I know what I like. It's getting better on your wardrobe.

    I know the song is based around the painting on the album cover about a guy quite happy with his wasteful sleepy sun drenched life, but I have occasionally wondered about the line "it's getting better in your wardrobe stepping one beyond your show." I know PG has never tended to have throw away lines. My best guess is Peter equates his own life with the man who declines a sensible career when he set to be rock star . His own career took of when he raided his wife's wardrobe for that foxtrot dress. Am I way off? I've never read anything about it. They say art is subjective. What does anyone else think?

    I’ve also pondered this one. I think it’s something to do with the chap wanting to live an authentic life without being caught up in the trappings of fancy clothes and other consumables and stepping outside the artificiality of all that ‘show’. But it’s certainly not made very clear!

    Peter Gabriel in 2007 on IKWIL: "I never really loved the chorus. It was one of Tony's melodies and after a while I got very bored of it. But it was fun playing the sort of jerkier and jumpier melodies of the verse with Phil. The lyrics certainly weren't conventional pop lyrics. Again, I think I was trying to explore what lurked beneath the surface."

    I saw Rutherford do a promo Q&A event for his book. At the start the interviewer said "One thing I'm hoping to finally find out today is what I Know What I Like In Your Wardrobe is all about", at which Rutherford laughed. At the end the interviewer rounded off with "So what is that song about?!" MR replied that he had no idea.


    I got that general notion, as touched on by PG in Phil Morris's post above, that this bloke living the apparently simple life mowing the lawn actually had all these thoughts churning away in his head ("I can always hear them talk") about his past life, the different advice he was given, the expectations of him by others etc, but ultimately he's happy with his straightforward job. I've never read anything much into the 'wardrobe' reference - in fact I think the opposite of the OP, that it is indeed a throwaway line, maybe one busked in early development stages, it just emerged and he liked the shape and sound of it, and it stuck. He did tend to put odd little flourishes around whatever the central theme was.

    Abandon all reason

    Like 1

    The song was certainly inspired by the painting that adorns the cover and Backdrifter, you are certainly right about basis of the song and I always thought the wardrobe bit it was a throwaway line, but over the years I've come realise that PG has very few throwaway lines if any. I like to think of PG musing over rummaging through his wife's wardrobe to find that infamous fox dress then putting his thoughts down a year or so later.