Sunday, 31 May, 2026 is the blue moon, the second full moon of the month. “A Hard Lesson” is the newest song to be released from the forthcoming Peter Gabriel album o\i.
“A Hard Lesson” is written by Peter Gabriel and produced by Peter Gabriel and Mike Elizondo. The first mix to be released is the Bright-Side Mix by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent.
“This is the oldest track of the project. It probably started in the late 80s or early 90s when I was in Senegal. I was falling in love with the music I heard there. I loved the tension created by the use of polyrhythms, particularly the threes and fours, so that was the start of this song.
It’s a quirky, strange and long track but it’s a journey. It’s about trying to find a place, your place, how you fit in. I’ve enjoyed playing with old R&B and folk references as well.
It’s one of those songs that has been in the ‘almost’ category on a couple of earlier projects but it’s had to wait 30 or 40 years before actually hitting the surface. Sometimes things take time – most people do stuff a lot faster – but I have no problem with understanding my own process. Some things will mature and evolve spontaneously and some will just stay hidden-away in a box until their moment in the light appears.
This has had such a long history and I think the number of people who’ve contributed to this at one time or another probably outnumbers all the contributors for the rest of the album. I’ve enjoyed so many of the things that people have thrown at it over the years that it’s been ‘assembled’ if you like, a bit like a jigsaw.
Tony Berg, who was my A&R in the 90s, added some guitar on it and David Rhodes has added a lot of things on this over the years. Richard Evans also had a go doing a more industrial version and there are little elements of that that remain too. I tried a harpsichord sample on the synth which created the folky character of the chorus and then asked Richard to augment that with some organic, natural instruments, like mandolin, which I think gives it a much better flavour on the middle section and the choruses. Mike Elizondo co-produced this version and had a big input on this track – he also added his fat bass, and Abe Rounds, with whom he collaborates, added some lovely fluid rhythms.”
The art for “A Hard Lesson” are still images from a film by the Belgian born, Mexico City based, artist Francis Alÿs. His film ‘Cuentos Patrióticos’ was created with Rafael Ortega and references an event in 1968 where civil servants were ordered to congregate in the centre of Mexico City, in response to a student demonstration against the government. Instead of showing support for the government they responded by making sheep noises in protest.
“I saw this image of the pole, the man and the sheep and it leapt out at me. There was no rational argument as to why I was drawn to it but it did seem to be talking about place, so I felt it really worked for the song.
In the film Francis Alÿs is seen walking in that same square in Mexico City, followed by one sheep and then other sheep come and join in and they continue around in a circle. It’s quirky and strange and I love it. I think it is a very cool art film, I hope you check out more of his work.”
The Dark-Side Mix of “A Hard Lesson” will be released on the next new moon.
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