Digging in the Dirt

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Not to be confused with Diggin' in the Dirt.
"Digging in the Dirt"
Single by Peter Gabriel
from the album Us
B-side"Quiet Steam"
Released7 September 1992 (1992-09-07)[1]
GenreArt rock[2]
Length5:16
LabelGeffen
Songwriter(s)Peter Gabriel
Producer(s)
Peter Gabriel singles chronology
"Solsbury Hill"
(1990) 		"Digging in the Dirt"
(1992) 		"Steam"
(1993)

"Digging in the Dirt" is a song by British musician Peter Gabriel. It was released as the first single taken from his sixth studio album, Us, on 7 September 1992. The song was a minor hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 52, but it topped both the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and Album Rock Tracks charts. The song was moderately successful on the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at number 24, and it reached the top 10 in Canada, Portugal, and Sweden.

Background[edit]

"Digging in the Dirt" began with some percussion tracks played by Hossam Ramzy that originated from "Zaar", a song on Gabriel's Passion album. Ramzy's surdo and duf tracks were then combined with a rhythm pattern from an Akai MPC60 and a synth bass played on a Roland D-50. Gabriel then ad-libbed some vocal parts, first coming up with the "shut your mouth" lyric, which was one of the song's working titles.[3] At other points of its development, the song was also temporarily known as "Plod".[4] Following the assembling of the rough demo, Gabriel traveled down to Daniel Lanois' Kingsway Studio in New Orleans, where overdubs of an Epiphone guitar played by Leo Nocentelli and a horn section were recorded, although the latter did not make the song's final mix.[3]

Gabriel stated that the lyrics to "Digging in the Dirt" were about examining his "darker side" and passive-aggressive behaviors.[5] He took inspiration from Why We Kill: Understanding Violence Across Cultures and Disciplines, a book that analyzes characteristics shared amongst murderers.[6] Some of the lyrics also reference the psychotherapy that Gabriel was receiving around the time.[4]

Live performances[edit]

The Secret World Live version of the song features a chaotic blend of high-pitched distorted guitar (by guitarist David Rhodes) as well as occasional jarring synth bass stabs and an expansive performance on the drums. Gabriel wore a special helmet with a video camera attached, showing in great detail his facial expressions, while moving in time with the music. This is used to create what Q magazine described as an "unappetising" image of Gabriel, most prominent during the "freak-out" sequence in which the camera is pointed down Gabriel's throat, nostrils, and earlobes.[7] The song was later performed on Gabriel's 2002 Growing Up Tour and appeared on its accompanying live concert film.[8] [9]

Gabriel revisited the song for his New Blood album, which featured orchestral rearrangements of Gabriel's music catalog.[10] Due to difficulties in tackling the song's rhythmic elements without bass and drums, the song was nearly dropped from the album, but Gabriel avoided this by working extensively with the woodwind players to achieve a satisfactory groove.[10] Gabriel also performed the song on his 2014 Back to Front Tour and his I/O Tour in 2023, with a live version from the former tour also appearing on his Back to Front: Live in London album.[11][12]

Music video[edit]

The music video for the single was directed by John Downer and utilised stop motion animation, a technique used in the videos for Gabriel's earlier hits "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time". The work was painstaking, especially for Gabriel himself who was required to lie still for hours at a time over the course of several days.[4]

According to Gabriel, "the meadow of flowers from the final scenes of the "Digging in the Dirt" video were filmed at the edge of the carpark at Real World Studios."[13] The video is largely an exploration of the issues in his personal life at the time, the end of his relationship with Rosanna Arquette, his desire to reconnect with his daughter and the self-healing he was looking for in therapy.[4]

Gabriel returned to stop motion and claymation that were previously used on some of Gabriel's So era singles in the mid 1980s, forgoing the computer graphics used in "Steam". In the video, Gabriel is displayed in a variety of disturbing imagery, including being buried alive, consumed by an overgrowth of foliage (thanks to the stop-motion process) and flying into a rage while trying to swat a wasp.[4] Gabriel stated that he wanted the video to encapsulate the feeling of anger, but was uncomfortable depicting violence toward women, so the rage was instead directed at the wasp.[5] Francesca Gonshaw depicted the woman in the video.[4]

Initially, the word "DIG" forms in the grass while dark imagery plays. Gabriel morphs into a skeleton while trying to excavate himself. Ultimately, the mushrooms sprout to form the word "HELP," followed by "HEAL" in blooming flowers after Gabriel has emerged from underground, now clad in white. In 1993, the video won the Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video.[4]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1992 Grammy Award[14] Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Nominated
Best Rock Song Nominated
Best Music Video Won
1993 MTV Video Music Awards Video of the Year Nominated
Viewer's Choice Award Nominated
International Viewer's Choice Award for MTV Europe Nominated

Track listings[edit]

All songs were written by Peter Gabriel.

CD maxi

  1. "Digging in the Dirt" – 5:16
  2. "Digging in the Dirt" (instrumental) – 5:10
  3. "Quiet Steam" – 6:25
  4. "Bashi-Bazouk" – 4:47

7-inch single

  1. "Digging in the Dirt" – 5:16
  2. "Quiet Steam" – 6:23

Personnel[edit]

Additional musicians

  • Richard Blair – additional programming
  • Leo Nocentelli – additional guitar
  • Hossam Ramzy – surdo
  • Babacar Faye – djembe
  • Assane Thiam – tama
  • Ayub Ogada – backing vocals
  • Peter Hammill – backing vocals
  • Richard Macphail – backing vocals

Charts[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 5 September 1992. p. 21. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  2. ^ Reed, Ryan (19 July 2023). "Peter Gabriel Albums from Worst to Best". Stereogum. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b Buskin, Richard (November 1992). "Peter Gabriel: Digging in the Dirt". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2024 – via The Genesis Archive.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Bowman, Durrell (2 September 2016). Experiencing Peter Gabriel: A Listener's Companion. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 165. ISBN 9781442252004.
  5. ^ a b "All About... US". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  6. ^ DeRiso, Nick (29 September 2017). "25 Years Ago: Peter Gabriel Takes Off His Masks for the Dark and Personal 'Us'". Power 96. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  7. ^ Sandall, Robert (July 1993). "Gawp Factor Ten". Q. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2024 – via The Genesis Archive.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. ^ Gamboa, Glenn (25 November 2002). "Gabriel's Tricks Add Steam to Show". Newsday. p. B11 – via The Genesis Archive.
  9. ^ "Growing Up Live". PeterGabriel.com. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  10. ^ a b Martin, Gavin (29 September 2011). "Peter Gabriel revisits his old material for fresh inspiration". The Mirror. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  11. ^ Scarfe, Graeme (2021). Peter Gabriel: Every Album, Every Song. United Kingdom: SonicBond. pp. 118–119. ISBN 978-1-78952-138-2.
  12. ^ Gendron, Bob (1 October 2023). "Review: Peter Gabriel, always an original, opts for songs from 'i/o' at the United Center". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Log into Facebook". Facebook. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  14. ^ Winners - 35th Annual GRAMMY Awards (1992) grammy.com Retrieved June 29, 2019
  15. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  17. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  18. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 1863." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 41. 10 October 1992. p. 39. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  20. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  22. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 40, 1992" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  23. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  24. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  25. ^ "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 9, no. 40. 3 October 1992. p. 26. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  26. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  27. ^ "Peter Gabriel – Digging in the Dirt". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  28. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  29. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  30. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  31. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  32. ^ "Peter Gabriel Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
  33. ^ "The RPM Top 100 Hit Tracks of 1992" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 56, no. 25. 19 December 1992. p. 8. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
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