Lyrics to
Perspective

This version of Perspective was released by Peter Gabriel in 1978.

Our About Peter Gabriel page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Perspective from 1978 as well as all of the other lyrics from Peter Gabriel that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Peter Gabriel or about the 1970s in general.

I need perspective, ‘cos I’m facing the wall.
I need perspective, ‘cos I’m not that tall.
I need perspective, heard the trumpet call.
Don’t trust my eyes, want to know where things fall.

I need perspective, party time for the newly wed.
I need perspective, colors ran as the images bled.
I need perspective, like confetti on the flower bed.
Don’t trust my eyes, priest crying he’s got fire in his head.

Oh Gaia, if that’s your name,
Treat you like dirt, but I don’t want to blame.
Oh Gaia, the wind heals the fire and blows the ash away.

I need perspective, sitting in a long, long hall.
I need perspective, staring at the white, white wall.
I need perspective, waiting for the phone to call.
Don’t trust my eyes, there’s one thing I’ve got to tell you all.

I need perspective, to see through red, red skies.
I need perspective, to carry merchandise.
I need perspective, I don’t trust my eyes.

I used to be an industrial giant,
Sitting in a garden full of chemical plants.
Trying very hard to get you off my mind.
Acting like any man, taking you for all I can,
Just the same, the same as all my kind, so blind.

I need perspective.

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Peter Gabriel has released many songs over the years besides Perspective. Peter Gabriel released songs from 1977 to 2002 spanning across albums like Car, Scratch, Melt, Security, So, Us, and Up. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Peter Gabriel.

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About Lyrics and Perspective by Peter Gabriel

The lyrics for Perspective are defined as the words making up the song released by Peter Gabriel in 1978. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to Perspective have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Peter Gabriel and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to Perspective by Peter Gabriel if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Perspective" means the words set to the music of Perspective, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Peter Gabriel. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Perspective and the lyrics to Perspective are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Peter Gabriel who came here looking just for the lyrics to Perspective, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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