Sarah McLachlan — Solsbury Hill
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Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen, had no choice
I did not believe the information
I just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."
To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Though my life was in a rut
'Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey," he said "Grab your things
I've come to take you home."
Yeah back home
When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey," I said "You can keep my things,
They've come to take me home."
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen, had no choice
I did not believe the information
I just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."
To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Though my life was in a rut
'Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey," he said "Grab your things
I've come to take you home."
Yeah back home
When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey," I said "You can keep my things,
They've come to take me home."
Comments (152)add comment
Sorry, but I like it.
I just noticed something: it's fitting that the single this is from is called 'steaming'... cause it's a big ol' steaming pile of...
I don't know what y'all are complaining about. That was a great cover!
Sheesh. Some people just get on the ol' bandwagon and a good track gets slammed. Unfair.
FYI, I rated it a 10 before reading a single comment.
239 people have spoken, rated a 2, why are we still hearing this? bad wedding song or something, can't seem to place it, bill murray lounge act maybe?
Really, I don't hate this, but it's very strange. It's weird to hear a song so closely associated with Peter Gabriel sung by another artist I like. With yodeling.
beag wrote:
Oh, and don't follow it with Gabriel's execrable Suzanne.... oh...
And the torture continues...someone in programming thinks this is a joke!
Mah goodness this doesn't do either Sarah or Solsbury Hill ANY justice. Maybe it's a good idea to lay it to rest.
I'm not convinced this is Sarah.... who uploaded this, and are his/her resources reliable? Hmmmm....
awful...
This makes me sad...because it was a bad cover of one of my favorite tunes...because it was performed by an artist I like...because it's still being played on RP despite the worst rating I've ever seen for a song here.
racerx wrote:
This must be the lowest average rated song at RP with this many votes, and it still isn't low enough! 
What I find hilarious is that someone still rated it a 10. They are not invited to any parties at my house!
that was painful to listen to... please make it go away
Well at least we know that Sarah's come a long way since this song was recorded! The band and arrangement also leave something to be desired!
--Shari
Okay, who rated this a 10 for crisakes.
Boy... sounds awful. It doesn't matter I love the girl and the song... Just keep them separate... please...
She even tries to mimic Gabriel's off-key all the time. Horrible.
This is a joke, right?
I guess this song stands as an anthem of RP: sticking its middle finger up to the world and saying that nonconforming music will be played, even if it is crap! No bowing to the pressures of the listeners!
Ok. You proved your point. You win. Just don't play this anymore! Please!
THIS IS PURE TORTURE
Love Sarah, love Peter....hate this. A 2 for sure!
Okay. This one is almost getting funny. This may still be on the playlist to provoke us, at this point. Rather like poking an animal with a stick.
God, I love Sarah, but this is horrible.
Make it stop.
Bill must like to poke the beehive once in a while !
NEVER
NEVER
NEVER PLAY THIS AGAIN
SERIOUSLY
Oy. Still?
hcaudill wrote:
Why, Bill, why? Surely the people have spoken.
I think we have proof here that Bill doesn't let ratings effect his programming. I suppose that is a good thing, but it also means we are subjected to this every once in a while...
The biggest howl is when the bass mimics her rendering of "boom boom boom." Otherwise, this doesn't make me want to go all Howard Beel or anything, but I have to agree, it's pretty bad.
I don't get the negative comments. This was early in her career, but it's decent.
Her cover of Gloomy Sunday is my favorite version (second: Heather Nova).
Horrible. Sounds like something from a 1970s "easy listening" FM station.
Why, Bill, why? Surely the people have spoken.
Such a disappointing cover, from one of my favourite artists - shame.
beag wrote:
Oh, and don't follow it with Gabriel's execrable Suzanne.... oh...
Ahhhhhh, and again! Oh, the humanity!
DaJoos wrote: At the end the people are applauding because they're SO happy it's OVER!
I can only fathom this still being in the playlist as a private joke on Bill's part. Is there something below Sucko-Barfo?
I'm betting he plays it only to read the comments it produces. :nodhead:
Man. This song sucks even worse than "Carbon Kid." At least that one grew on me.
At the end the people are applauding because they're SO happy it's OVER!
hmmm... let's see what's on the LRC right NOW!
This must be the lowest average rated song at RP with this many votes, and it still isn't low enough!
I can only fathom this still being in the playlist as a private joke on Bill's part. Is there something below Sucko-Barfo?
NewFee wrote:
Sarah. Fine singer.
Gabriel. Simply brilliant. My life would somehow have been diminished if he had not made music.
Solisbury Hill. One of my top three songs, ever.
Sarah + Solisbury Hill = ...
Ice cream and gravy.
Fries with mustard.
Chocolate covered cheeseballs.
A pink Lexus LS430.
Bill. Please. In the name of all that *is* good and noble in this world...
Nailed it, my friend. For the love of god..... make it stop.
NewFee wrote:
I concur.....
love them both....but not together...ever....
Sarah. Fine singer.
Gabriel. Simply brilliant. My life would somehow have been diminished if he had not made music.
Solisbury Hill. One of my top three songs, ever.
Sarah + Solisbury Hill = ...
Ice cream and gravy.
Fries with mustard.
Chocolate covered cheeseballs.
A pink Lexus LS430.
Bill. Please. In the name of all that *is* good and noble in this world...
I concur.....
love them both....but not together...ever....
Sounds like a Miss America talent piece. Who uploaded it, and why?
NewFee wrote:
Sarah. Fine singer.
Gabriel. Simply brilliant. My life would somehow have been diminished if he had not made music.
Solisbury Hill. One of my top three songs, ever.
Sarah + Solisbury Hill = ...
Ice cream and gravy.
Fries with mustard.
Chocolate covered cheeseballs.
A pink Lexus LS430.
Bill. Please. In the name of all that *is* good and noble in this world...
umm... I like fries with mustard.
I don't like this cover though.
Sarah. Fine singer.
Gabriel. Simply brilliant. My life would somehow have been diminished if he had not made music.
Solisbury Hill. One of my top three songs, ever.
Sarah + Solisbury Hill = ...
Ice cream and gravy.
Fries with mustard.
Chocolate covered cheeseballs.
A pink Lexus LS430.
Bill. Please. In the name of all that *is* good and noble in this world...
I'm very slow to criticize music on here, giving as much deference to personal taste as possible, but this cover is crap. :P
mrselfdestruct wrote:
Hey, I like that version of Suzanne!
Can I program the music for a little while?? :|
This proves my point yet again, that covering an almost perfect song has a very high risk of ending up with something worse.
beag wrote:
Oh, and don't follow it with Gabriel's execrable Suzanne.... oh...
Arrgh! did it again!! The pain is unbearable. Please flush this feeling out with some good Jimi!
AGHHHHHHHH! Make it stop!
It's that whole back beat, and Seinfeld riff every now and then, that makes this suck so bad.
So bad. Please ban this. :grumpy.gif:
I like Sarah - - really, I do.. But This ABSOLUTELY SUCKS..
Is this really Sarah?? Brutal!
cold be the worst cover ever. pointless.
beag wrote:
Oh, and don't follow it with Gabriel's execrable Suzanne.... oh...
Hey, I like that version of Suzanne!
:P oh wow this is pretty bad, and I am a Sarah fan...
Please. Make it stop.
what's up with this song? and why does peter's version lodge itself in my brain?
OK, I get it....Bill puts this in the playlist so we know just how great most of the other cuts he serves up are.
A 1 has never felt so justified. Sucko. Barfo.
Is this Groundhog Day? Have I sinned?
beag wrote:
Oh, and don't follow it with Gabriel's execrable Suzanne.... oh...
EEEEK! He did! He did! YYYUUUUUUKKKYYYY!
Oh, and don't follow it with Gabriel's execrable Suzanne.... oh...
beag wrote: 
Now look. I'm a reasonable man. God knows, I love my children and my partner, I tolerate, no, celebrate difference in the world. I try to be open minded. But, please Mr Paradise, please I beg you. No more. Seriously.
Now look. I'm a reasonable man. God knows, I love my children and my partner, I tolerate, no, celebrate difference in the world. I try to be open minded. But, please Mr Paradise, please I beg you. No more. Seriously.
The question I am asking is not how this can get a 2.2, but how has it remained on here with such a low vote. Looks like the people have spoken loud and clear but the message has not gotten through.
On the other hand, it's sort of impressive to see a vote this low with so many votes cast. Sort of like the rating in reverse of a Beatles song.
Please Please Please remove this. I'll eat all my vegetables, I swear!
newwavegurly wrote:
I agree. I'm a huge Sarah fan, but I cannot stand her rendition of this song.
Just doesn't work, maybe a studio version, but live it's painful. Off key, rushed, weird vocal affectation.
I'm going to pretend I never heard this from my loveley Sarah.
JokesandJokesandJokes wrote:
BEST SONG EVA!!!!!
i bet you just love the 'boom boom boom' part. lol
Mark1970 wrote:
Sadly, some unknown person out there rated this a 10...... eeeek. Love Sarah, but this stinks. Bill, PLEASE remove this..... Sarah would probably thank you.
And so would we all (well, except for one....)
Holy Crap this is awful!!!! 
HMS_Beagle wrote:
Have to agree with the comments here...
Sarah =AWesome
Peter = WonderFUL
Cover= AWFUL
I agree. I'm a huge Sarah fan, but I cannot stand her rendition of this song.
BEST SONG EVA!!!!!
wxman wrote:
A double positive is supposed to result in a positive.
Yeah, right.
rah wrote:
strange but apparently possible for an otherwise good singer to butcher an otherwise enjoyable song...
Strange indeed. A double positive is supposed to result in a positive.
steeler wrote:
Have to say that I've never seen such unanimity in assessments.
Sadly, some unknown person out there rated this a 10...... eeeek. Love Sarah, but this stinks. Bill, PLEASE remove this..... Sarah would probably thank you.
T-bot wrote:
Lordy! For starters, 2.3 is a generous rating for this song! Too bad there isnt an RP "Plan B" button we can toggle to when we encounter such lousy tunage.
LRC
Lordy! For starters, 2.3 is a generous rating for this song! Too bad there isnt an RP "Plan B" button we can toggle to when we encounter such lousy tunage.
strange but apparently possible for an otherwise good singer to butcher an otherwise enjoyable song...
I think only Kathy Lee Gifford could have done worse.
Yashure wrote:
Why in God's name is this still on the rotation - does anybody read these comments??
Have to say that I've never seen such unanimity in assessments.
OK, I take it back. This is HORRIBLE. "Middling" was too kind.
Yashure wrote:
Truly horrid!
Why in God's name is this still on the rotation - does anybody read these comments??
sacrilege
This is from before she'd found her own voice. Apparently, someone once shouted the name of this song to her at a concert, and she replied that she'd moved on.
wow. does that ever suck. give it the gong.
Truly horrid!
HMS_Beagle wrote:
Have to agree with the comments here...
Sarah =AWesome
Peter = WonderFUL
Cover= AWFUL
That says it all. LOVE her music, but this sucked. I couldn't even recognize her voice on this, which should have been easy to do. This seemed to lack any real soul.
Ungh. A middling rendition. The most interesting part is that this sounds ZERO like the Sarah McLachlan we've come to know and tolerate.
Let's follow it up with that wretched Holroyd version of "Games Without Frontiers", just to complete the scene...
did she have a cold when she recorded this? it sounds NOTHING like her.
Does it help to know that this is a live recording? I'm not sure about that myself. Let us think about this song as an illustration of growth and evolution. Let us think of it as a live track from 1989 when she was 19 or 20, not representative of what she would do today by any means. So in that context I'll go with a 3 perhaps.
Another Beag? At least we agree.
This is weak, insipid, vacuous, lacking in groove, ill-concieved, vapid ordure of the worst kind. And it's got yodelling on it. I don't often hate things, but this makes me want to kill puppies.
One of Peter Gabriel's recordings of this song is 2 clicks away in my iTunes player. I'll be heading over to MP3land now to clear my head. See y'all in a few minutes.
Sarah should not have made this cover.
Doesn't add anything to the original.
Weak at best. :(
Somebody rated this 10?
:-k
You should only cover a song if you know it's gonna be better than the original. Can you stop polluting our ears with this feeble S**T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Insipid.
Have to agree with the comments here...
Sarah =AWesome
Peter = WonderFUL
Cover= AWFUL
interesting, this song was followed by Peter Gabriel singing "Suzanne" in May as well. is there just a very, very, very long repeating playlist?
which apparently ignores user ratings? :-)
To quote one of my favorite cartoonist, Don Martin....
*ack!* *thpgggghtttttt* *flsssshhhhhhhsrrrttt*
*gligggggorthhhhhhppptt GAAAAG!*
seriously absolutely awful
made me stop in the middle of preparing a presentation to be given in 10 mimutes to login and give this a 1
i dont even know who the thing was making all those tortured screams
poor person
AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL
How fitting that this is off an album called "Steaming." Yep, a steaming pile.
I like Sarah. I like the song. I like covers. Why is this combination so bad?
ksb wrote:
This doesn't sound anything like Sarah McLauchlan. Are we sure this is her?
This is on a single from her first album. I bought it a long time ago and figured I'd never hear this atrocity again. Love Sarah and love PG, but this song is absolutely brutal.
Oh my God, make it stop, please make it stop ... it burrrrrns ... it burrrrrns!!!!!!
Ah, dear little mute button.....
She should have left this one alone.
At a (current) 2.6 rating this has to be at the bottom of the RP list.
Bloody hell that was a polite crowd that clapped that. Dismal.
Leslie wrote:
I just recently read in PASTE magazine that this is one of Sarah's favorite songs. It's pretty interesting that most of us (including me) can't stand her cover. I find it rather amusing.
Seriously! It's realy really bad.
Horrible rendering of a great song. Her version seems to discount the actual experience. It sounds like a vocal exercise, albeit a poor one.
I just recently read in PASTE magazine that this is one of Sarah's favorite songs. It's pretty interesting that most of us (including me) can't stand her cover. I find it rather amusing.
I don't think I've ever seen a song on RP rated 2.8 after 80 ratings...
Anyway, this one deserves it. Oh! And Peter Gabriel gets his revenge
in the very next song! Now he's butchering Leonard Cohen's Suzanne :-)
I know I might be a victim of liking most original versions...but this is painful.
the boom boom boom part is horrible
This doesn't sound anything like Sarah McLauchlan. Are we sure this is her?
really really really bad
:headache.gif:
come on....if you can cut out a neil young song you can cut this one!
bogamo wrote:
Wow. I love Sarah. Why can't she stick to her own songs, they are so much better than this.
Her songs are suited better to her. This is a brilliant song and I don't like her singing it.
You make it sound like her songs are better than Peter's.
Edit: I do like a lot of her stuff just can't abide this.
I've seen this on the playlist but this is the first time I've heard it.
The 2.9 average rating is generous.
Edit: now it's down to 2.8. That is still generous.
segueman wrote:
this song about Peter's personal experience leaving Genesis.
I thought Solsbury Hill was a place near where PG lived, and the song was written after his wife (now ex-) tried to commit suicide there. Nothing particularly to do with Genesis, but a personal tale.
Wow. I love Sarah. Why can't she stick to her own songs, they are so much better than this.
Sickening. Seriously.
This is my first post on RP. While my sentiments will only echo those below, this simply awful rendition of an amazing song leaves me no choice but to contribute an un-original comment. It's like something awful that you wish had never happened.
Sorry, but I like it.
My first thought was "this is acceptable."