Music Myth: Is “In The Air Tonight” by Phil Collins About a Real-Life Drowning?

After his time with Genesis, Phil Collins kicked off his solo career in 1981 with the album Face Value and the early single “In The Air Tonight”, a moody track known for its drum fill. Although it peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard charts, it hit No. 2 in the UK and is still remembered as Collins’ signature song. It’s also been the subject of a persistent rumor.

Some people think “In The Air Tonight” is about a young Collins witnessing a man drowning while a bystander refused to help. In some versions, Collins drowned the man himself after learning he had an affair with or assaulted his wife. In others, Collins watched one man drown another. Variations of the rumor have gotten more elaborate over the years and include Collins hiring a private detective to find the bystander and singing the song to him at a concert with a spotlight on him.

The rumor spread by word of mouth initially. They gained momentum in the 90s and beyond after the introduction of the internet. It’s even referenced in Eminem’s hit “Stan.”

Collins has denied the rumor. In a 2016 appearance on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, Collins said “none of it is true.”

What Is “In The Air Tonight” Really About?

The lyrics of the first verse in particular seem to support the rumor, and it’s likely that’s how it began.

Well, if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand
I’ve seen your face before, my friend, but I don’t know if you know who I am.
Well, I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you’ve been.

But they’re not meant to be taken literally. In reality, Collins wrote “In The Air Tonight” about his divorce from his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli. That divorce was a factor in his hiatus from Genesis in 1979. The song’s title came from Collins’ thought that his negative feelings were hanging “in the air” and having a negative impact on those around him.

The lyrics for “In The Air Tonight” started as a freestyle recording session. But Collins kept almost all of them for the finished version.

“I wrote the lyrics spontaneously,” he said in a 2016 interview. “I’m not quite sure what the song is about, but there’s a lot of anger, a lot of despair and a lot of frustration.”

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