what's the story behind this song...?

Question

"In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins

Answer 1

Collins wrote this about the anger he felt after divorcing his first wife Andrea in 1979. He was so devastated that he left Genesis for a short time.
Collins explains the lyrics, "If you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand," by saying the drowning is symbolic.
The meaning of this song became a pervasive Urban Myth. The story, which is not true, is that Collins watched as a man who raped his wife drowned. Another version has Collins writing this about about a man who watched another drown, and singing it to him at a concert. Yet another variation claims that when Collins was a young boy, he witnessed a man drowning someone but was too far away to help. Later, he hired a private detective to find the man, sent him a free ticket to his concert, and premiered the song that night with the spotlight on the man the whole time. We repeat, these stories are not true. (thanks, katie - somewhere, NJ)
This was Collins' first single as a solo artist. All the original songs on the album, including the followup hit "I Missed Again," were intended to be "messages" to his first wife in an attempt to lure her back to him.
The album sold more than any prior Genesis release, prompting the group to change musical direction. (thanks, Brad Wind - Miami, FL, for above 3)
Collins played this at Live Aid, a benefit concert for famine relief held in 1985. There were stages in London and Philadelphia, and Collins, with the aid of time zone differences and a very fast airplane (the Concorde), was able to perform at both. He played this in both sets.
This was featured on the first episode of the TV show Miami Vice. The show used lots of popular music and featured cameos by Sheena Easton and Glen Frey. It's theme song, by Jan Hammer, was also a hit.
Eminem mentioned this in his 2000 song "Stan," which is about a crazed fan. In the song, the character Stan sings to Eminem, "You know that song by Phil Collins, 'In The Air Tonight,' about that guy who could have saved that other guy from drowning but he didn't? Then Phil saw it all then at his show he found him? That's kind of how this is. You could have rescued me from drowning."

Answer 2

I don't know. I heard from some unreliable source that Phil Collins saw someone at one of his shows that he recognized. Apperantly, the guy could have save someone from drowning, but he didn't.

I think my friend just mis-interpreted the lyrics, but that's what I heard.

Answer 3

Its a a story about some guy watching another guy drown. And Phil confronts him at a concert.............I think.

Answer 4

i think he just ate a hit of extacy and is waiting for his lover.