Song Review:"Don't Give Up" by Peter Gabriel

If you know me, you know I have absolutely nothing but respect and admiration for Peter Gabriel. Not only is he a talented musician and songwriter, but he is one of the nicest guys alive, super humble, an all around class act. He's all the positive traits one could love in a person accumulated all into one body and one mind.

At this point, it is cliche to say that certain songs "saved" our lives. That doesn't mean it isn't true, but it's something music lovers hear so much that they often don't give much thought to it. However, I think Gabriel's 1987 song "Don't Give Up" is one that legitimately has saved many lives, and will continue to do so for as long as it is around.

The eighties were a turbulent and depressing period to be British. The country faced its own sort of Great Depression with economic collapse, multiple working class families being laid off of work, not being able to feed their children. As such, the country definitely saw a spike in suicide rates.

Gabriel had grown up in an upper-class background with private schooling, well off parents, and was living a comfortable life off of his royalties. However, he still found in himself a lot of empathy and sorrow for the way things were turning out in his home country. He had gotten his hands on a copy of Dorothea Lange's photography book, In This Proud Land, featuring the famous "Migrant Mother" photograph. In viewing this photo, Gabriel was moved to write a song to reach out to those struggling during the social and financial upheaval.

Calling upon his friend and fellow musician Kate Bush to duet with him, the song took on a conversational tone--Gabriel singing the part of a down-trodden man who has lost his job, and is finding no reason to stay alive, and Bush singing the part of his wife/friend/someone who cares telling him it will be alright and there is still plenty to live for. The song wavers back and forth between sorrowful and uplifting with every verse as the two "converse" through song. It's such a sweet duet with so much emotion. Though Gabriel may not have been facing the struggles himself, it's clear from the way he sings the song that he could empathize with those who were, putting himself in the shoes of someone at their wit's end. Kate Bush's sweet, airy voice of reassurance is peaceful and radiates light and serenity in the midst of darkness.

The song was released with an equally sweet music video, which is essentially just six and a half minutes of an embrace between the two singers. Their body language is so genuine and sincere that some even questioned if they were secretly an item. Whether they were or weren't isn't that important, but I guarantee no other music video will make you crave closeness with a loved one more than this one.

For me, the song always takes on a bittersweet tone. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying this for anyone else who has listened to it during dark periods in their life: It can be hard to listen to. Not because it sounds bad, but when we feel depressed, we also feel numb. But the song forces us to acknowledge our sorrow and our feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness. And that's not something that's fun to do. However, once that emotional portal is open, we become more receptive to Kate Bush's sweet, and uplifting lyrics that perhaps echo things our loved ones have told us, but we took for granted:

"Don't give up

'Cause you have friends

Don't give up

You're not the only one

Don't give up

No reason to be ashamed

Don't give up

You still have us

Don't give up now

We're proud of who you are"

When in a place of self-doubt, we often ignore these phrases of comfort. But when hearing them in song, it somehow gets through to us better. And I think--no, I know--Gabriel realized that music had that power, and that's why he made the song.

Everyone has points in their personal lives when this song can be a helpful tool for them. But I think right now as we go through a global crisis that has left millions fighting to make ends meet, over-working, and overall just feeling like giving up--we need this song just as much now as we did then. And we are so lucky that we have it now.