Land of Confusion is a pop rock song written by the band Genesis for their 1986 album Invisible Touch, Land of Confusion was the third track on the album and was the fourth track from the album to become a single. The music was written by the band, while the lyrics were written by guitarist Mike Rutherford. The lyrics, further emphasized by the music video (see below), discuss the greed and uncertainty of the Cold War-era 1980s, but evoke a sense of hope for the future.
The song opens by discussing the détente and open negotiations with the Soviet Union towards nuclear disarmament, but lead singer Phil Collins takes a pessimistic view of the situation:
Now did you read the news today
They say the danger's gone away
But I can see the fire's still alight
There burning into the night.
The chorus, which repeats through the song, asks the listener to take a stance towards improving the planet, and says that mankind must "start trying to make it a place worth living in".
Collins then says that things are degrading, and world leaders (implying Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Mikhail Gorbachev, and others) are only making things worse with each passing day. He eventually decides to take charge, and lead "[his] generation" to solve the world's problems. He also takes a stab at politicians and the political process, claiming that they "make promises that [they] know [they'll] never keep".
Released 1986
