i love that you don't pretend to like every song, keep on keeping it real Angela. however this is one of my fave PB tracks, it's so evocative and sends you back in time and into the mindset of someone else, there is so much emotion and feeling he put into this track and the lyrics are so profound.
I didn't see any comments about the origins of this song, so I thought I would comment. Peter tells the story how in America he was staying at a Motel where one of the staff members - a Native American - was told his house was on fire and he had to get away to save his cat. Later Peter was talking to the guy and asked how he got on and was his cat ok, the person had a long chat with Peter about Native Americans, their backgrounds and tribal traditions, and SanJacinto was the story. It tells how a member of the tribe comes of age via a ceremony. Thick cloud steam rising hissing stone on sweat lodge fire. Around me buffalo roam .. and so on. A rattle snake bite and its survival gets you into the tribe as an adult. Having said this Peter is a drama queen which is why he parted with Genesis who wanted a more traditional music style.
Peter Gabriel is very politically active against oppression in all its forms. It may not be your cup of tea, but his concert for Nelson Mandela in South Africa is very moving. Especially when he sings his song about Steve Biko, called Biko.
Peter Gabriel was originally the lead singer of the band Genesis , before leaving to go solo and Phil Collins took over. Peter went on to make some great music , a talented artiste and great performer, with as you say quite a unique voice. I enjoyed this, one of his slower ones. A couple of other good ones are 'Sledgehammer' and 'Steam'-Colin Ward
The live version of "Lay your hands on me" from this tour is staggeringly profound; Gabriel falls back into the crowd and gets passed around overhead of the people; they start ripping his clothes off, people get him back to the stage and when he stands up, from the experience; it's magical; He's almost glowing...Here is the link; ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LL_9gASkB_w.html