As far as I know, Peter Gabriel doesn’t claim to practice any particular spirituality. And yet, a lot of Peter Gabriel songs have spiritual themes. I might even say that there are spiritual implications to the way Peter Gabriel has intentionally lifted up marginalized voices throughout his career. Although Unitarian Universalists cannot “claim” Peter Gabriel, there may be pieces of music that become part of our personal scriptures, expressing our values more fully than volumes of sacred texts.

A year ago, Peter Gabriel released a few different versions of a song that—for me—captures a deep understanding of our interdependence in a web of all existence. Writing about the song, Peter Gabriel says:

i/o means input / output. You see it on the back of a lot of electrical equipment and it just triggered some ideas about the stuff we put in and pull out of ourselves, in physical and non-physical ways. That was the starting point of this idea and then trying to talk about the interconnectedness of everything. The older I get, I probably don’t get any smarter, but I have learned a few things and it makes a lot of sense to me that we are not these independent islands that we like to think we are, that we are part of a whole. If we can see ourselves as better connected, still messed up individuals, but as part of a whole, then maybe there’s something to learn?

What music reinforces your sense of interconnection and interdependence? If you want to give i/o a listen, here’s a link to one version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9KxnMnNUPc

And here are the lyrics, from https://petergabriel.com/focus/i-o-album-lyrics/

i/o
I’m just a part of everything
I stand on two legs and I learned to sing
It’s not what was said and it’s not what I heard
I walk with my dog and I whistle with the bird

Stuff coming out, stuff going in
I’m just a part of everything
Stuff coming out, stuff going in
I’m just a part of everything

So we think we really live apart
Cuz we got two legs a brain and a heart
We all belong to everything
To the octopus’ suckers and the buzzards’ wing
To the elephants’ trunk and the buzzing bees’ sting
Stuff coming out, stuff going in
I’m just a part of everything
I’m just a part of everything

i/o, i/o
I’m coming out, I’m going in
i/o, i/o
I’m just a part of everything

I learn like a baby, I learn like a seed
Spread out my tubers wherever I need
I find any way to attach and connect
And I run like water, no cause or effect
I got stuff coming out and stuff going in
I’m just a part of everything
Stuff coming out and stuff going in
I’m just a part of everything

When the panting is over and the warmth has run out
Love will be flowing, I have no doubt
With the vehicle in neutral and the ground to be faced
I’ll be all laid to rest in my proper place
Into the roots of an old oak tree
Where life can move freely in and out of me
I’ll have stuff coming out and stuff going in
I’m just a part of everything

i/o, i/o
I’m coming out, I’m going in
i/o, i/o
I’m just a part of everything

Words and Music by Peter Gabriel, published by Real World Music Ltd / Sony Music Publishing