A Mystical Interpretation of
"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel

Like all true works of art, the song "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel is beautiful and meaningful on several levels. Here, I will be discussing the mystical level of this song. This song is all about the longing to return to God, Spirit, Soul, Higher Self, however one defines divinity. I will use the word "divinity" in this essay, but feel free to replace the word with your own term relating to your own experience of "God."

"The Fall" as described in several scriptures including Genesis (not, ironically, the band "Genesis" that Peter Gabriel was a member of) created a seeming "separation" between God and Mankind. All men posses an urge to return to the presence of God, and that is what this song is about. Its a love song to his own soul.

"In Your Eyes"
By: Peter Gabriel

love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart

Every one of us at one point or another gets "the call." Divinity, however you define it, is calling to us. It instills in us the urge to find it, a longing to embark upon what Joseph Campbell calls "The Hero's Journey." Unfortunately, what usually happens when one gets the call is; 1) the person refuses the call, 2) the person misinterprets the call, trying to fulfill that longing in pursuits such as relationships, religion, drugs, self help programs, etc. In either case, the pull of "the call" does not go away. Whether by ignoring it or trying to fulfil the longing through other means, there exists in the individual an emptiness, a sense of being lost.

Also, of course, God = Love.

when I want to run away
I drive off in my car

To find the path to Divinity, one has to go within, to listen for the "still, small voice" through meditation, contemplation, prayer, etc. However, it is much easier to distract ourselves and focus on the external world and the "vehicle" in which we experience that world.

but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are

Of course, no matter how much we immerse ourselves in the external world, we continue to receive the call of divinity.

Chorus:
all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside

When one begins to observe the external world from the vantage point of the still center in silence and humility, "reaching out from the inside" so to speak, spirit will begin to burn away the facade of the world of illusion, the world that the Buddhists call "Maya."

in your eyes

Eyes = doorway to the soul

the light the heat

Spirit is often experienced as light or heat.

in your eyes
I am complete

When one experiences divinity, he experiences a feeling of completeness.

in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches

A person can wander from religion to religion looking for a relationship with divinity. Once one looks inward, he will find the doorway.

in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches

This, of course, is a reference to all the pursuits we embark on trying to scratch the itch of the call. They are fruitless in the sense that they are merely pacifiers of what we really long for.

in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes

Again, references to light, heat and completeness.

love, I don't like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away

By not living in "the moment" and constantly re-experiencing the past and fretting about the future, we create and recreate so much pain and suffering.

I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

Its easy to fatuige working so hard for external sustanance if you are not also receiving spiritual sustanance. When you are feeding your spirit, you are better able to take care of your physical and emotional needs.

Chorus

©2006 William Alamillo. All Rights Reserved.