Abacab

Thirteenth album by Genesis, released September 1981. Reached #1 on the UK album chart, and #7 in the United States (where it became their first album to go platinum). The original album cover came in four different color variations. Contained the following tracks:

1. Abacab *
2. No Reply At All *
3. Me And Sarah Jane
4. Keep It Dark *
5. Dodo/Lurker
6. Who Dunnit?
7. Man On The Corner *
8. Like It Or Not
9. Another Record

* - Indicates tracks released as singles

Also the first track from this album, released as the first single from the album in the UK in August 1981, where it reached #9 on the charts, and in January 1982 in the United States, where it reached #26.

Words and music by Tony Banks, Phil Collins, and Mike Rutherford.

Look up on the wall,
There on the floor,
Under the pillow,
Behind the door,
There's a crack in the mirror,
Somewhere there's a hole in a windowpane,
Do you think I'm to blame,
Tell me do you think I'm to blame?

(When we do it) you're never there,
(When you show it) you stop and stare,
(Abacab) he's in anywhere,
(Abacab)

If you're wrapping
Up the world
'Cos you've taken
Someone else's girl,
When they turn on the pillow,
Even when they answer the telephone,
Don't you think that by now,
Tell me, don't you think that by now

(When we do it) you're never there,
(When you show it) you stop and stare,
(Abacab) he's in anywhere,
(Abacab) doesn't really care

Do you want it? You got it, now you know
Do you want it? You got it, now you know

It's an illusion,
It's a game,
Or reflection
Of someone else's name,
Now when you wake in the morning,
Wake and find you're covered in cellophane,
Well, there's a hole in there somewhere,
Yeah, there's a hole in there somewhere,
Baby, there's a hole in there somewhere,
Now there's a hole in there somewhere

(When we do it) you're never there,
(When you show it) you stop and stare,
(Abacab) he's in anywhere,
(Abacab)

(Instrumental continues and out)

(The song's title comes from the arrangement of pieces of music, i.e. "Section A" followed by "Section B," then "Section A" again, then "Section C," and so on. This was the song's ordering at one point, though it was changed later. The full version of the song is just over seven munutes long; the radio edit replaces the lengthy instrumental at the end with a shorter one taken from the song's intro.)

Sources: Abacab (Atlantic Gold Standard edition) album booklet; lyrics from Genesis Deluxe Anthology (Hit & Run Music/Warner Bros., 1993); album and single chart positions from http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/1478/genesis.htm and Genesis AtoZ, http://ds.dial.pipex.com/mdean/atoz/albums/; additional info from Chris Welch, The Complete Guide To The Music of Genesis (Omnibus Press, 1995)