Meaning of “Take Me Home” by Phil Collins
What is the meaning of the song Take Me Home by Phil Collins?
Meaning of Take Me Home by Phil Collins.
“Take Me Home” is a song performed by English singer-songwriter Phil Collins. The song, which is a single from Collins’ commercially successful and critically acclaimed third studio album No Jacket Required, is one of Collins’ most notable songs of his solo musical career.
But what really is this song about? Based on three things, namely the title of the song, the song’s music video and the song’s lyrics, it is apparent the song is about someone who longs to go back home after finding himself far away from home, at least from the person’s point of view.
The interesting thing about “Take Me Home”, is the fact that despite being released several decades ago, up until today, no one can be hundred percent certain as to what the song’s topic is exactly about. Collins himself hasn’t explained what the song’s lyrics actually mean. As a result of that, there have been a number of popular misconceptions about the song. The most notable ones include the following:
- Take Me Home is based on the psychological manipulations perpetrated by the totalitarian government on its people from the legendary dystopian novel 1984 written by famed English author George Orwell.
- Take Me Home is the story of a patient in a mental facility who longs to go back home.
- Take Me Home is based on the Ken Kesey’s famous 1962 novel titled One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Facts about the song “Take Me Home” by Phil Collins
- Take Me Home was written by Phil Collins.
- Collins and his longtime collaborator producer Hugh Padgham handled the production of the song.
- Collins, in addition to three other famous singers provided backing vocals for the song. The three other famous singers are: Sting, Peter Gabriel and Helen Terry.
- In the song’s music video, the woman, who asks Collins where he has been after he arrives home, is his second wife Jill Tavelman.
- Take Me Home performed pretty well in the charts, reaching No. 7 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 in the U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.
- Collins played the keyboards and drums on the song whereas his longtime friends and collaborators Lee Sklar and Daryl Stuermer played bass and guitars respectively.
- Collins often plays Take Me Home during encores at his solo concerts.
- The song has appeared in a number of TV series, including Robot and Miami Vice.
- Over the years, the song has been covered and sampled by a number of famous artists, most notably on the song Home by the American rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. In making the music video of the song Home, which features the original Take Me Home chorus, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony flew all the way from the United States to Geneva, Switzerland in order to shoot the video with Collins, who had asked them to come to Geneva if they wanted to feature him on the video. The collaboration was proved successful and led to Bone Thugs naming Collins an honorary member of the band under the name “Chrome Bone”.
Phil Collins and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony in the music video of “Home”.
- A number of music critics later blamed the music video for taking away some of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s street cred.
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[…] Meaning of “Take Me Home” by Phil Collins […]
Mmmmm, interesting, I had kinda thought that it was about Phil Collins himself going on his own voluntary accord to a Psych Hospital or facility. Then one day looking back on it many years later and seeing how it ultimately changed him for the better and thusly “Took/Had Taken him home”….etc… since in the UK and Europe they don’t have the same stigmas/incorrect viewpoints about these places, moreover surrounding these types of facilities…etc…Thanks Very Much Jim
Thank You Phil!
I think, that I got the idea – at least, from my point of view.
Brgds (participating the latest concert in Berlin), Janne with my wife Riikka
fans
It’s about a guy in an insane asylum. Phil Collins says so in Storytellers, TV Episode, 1997. Here’s a link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x33mam1 That’s the reference, he says it to an audience while he’s going through several of his famous songs and explaining what they mean and how they came about. He references One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest too.
This song is about leaving this world, or this Earth and going home to our Heavenly Father.
I think so too
Same. In hard times it makes me feel like my loved one is at peace finally and one day we all go home won’t remember all the small stuff anyway.
The word I don’t remember take me home were what my father altimeters phrase every time I visited him always broke my heart
if he sold soul then it’s about the below
I THINK HE WANTS TO DIE..GO BACK TO GOD..DO NOT FEEL SORRY FOR ME, YOU..HE HAS BEEN ON THE OUTSIDE OF THINGS BUT SUBJECTED TO MEAN PEOPLE..HIS LIFE IS ORDINARY, GOING THROUGH THE SAME FOOT STEPS EVERY DAY..HE PRETENDS NOT TO CARE, BUT TRULY YOU WOULD NOT BE HUMAN IF YOU DID NOT FEEL SOMETHING..I THINK HE IS AT THE POINT WERE IF HE DIED TOMORROW , GOOD RIDDANCE OF YOU ALL..
Life is simple. Day and night give him the rhythm of life and yes as every human being he can’t remember something out of the past a person refers to. He now understands he was waiting for something that kept him improsened in his thoughts. He choses to go home and not to go after the girl who might relate to him that what he doesn’t remember. But he makes up his mind and choses to be liberated of his worries. Like we all do want to go home in the end. Life is simple.
I thought it was about the phrase…’dont forget where you came from.’ And that he became so huge across the planet with his musical success….that he forgot where he came from. So take me home to help me remember.