The Eagle's Gift

Even if you know the song well, read the lyrics to Peter Gabriel's Solsbury Hill:

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
I just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Son," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."

To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho' my life was in a rut
"Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" he said "Grab your things
I've come to take you home."

When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" I said "You can keep my things,
They've come to take me home."

Through a Glass, Darkly proposes that this classic song is about none other than contact with a power that propels one into higher consciousness. In the song, the Eagle approaches and offers him true freedom, true liberation - the ability to return to his original nature and perception. Out of fear, however, he declines the opportunity and remains in his original state - "in a rut," as he says - unable to let go of his carefully constructed world. When he can no longer sustain his own Illusions he returns, looking back at the people he will be leaving behind trapped in their owns Minds and, without fear or attachment, standing in front of the Abyss, jumps...