The Inner Exploration Behind Peter Gabriel’s “Digging in the Dirt”

After leaving Genesis in 1975, Peter Gabriel gradually grew from having a relatively modest but devoted following as a solo artist to becoming an international superstar. His 1986 album So was the breakout that, for the most part, introduced Gabriel to listeners of Top 40 radio. So had its heavy moments, but it was the lighthearted “Sledgehammer” that earned Gabriel many of his new fans. Those who were looking for his 1992 follow-up Us to build on those feel-good vibes were likely disappointed with the album’s somber tone.

Us’ lead single, “Digging in the Dirt,” was a fair indication of the album’s seriousness. A casual listen to the song reveals that Gabriel is singing about his process of self-discovery, and it’s clear that it’s not a pleasant experience. But “Digging in the Dirt” was inspired by more than Gabriel’s own introspection. Gabriel researched a particularly dark side of humanity in order to get a better understanding of his own behavior.

Motivated to Better Understand Himself

From Us’ opener, “Come Talk to Me”—a song about Gabriel’s strained relationship with his daughter Melanie—it’s clear there was stress in the Gabriel household around the time he was writing songs for the album. He had gotten divorced from his first wife Jill Moore in 1987, and then had a relationship with actress Rosanna Arquette, which also dissolved. Gabriel underwent therapy “to try and understand what my part was in all this stuff,” as he explained to Charlie Rose in a 1993 interview.

Gabriel also looked beyond his own experience to better understand the human psyche. He told the Daily Mirror that “Digging in the Dirt” was also inspired by a book he read about the psychology of murderers called Why We Kill.

He begins “Digging in the Dirt” with an explanation of his motivation for doing therapy. The first verse finds Gabriel encountering emotions that are not only unpleasant, but persistent and growing.

Something in me, dark and sticky
All the time it’s getting strong
No way of dealing with this feeling
Can’t go on like this too long

“Just Drive the Car”

Gabriel knows he needs to confront these emotions, yet he finds the process of inner exploration can be terrifying. When he sings, This time you’ve gone too far, he is reaching a point where he is not sure he is prepared to go on with the therapeutic process. In trying to protect himself from pain, his inner voice tells him I told you, I told you, I told you, I told you, as in “I told you to leave these feelings alone.”

But another, braver part of Gabriel takes charge. In the pre-chorus, he responds to the shouting voice inside him, Don’t talk back / Just drive the car / Shut your mouth / I know who you are. Therapy has given Gabriel the tools to recognize his own fear for what it is and to keep it from taking his power. He has also developed the skills to work with his fear. In the chorus, Gabriel sings to his frightened self, offering him comfort and assurance.

I’m digging in the dirt
Stay with me, I need support
I’m digging in the dirt
To find the places I got hurt
To open up the places I got hurt

Encouraging Others to Try Therapy

In the second verse, Gabriel shares how the therapeutic process, while necessary, is not for the faint of heart. It’s not a quick fix, and learning more about himself just brought up more questions.

The more I look, the more I find
As I close on in, I get so blind
I feel it in my head, I feel it in my toes
I feel it in my sex, that’s the place it goes

Gabriel makes clear that opening himself up to therapy required him to deal with acute psychological discomfort. You may wonder why he would put himself through reliving the experience in order to create “Digging in the Dirt.” In his interview with Rose, Gabriel explained his motivation for writing the song. He said, “As an English male who had a certain amount of cynicism and reserve and fear about doing any work on myself, I actually realized that I got a lot out of it, and I was hoping that it might encourage other people to consider that.”

The Impact of “Digging in the Dirt”

Neither Gabriel nor we have any way to know how many people he might have helped to start therapy. We can surmise that “Digging in the Dirt” was an inspiration for Sheryl Crow. On March 8, Crow released a cover of the song as a single from her forthcoming album Evolution. In a statement, she said, “The idea of self-examination to understand our wounds and flaws and how they affect our daily lives really resonated with me, because that process can lead to self-healing.” Gabriel shares the vocals with Crow in the chorus of her cover.

Gabriel fell short of the Top 40 with his original rendition, peaking at No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, the song topped Billboard’s Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock charts. Us did not approach the level of success enjoyed by So, but it still went Platinum and reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

“Digging in the Dirt” earned Gabriel nominations for Best Rock Song and Best Male Rock Vocal Performance at the 1992 Grammy Awards, and the song’s official video won Best Music Video.

Both with Genesis and in his solo work, Gabriel has shown a playful side, but the introspective “Digging in the Dirt” is not atypical in his catalog of songs. It’s far from the only song he has written that has explored the dark side of human nature (most recently, he did so on “Four Kinds of Horses” on I/O). However, “Digging in the Dirt” is one of Gabriel’s most personal and revealing songs, and also one of his most emotionally impactful.

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