“Both Sides of the Story” by Phil Collins
“Both sides of the story” is a common phrase which points to the idea that a singular confrontation can have different points of view. And in this song, Phil Collins, who is well known as being an artist who is sympathetic to the plight of others, brings up disturbing issues such as street crime and domestic violence. However, as the title suggests, he is advising the audience to look at such matters from the perspective of the perpetrators as well as the victims.
So for instance, he presents a gun-toting street thug as someone who isn’t malevolent by nature but rather engages in such activities due to a lack of employment and respect. And whereas a quarreling couple may only perceive the personal reasons why they are at each other’s throats, the singer is rather focused on the effect their confrontation is having on their children.
And on a macrocosmic level, Phil even introduces a scenario where an entire neighborhood is at war with one another, which reads like a situation tantamount to a civil war or genocide.
Primary Sentiment of “Both Sides of the Story”
And again, all these different cases are meant to highlight the underlying sentiment of the song. And what’s this underlying sentiment? It is fundamentally that people should not hastily judge others, even when they’re doing something wrong. Instead due research should be conducted to understand “both sides of the story”, and ideally empathy should be practiced.
We need just a little bit more understanding. There are always two sides to a story. That’s what the lyrics of “Both Sides of the Story” are all about.
Music Video
The music video to “Both Sides of the Story” was directed by Phil’s longtime collaborator James Yukich. It was filmed primarily in New York City and plays out different scenarios found throughout the song’s lyrics.
Actually Yukich directed the official videos of most of Phil’s hits, including that of the iconic “Another Day in Paradise“.
Facts about “Both Sides of the Story”
Virgin Records released “Both Sides of the Story” on October 18th, 1993. It was released as a single from Collins’ fifth-studio album – itself entitled “Both Sides”. It was actually the album’s lead single.
This song has also been featured on a few of Phil Collins’ compilation albums since then.
“Both Sides of the Story” was not a mega success commercially by Phil Collins’ standards. That being said, the song managed to reach number 7 in Phil’s home (the UK). On the Hot 100 in the US, it reached number 25. This marked the first time one of Phil’s singles failed to crack the top 10 of the Hot 100 since 1982.
However it did go on to chart in over 10 other countries on 4 different continents.
Phil Collins wrote, produced and sang “Both Sides of the Story”. Furthermore, he alone played all of the instruments featured therein (as he reportedly did on the entire “Both Sides” album).
The fourth verse of the track, in which a “White man” finds himself assaulted by a “ghetto kid” wielding a gun, was inspired by a similar scene from a movie. And the movie in question is entitled “Grand Canyon” (starring Danny Glover). It came out in 1991.
