Meaning of “Since I Lost You” by Genesis

The song Since I Lost You from the English rock band Genesis is arguably one of the band’s most misunderstood songs. Many fans of Genesis wrongly assume that the lyrics of the song deal with a relationship between two very close people which comes to an end. But the truth of the matter is that the song was written by Genesis lead singer Phil Collins for his friend and fellow musician Eric Clapton after Clapton tragically lost his son Conor, who died tragically at the age of 4 after accidentally falling from the 53rd floor a New York City apartment in March 1991. It is worth noting that the tragic death of Clapton’s son also inspired a number of famous songs from Clapton, including the worldwide hit Tears In Heaven. According to Collins, he first played the song to Clapton before releasing in order to make sure that Clapton approved of it. And thankfully, Clapton gave him the greenlight to release the song.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Genesis's Since I Lost You at Lyrics.org.

Since I Lost You

Facts about “Since I Lost You” by Genesis

  • The song was written by Phil Collins but the other two members of the band (Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks) received writing credits.
  • The song appeared as the 11th track on Genesis’ 14th studio album We Can’t Dance, which came out in October 1991. We Can’t Dance was so successful that it reached the No. 1 spot on the U.K. Albums Chart and sold several million copies all over the world. In the United States alone, the album sold over 4 million copies, making it one of the most successful albums of all time.
  • Genesis never made a music video for the song.
  • The song has never been performed live by Genesis. Even during the worldwide tour (We Can’t Dance Tour) that the band embarked on to promote the album We Can’t Dance on which the song appeared, it wasn’t played live.

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