Urban Legend
An urban legend has arisen around "In the Air Tonight" according to which the lyrics are based on a real drowning incident that Collins witnessed. Various, increasingly embroidered variations on the legend emerged over time, with the stories often culminating in Collins singling out the guilty party while singing the song at a concert. Collins has denied all such stories; he commented on the legends about the song in a BBC World Service interview:
| “ | I don't know what this song is about. When I was writing this I was going through a divorce. And the only thing I can say about it is that it's obviously in anger. It's the angry side, or the bitter side of a separation. So what makes it even more comical is when I hear these stories which started many years ago, particularly in America, of someone come up to me and say, 'Did you really see someone drowning?' I said, 'No, wrong'. And then every time I go back to America the story gets Chinese whispers, it gets more and more elaborate. It's so frustrating, 'cause this is one song out of all the songs probably that I've ever written that I really don't know what it's about, you know? | ” |
The urban legend is referenced in the song "Stan" by Eminem. The reference is contained in the following lyrics:
- You know the song by Phil Collins, "In the Air of the Night"
- About that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drownin'
- But didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a show he found him?
Read more about this topic: In The Air Tonight
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