Song 03: "What Lies Ahead" (3rd March 2026)

Bright-Side Mix
Dark-Side Mix

overview of the o\i article series

---

The third track for o\i is surprisingly short. It has been known since 2014, when an unfinished version without any real lyrics was played at the last 12 concerts of the Back To Front Tour. Since the complete version was also performed a few times during the i/o Tour in 2023, many expected it to be released as a bonus track in the Bandcamp subscription on the last full moon of the same year. Apparently, however, Gabriel had other plans for the subscription and also for the song. So it is only now being released.

It takes a rather detached look at all inventors, at all visionaries who try to look creatively and tirelessly into the future. Who doesn't think of Gabriel's description of his father as a technical innovator who anticipated many developments early on? Gabriel also confirms this connection – and since it was Gabriel's son Isaac who came up with the beginning of the vocal melody, What Lies Ahead can certainly be considered a three-generation song.

However, Gabriel also points out that the song generally refers to people who want to creatively shape the world. For him, this also involves a certain spirituality.

Lyrics

The text remains quite associative. It makes fewer clear statements and creates more lyrical sketches.

The song consists of only two verses. The first draws us into a snapshot: on a hill, to a place of work, to a mast in the sky that catches lightning.

The second verse completely changes the situation, addressing a person with "you" who is described as "pulled from nowhere" and "forged in failure". It says that this person can see very clearly "what lies ahead."

Also the general theme is briefly touched upon again: "You now see the world now all connected, flowing as a brain."

All thoughts then come together in the final section, which movingly states: "What lies ahead is forming in your hands."

Artwork

On the image for What Lies Ahead intricate ornaments in dark red can be seen, revealing a depiction of a woman with her vulva very wide open. The title of the work is Birth Tear/Tear and it's by American artist Judy Chicago.

Born in 1939, she has been a pioneer of feminist art since the 1970s. Birth Tear/Tear dates from 1982 and is part of the Birth Project series, which is dedicated to different aspects of the birth process. Its grandeur, its violence.

Also significant is Chicago's installation The Dinner Party (1974-79), which highlights well-known women from mythology and history, or her Holocaust Project (1985-93), which depicts the genocide of the german Jews and the universal vulnerability of human beings.

Judy Chicago's website provides further insights into her decades of extensive work.

Birth Tear/Tear and What Lies Ahead are completely different in terms of the dimension of suffering and pain they tell. They also deal with a completely different way of bringing something into the world. Nevertheless, there is a strange connection – it makes the artwork suitable for Gabriel.

You can find out more about the o\i artworks and the artists behind them in our separate article.

---

Bright-Side Mix – 3rd March 2026

Written by Peter Gabriel
Published by Real World Music Ltd / Sony Music Publishing
Produced by Peter Gabriel
Mixed by Mark 'Spike' Stent
Mastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios
Engineering by Oli Jacobs, Katie May, Dom Shaw, Richard Chappell
Assistant engineering by Faye Dolle, Dom Shaw
Additional engineering by Stefano Amerio
Orchestral engineering by Lewis Jones
Orchestral assistant engineering by Tom Coath, Luie Stylianou
Recorded at Real World Studios, Bath and The Beehive, London, British Grove, London, ArteSuono Studio, Cavalicco (UD), British Grove, London, Alfvénsalen, Uppsala, Sweden

Bass – Tony Levin
Trumpet – Paolo Fresu
Cello – Linnea Olsson
Backing vocals – Peter Gabriel
Vocals – Peter Gabriel

Orchestral arrangement by John Metcalfe, with Peter Gabriel
Choir arrangement by Dom Shaw, with Peter Gabriel
Violin – Everton Nelson, Richard George, Natalia Bonner, Cathy Thompson, Debbie Widdup, Odile Ollagnon, Ian Humphries, Louisa Fuller, Martin Burgess, Clare Hayes, Charles Mutter, Marianne Hayne
Viola – Bruce White, Rachel Roberts, Fiona Bonds, Peter Lale
Cello – Ian Burdge, Caroline Dale, Tony Woollard, Chris Worsey, William Schofield, Chris Allan
Double bass – Chris Laurence, Lucy Shaw, Stacey Watton
Choir – Orphei Drängar

Length 2:52

Available on Bandcamp

The Bright-Side Mix of the track certainly confirms that Gabriel wanted melody and harmonies to be the center, rather than groove, as is so often the case with him. In addition, What Lies Ahead derives its effect from its brevity, which comes across as almost radical.

Music

The structure of the song is simple. There are two verses, each with eight lines, two of which form a melody that is repeated in the following two lines. That's all, nothing more. No chorus, no bridge – just a separating instrumental section in the middle and a simple closing part.

The arrangement does not strictly follow the repetitive structure, but (once again) undergoes continuous development throughout. From the beginning with deep humming male choir voices, it moves on to plucked string additions and bass interjections, to lively accompaniment, and then back to lying lines at the end.

Gabriel's voice is very prominent, clear and, with its distinct reverb, also solemn.

The interlude is carried by the orchestra and overlapping cello figures. At first, the accompaniment remains exclusively in the lower registers. It is not until the second verse that the strings introduce higher notes and everything becomes more agile and intricate.

The overall impression of the piece remains soft and friendly, maintaining a melancholic mood throughout, but without descending into dark abysses.

Personnel

The idea to start with male vocals came from Brian Eno. The Swedish choir Orphei Dränga was chosen for this, which was also featured on This Is Home on i/o. Only briefly heard there, it now makes its real appearance here, creating an atmosphere that Gabriel describes as "strange, powerful, and emotional."

John Metcalfe once again contributed the orchestral arrangement, which remains modest but unmistakably bears his signature.

In addition to these two ensembles, only three other musicians are listed: Tony Levin contributes the distinctive bass figures. Then there is Linnea Olsson, who was already part of Gabriel's band on the Back To Front Tour. He says he really likes her warm style on the celloand so she was asked to play several layers for the interlude.

And then Paolo Fresu is mentioned once again. He can't really be heard, but he certainly couldn't be left out here. Gabriel became aware of him in 2020 when Fresu published a soulful instrumental version of What Lies Ahead online, which then prompted Gabriel to want him on i/o.

Gabriel also says that he deliberately wanted to do the song without his usual instrument, the piano.

---

Dark-Side Mix – 19th March 2026

---

Author: Thomas Schrage

Links
Full Moon video for What Lies Ahead:

Song-background on petergabriel.com
Website of Judy Chicago 
Paolo Fresu's instrumental version of What Lies Ahead (2020) on Youtube.

Discuss this track in our forum here.

---