1974年リリースの『The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway』（眩惑のブロードウェイ）は、GENESIS の最高傑作だった。インナースリーブに記された物語や歌詞を読み込んだ。英米の文学へ関心を持つようにもなった。しかし、1975年、Peter GabrielはGENESISを脱退。悲嘆に暮れたのだが、1977年に彼はソロアーティストとして復活した。その後の活躍はここで記すまでもないだろう。
このPeter Gabriel ＆Kate Bushの 『Don't Give Up 』は、1986年の5枚目ソロアルム『So』に収録。Kate Bushも好きだったが、二人のデュエットと知って初めはとまどっていたが、レコードをかけるとその出来映えに驚いた。Godley & Creme（ゴドレイ&クレーム）制作のミュージックビデオも秀逸だった。背景の太陽が日食になり、コロナらしきものが見える。特に象徴性はないのだろうが、コロナ危機の状況下の偶然に目を引きつけられた。最後になると、日食が終わり太陽の光が戻ってくる。二人のシルエットが光の中に消えていく。
この歌は、大恐慌時代の貧困に苦しむアメリカ人を撮影した写真から着想を得て、サッチャー時代のイギリスで失業に苦しむ人々を重ね合わせているようだ。
「I am a man whose dreams have all deserted 僕はすべての夢をなくした男だ」と語る男に、「Don't give up 'cause you have friends あきらめないで あなたには友だちがいる ／ Don't give up You're not the only one あきらめないで あなたは一人じゃない」と語りかける女。
女は「'cause I believe there's the a place／There's a place where we belong 信じている 私たちの居場所があることを」と歌っている。
誰もが「居場所」に帰り、安らぎが得られることを祈りたい。
Don't give up.
The official Don't Give Up video. Directed by Godley and Creme.
Don't Give Up [ Peter Gabriel ]
In this proud land we grew up strong We were wanted all along I was taught to fight, taught to win I never thought I could fail No fight left or so it seems I am a man whose dreams have all deserted I've changed my face, I've changed my name But no-one wants you when you lose Don't give up 'cause you have friends Don't give up you're not beaten yet Don't give up I know you can make it good Though I saw it all around Never thought that I could be affected Thought that we'd be last to go It is so strange the way things turn
Drove the night toward my home The place that I was born, on the lakeside As daylight broke, I saw the earth The trees had burned down to the ground Don't give up you still have us Don't give up we don't need much of anything Don't give up 'cause somewhere there's a place where we belong Rest your head You worry too much It's going to be alright When times get rough You can fall back on us Don't give up Please don't give up Got to walk out of here I can't take anymore Going to stand on that bridge Keep my eyes down below Whatever may come and whatever may go That river's flowing That river's flowing Moved on to another town Tried hard to settle down For every job, so many men So many men no-one needs Don't give up 'cause you have friends Don't give up you're not the only one Don't give up no reason to be ashamed Don't give up you still have us Don't give up now we're proud of who you are Don't give up you know it's never been easy Don't give up 'cause I believe there's a place There's a place Where we belong Don't give up Don't give up Don't give up
79歳になった彼はもちろん年齢相応の姿となっているが、アコースティックギターを抱えるようにして奏でて美しく響かせている。時折みせる深くて優しい眼差し。声はみずみずしく何かと闘っている。最後の「"I am leaving, I am leaving", but the fighter still remains」というところが胸に突き刺さる。「still remains」が繰り返されるのだ。
Paul Simon - The Boxer (Acoustic Version March 2020)
I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told I have squandered my resistance for a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear And disregards the rest, hmmmm When I left my home and my family, I was no more than a boy In the company of strangers In the quiet of the railway station, runnin' scared, laying low Seeking out the poorer quarters, where the ragged people go Looking for the places only they would know Lie la lie, lie la lie la lie la lie Lie la lie, lie la lie la lie la lie, la la lie la lie Asking only workman's wages, I come lookin' for a job But I get no offers Just a come-on from the whores on 7th Avenue I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome I took some comfort there, lalalalalalala Now the years are rolling by me They are rockin' evenly I am older than I once was And younger than I'll be; that's not unusual Nor is it strange After changes upon changes We are more or less the same After changes we are more or less the same Lie la lie, lie la lie la lie la lie Lie la lie, lie la lie la lie la lie, la la lie la lie And I'm laying out my winter clothes and wishing I was gone Goin' home Where the New York City winters aren't bleedin' me Leadin' me Goin' home In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders Of every glove that laid him down or cut him 'Til he cried out in his anger and his shame "I am leaving, I am leaving", but the fighter still remains Lie la lie, lie la lie la lie la lie Lie la lie, lie la lie la lie la lie, la la lie la lie
シリーズ名は「Songs to Remember」の略記［S/R］にした。この名は、Scritti Politti スクリッティ・ポリッティの1982年のアルバム『Songs to Remember』から取った。学生の頃愛聴していたアルバムだ。 "Jacques Derrida" という歌もあって、愉快でラディカルな作品だった。