than the one that was eventually released officially, so I've kept it — even though the source file is a 192k MP3 (not up to our usual quality standards).

If anyone happens to have a higher-resolution copy of this version after all these years, I'd love to get a copy.

 
Love this version!
This song is awesome.  Thanks!
 krec wrote:
Hi,
Where did you get this version cause it's slightly different from the Album version.
Thank you.
Eric.
 
This is from the pre-release version of the album that was leaked back in 2002. I like this mix a lot more than the one that was eventually released officially, so I've kept it — even though the source file is a 192k MP3 (not up to our usual quality standards).

If anyone happens to have a higher-resolution copy of this version after all these years, I'd love to get a copy.
 hayduke2 wrote:
love reading the lyrics while bopping along with this super piece of music, imagine PG writing this, in a warm embrace, post coitus yet pounding still, the pulse, and the dreamy fantasy of moving on, growing up, moving inside, looking for a place ..

 
Not sure I'm with you there.  For me your image is a bit gross but then I am painfully inhibited brit.
 Stratocaster wrote:
Hmm, Peter Gabriel twice in one day. Not a huge fan, so I'm left wondering why
 
You've not yet realized that the world doesn't completely share your musical taste?
Hmm, Peter Gabriel twice in one day. Not a huge fan, so I'm left wondering why, when there is
 so

    much

      music

        out

          there!!
love reading the lyrics while bopping along with this super piece of music, imagine PG writing this, in a warm embrace, post coitus yet pounding still, the pulse, and the dreamy fantasy of moving on, growing up, moving inside, looking for a place ..
 gjeeg wrote:
Everyone sees PG's face behind the water drops, no?
He's watching, listening to everything you say.
He who life can no longer surprise.

 
Looks like Phil Collins to me, Su-su-Sussuddio. 
Love his music.{#Smile}
 moodfood wrote:
Love that flinty voice..{#Music}

 
You wrote it right, man!
Love that flinty voice..{#Music}
Everyone sees PG's face behind the water drops, no?
He's watching, listening to everything you say.
He who life can no longer surprise.
Me likey like, very much....
{#Music}
 SynapseRider wrote:
My goats like to travel?

 
Goats harnessed
His voice!!! Can't describe the feelings I have when I hear it. And I'm straight!   :)
My goats like to travel?
{#Clap} {#Clap} {#Clap} {#Clap}
I still like the instrumentation of PG's songs - immediately identifiable - but with nuances I still find interesting. The lyrics are another matter...

all the slow clouds pass us by
make the Empire State look high
as you take me in your sea-stained sweetness
it spills, it tingles and it stings
all the pleasure that it brings
'til the door has let the outside inside here 

banal, really.  Probably didn't help that I thought it was my _horse_ likes to travel....

One of his worst - tell-tale signs he should (have) quite before it gets any worse. It's really a shame, bordering on embarrassment, that Gabriel has joined the ranks of once successful musicians/composers who

1) start producing mediocre music or painfully contrived lyrics, or
2) noticeably are trying too hard to come up with something new and original, or
3) can't get away from churning out mostly the same old stuff which made them popular to begin with (DEVO, B52's).

Bowie comes immediately to mind as exemplary of this degenerating phenomenon. There are a handful of bands which stopped just in the nick of time (Talking Heads) and fewer still who consistently created new and interesting material right up to the (sometimes bitter) end (Queen).

"Growing Down" would have been a fitting title for this PG album.

Update, May 4 2014
------------------------------
His concerts, however, are still magnificent! The one on April 30 in Munich was evidence of Gabriel's never tiring imagination, both musically and visually. He continually comes up with new ways to present his repertoire, applying an elaborate yet extremely tasteful array of technology (lights, video, live-action camera, real-time video editing, etc.) for each and every song performed! Always riveting!


 pamorama wrote:
One of his best
He got me rockin and boppin in my desk chair.
{#Bananasplit} 

 
I'm with you, panorama. The beat is fantastic!
 nightdrive wrote:
I didn't support death penalty until I heard Peter Gabriel. (censored) to that fuckface. Crime: Horrible music.

 
I'm just dying to know which word(s) wasn't appropriate enough that you had to sensor it from this post.
TBefore I retired as a dancer (my knees gave out after 30 years) I would have played this tune for the Toronto Swing Dance Society in a shot. 

Yes,  this not an easy song.  But the beat is solid enough for West Coast Swing.  I love how Peter throws in a bit of The Beatles just to mess with you.
Somehow most of his work seems too constructed to me. The only impact it grows to have on me is a feeling overdose from how much he is on here.
One of his best
He got me rockin and boppin in my desk chair.
{#Bananasplit} 
Though I like PG and much of this album, this tune is just a bit too cerebral for me.
Remember, oldsaxon, this is uptight, right-wing Murikka...where many pretend to be moralistic while actually being selfish, conniving douchebags.
 ThePoose wrote:
He makes licentious references in so many of his songs.
He is a randy little bugger, isn't he? 
Isn't that right, Sledgehammer?


 
vit wrote:
"Folded in your fleshy purse"

That's the line that greeted me when I clicked the station. That's a flicker of the Peter Gabriel I remember.

 



 
Did I miss a memo? Has sex become bad? I always enjoy it....maybe I should repent?
 nightdrive wrote:
I didn't support death penalty until I heard Peter Gabriel. (censored) to that fuckface. Crime: Horrible music.
 
Has anyone ever told you you are not funny?
 nightdrive wrote:
I didn't support death penalty until I heard Peter Gabriel. (censored) to that fuckface. Crime: Horrible music.

 
I'm prescribing this wonder drug for you: 

{#Chillpill}

Take it often. Please. 

Considering all the real violence, murder and destruction in this world, no musician deserves this kind of OTT venting. You should thank RP for providing a PSD button so you can move on from Peter Gabriel instead of letting him get under your skin. 



Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of churches be dancing buck ass naked... love this song... love sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll...
I didn't support death penalty until I heard Peter Gabriel. (censored) to that fuckface. Crime: Horrible music.
way trippy!         good for fast tai chi-like calisthenics

Everybody in my churches loves this song...
He makes licentious references in so many of his songs.
He is a randy little bugger, isn't he? 
Isn't that right, Sledgehammer?


 
vit wrote:
"Folded in your fleshy purse"

That's the line that greeted me when I clicked the station. That's a flicker of the Peter Gabriel I remember.

 


The bridge lyrics, about the book on the table just makes my spine tingle hearing it.  Amazing poetry, beat, and haunting harmonies.
{#Angel}
 vit wrote:
"Folded in your fleshy purse"

That's the line that greeted me when I clicked the station. That's a flicker of the Peter Gabriel I remember.
 
Or "turn me into your ocean stained space"
Hi,
Where did you get this version cause it's slightly different from the Album version.
Thank you.
Eric.
Sounds a bit like Depeche Mode's - ULTRA LP songs production
 WonderLizard wrote:

To which I would add Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, and Nick Lowe—all terrific songwriters. Admittedly, they're all a bit later in the '70s, but so what? {#Lol}
 

paul weller??
Joe Jackson Yes!  I listen to "im the man" and replace yo-yos with Iphone and other substitutions and the song is as relevant today as it was 30yrs ago! 
{#Cheers}
"Folded in your fleshy purse"

That's the line that greeted me when I clicked the station. That's a flicker of the Peter Gabriel I remember.
Turn it up!!
 lemmoth wrote:
IMHO the two finest rock and roll singer songwriters to come out of England in the 70's back to back.
Long distinguished careers both.

Peter Gabriel - Growing Up
David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

 
To which I would add Joe Jackson, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, and Nick Lowe—all terrific songwriters. Admittedly, they're all a bit later in the '70s, but so what? {#Lol}
PG <=> RP
 walk wrote:

really?

"three dot, a trinity, a way to map the universe"

"four dot, is what will make a square, a bed to build on, it's all there"

self-explanitory.
 

Now that's just nit-picking.
the live version is better- great version on the hit and miss collection.  I am a big Peter Gabriel fan, but I did not enjoy the new blood tour- it could have been much better if he livened up the pace of the show...anybody else notice that?

Has anyone heard anything from New Blood a newly released 'orchestral versions' album from Peter Gabriel?
 Dave_Mack wrote:
Anybody know what he's on about with the "three dot", "four dot" business? Is he looking for his golf ball in the deep ruff?

Incidentally, I like Peter Gabriel, but I'm not fond of this one.

 
really?

"three dot, a trinity, a way to map the universe"

"four dot, is what will make a square, a bed to build on, it's all there"

self-explanitory.


How utterly utterly boring and grating

As I recall, everything on this CD is quite good (beautiful at times) and depressing.
Fabulous mix work made by Tchad Blake !!!

as usual.. the master at work....
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Now that's how you write a negative comment, showing a little insight and intelligence, unlike the moron who just wrote "DOG SH*T". I happen to like the song, but I don't mind an opposing view (such as dmax's) that isn't just spewing hate.
 

sighs. this is almost sacrilegious for me to say, me who gives most pg songs 10 on RP, named his first son rael, and who's sister who had a small (very) hand in bringing genesis to the US for their first tour and knew the band... but i tend to agree with dmax. especially after seeing him two weeks ago in kansas city with a very mediocre orchestra. the lack of tony levin was extremely noticeable (lucky i've got tics to see the stickbassman with king crimson this fall here!) 

i also saw the pg tour from this song with the rolling ball... and witnessed pg as a pudgy balding man with elf shoes riding a bicycle around the circular stage. it was a good show, but nothing like his older ones. sighs. dammit, it sucks growing up and growing old sometimes.

but i do still like this song. :)
Does this song reach the brilliant heights of the Passion or So album? Sadly, no.

However, it's far better than any of the songs from the covers album (which, shockingly, are muteworthy).
 
Anybody know what he's on about with the "three dot", "four dot" business? Is he looking for his golf ball in the deep ruff?

Incidentally, I like Peter Gabriel, but I'm not fond of this one.

 sirdroseph wrote:
I do see your point, however DOG SHIT does in the end convey the same sentiment as Dmax's well thought out, articulate comment on how PG sucks ass now. I see it more as a Cliff notes version.
 
And it's far easier for the intellectually challenged to understand.
Love this song. Need to get this album.
 On_The_Beach wrote:

Now that's how you write a negative comment, showing a little insight and intelligence, unlike the moron who just wrote "DOG SH*T". I happen to like the song, but I don't mind an opposing view (such as dmax's) that isn't just spewing hate.
 

I do see your point, however DOG SHIT does in the end convey the same sentiment as Dmax's well thought out, articulate comment on how PG sucks ass now. I see it more as a Cliff notes version.

Like PG, but not this song!! Just don't cut it for me!{#Puke}
 cohifi wrote:
i hate this part
 

{#Lol} Yea PG is lame.
i hate this part
I LOVE THIS TUNE, at least with PG singing and performing it as only he can!

PRobably would not translate well as a cover. 

Saw Gabriel perform it live at his tour for this album.  Rolling around the stage inside what looked like a 10 foot or so diameter see through ball thingy of some kind.  Wild!




 dmax wrote:
Got every Gabe record except for Ovo - that includes Birdy.
Seen him on the Security tour, twice with Amnesty, for the So tour, and for this tour.
I'm no small fan. However, he's lost my interest. Too muted, self-reflective, subdued, and - get this - not as creative as he used to be.
Really, this album doesn't have much to speak of except some good songs, but nothing as groundbreaking as the album without cymbals (PG3) or the one with digital sampling (Security) or the one with extraordinarily delicate sonics (So).
I think Levin keeps him creative, but - really - watching him sluggishly lug himself in circles on stage while sleepwalking (sleepriding?) through Solsbury Hill I realized that he isn't the same guy, creatively.
And this latest (at this writing) project of doing other people's songs, backed by an orchestra, is simply a lousy idea.
Still, I remember how, at the Security tour circa 1983 or so, he walked on the armrests of the crowd, ending up on my right with my hands on his leg. Way freakin cool. 
 
Now that's how you write a negative comment, showing a little insight and intelligence, unlike the moron who just wrote "DOG SH*T". I happen to like the song, but I don't mind an opposing view (such as dmax's) that isn't just spewing hate.
I like this piece more and more as I hear it - I don't understand all the negative reviews here.
During the 70's there was a radio station in the SF area which declared a "No Neil Young" policy for a while. I'm hoping that Radio Paradize can make a similar vow regarding Peter Gabriel. I started out a fan, but find his music intolerably the same with each hearing at this point. He could be dropped without leaving much of a wake.
Anyone else hear a little Orbital in this?
 drife wrote:
Like nails raked across a chalkboard.
 


Couldn't agree more.
Like nails raked across a chalkboard.
IMHO the two finest rock and roll singer songwriters to come out of England in the 70's back to back.
Long distinguished careers both.

Peter Gabriel - Growing Up
David Bowie - Cat People (Putting Out Fire)

 jonahboo wrote:
DOG SHIT
 
Hopefully you won't last long on this site. We're used to people expounding a little when they feel inclined to slum it with the insults.
 jonahboo wrote:
DOG SHIT
 
Cant agree, this is a nice song. Arrangement superb! I like it!

 EssexTex wrote:
"Free duck"?.....
 
Ha, ha ,ha...but you are right, it sounds like that!! (I dont know).

Fab.
great music.......vocals worse than dylan
{#Biggrin}A bunch of us saw the UP tour, it was fantastic!
DOG SHIT
"Free duck"?.....
 handwaver wrote:
Sounds like my drunk uncle trying to karaoke
 

Another spot on assessment!{#Cheers}
 Pyro wrote:

One of the few artists I never got to see that I'd like to.  I have several DVDs of his concerts and they look pretty darned incredible!

 
I got to shake his hand at the last show I saw (this album's tour). {#Notworthy}

Not that I'm bragging or anything.

Yeah, I'm bragging a little (My nickname in high school was Genesis, after all!)
 kestrel wrote:

Yes, heave   {#Puke}
 
Thanks, now I have coffee all over my monitor!
 kestrel wrote:

Yes, heave   {#Puke}
 
That's what I thought...

 kestrel wrote:

Yes, heave   {#Puke}
 

Couldn't have said it better meself!{#Puke}
 DaveInVA wrote:
Is he singing -"Throwing up, looking for a place to heave"?

 
Yes, heave   {#Puke}
The Secret World tour in 1993 was awesome.  I still get goosebumps when I remember him "paddling a canoe" down an imaginary (conveyer belt) river shrouded in smoke and lighting effects doing "San Jacinto".  Amazing, probably the best concert I ever saw and heard...you almost have to say both specifically despite the amazing playing of guys like Tony Levin and the way In Your Eyes sounded with all the help from the various world musicians who did that tour (not to mention Papa Wemba, great stuff also).

In fact it was so good in recollection that I just ordered the widescreen DVD of that tour off Amazon before I posted this...was not surprised to see the cover shot was PG sitting in "the canoe".

 chedak wrote:
I saw Peter Gabriel perform live about a decade ago, and it was one of the best sounding and imaginative shows that I have ever seen; I have seen many concerts too....

That being said; I have and always will enjoy his music.
{#Yes}

 
One of the few artists I never got to see that I'd like to.  I have several DVDs of his concerts and they look pretty darned incredible!

I saw Peter Gabriel perform live about a decade ago, and it was one of the best sounding and imaginative shows that I have ever seen; I have seen many concerts too....

That being said; I have and always will enjoy his music.
{#Yes}

Any song getting 6.8 or above is generally a winner here at RP. The people (below) who don't like it are in the minority. This song actually sounds like some of his older stuff from Security from 1982 (that's a good thing). The lyrics are telling a story of birth and growing up. His words are modern poetry. I give it an 8.