Peak
12
Weeks
20
Score
3,024
Chart Year
1992
The accompanying music video for "No Son of Mine" is melancholic, illustrating the scene in sepia tone. The video depicts what is discussed in the song, which is a conversation between a son and his father. During the last chorus, snowflakes begin appearing flying around the house; eventually, at the end, the scene pulls out to reveal that the scenes of confrontation have taken place in a snow globe that the son is holding. It was done by FYI (director Jim Yukich and producer Paul Flattery).
This song deals with an abusive father. The lyrics came from Phil Collins, who explained on the radio show Rockline: "The chorus of the song came from improvisation while we were writing the music. I took the notion of my lyrical idea and just wrote a story around it. The story is sort of self-explanatory. It's a household of abuse. The father is being sort of the monster of the family - he's either abusing the son or the mother. I'm not quite sure who, and that's deliberately left open. But it's happening everywhere behind closed doors, and a lot of people I've found that have heard the song have sort of reacted as if it was written for them. It's extraordinary, you just write something that comes about by accident, but in fact it all ends up being something that reaches a lot of people." This was the first single off We Can't Dance, the last Genesis studio album with Phil Collins. Tony Banks built the track for this song using a device called an emulator, which allowed him to sample a guitar part Mike Rutherford played. Slowing down the sample, Banks got a sound he related to the trumpeting of an elephant. Rutherford didn't know he was being recorded when Banks grabbed the sample: He would record random bits of what was going on in the studio and see what he could do with them. Genesis videos went over very well thanks to the cinematic sensibilities of director Jim Yukich and the acting talents of Phil Collins. For a song like this one that tells a story that can be hashed out on film, they typically offered a literal portrayal. In the "No Son of Mine" video, we see the child enduring the abuse doled out by his father. The song opens with the sound of metronome. "It was not originally part of the song," Tony Banks explained. "We needed a tempo thing to happen there, and one time Phil did this thing with two drumsticks. It sounded great and gave it part of the atmosphere." After Genesis reunited for the Turn It On Again Tour in 2007, there was no further band activity for 13 years. Following the long hiatus, Collins, Banks and Rutherford reunited for two-and-a-half weeks of rehearsals in New York in January 2020 accompanied by Collins' son Nick Collins and the group's long-serving touring guitarist Daryl Stuermer. Banks recalled to Mojo, "The first songs we played were 'No Son of Mine' and 'Land of Confusion.' Mainly because they are the two easiest."
Well, the key to my survival Was never in much doubt The question was how I could keep sane Trying to find the way out Things were never easy for me Peace of mind was hard to find And I needed a place where I could hide Somewhere I could call mine I didn't think much about it Till it started happening all the time Soon I was living with the fear everyday Of what might happen at night I couldn't stand to hear the Crying of my mother And I remember when I swore that, that would be the Last they'd see of me And I never went home again They say time is a healer And now my wounds are not the same I rang the bell with my heart in my mouth I had to hear what he'd say He sat me down to talk to me He looked me straight in the eyes He said: "You're no son, you're no son of mine You're no son, you're no son of mine You walked out, you left us behind And you're no son, you're no son of mine" Oh his words how they hurt me I'll never forget it And as the time, it went by I lived to regret it You're no son, you're no son of mine But where should I go Please tell me what should I do You're no son, you're no son of mine But I came here for help Oh I was looking for you Well the years they passed so slowly I thought about him everyday What would I do, if we passed on the street Would I keep running away In and out of hiding places Soon I'd have to face the facts We'd have to sit down and talk it over And that would mean going back They say time is a healer And now my wounds are not the same I rang the bell with my heart in my mouth I had to hear what he'd say He sat me down to talk to me He looked me straight in the eyes He said: "You're no son, you're no son of mine You're no son, you're no son of mine You walked out, you left us behind And you're no son, you're no son of mine" Oh his words how they hurt me I'll never forget it And as the time, it went by I lived to regret it You're no son, you're no son of mine But where should I go Please tell me what should I do You're no son, you're no son of mine But I came here for help Oh I was looking for you
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nov 2, 1991 | 53 | 73 |
| 2 | Nov 9, 1991 | 40 | 86 |
| 3 | Nov 16, 1991 | 29 | 97 |
| 4 | Nov 23, 1991 | 22 | 104 |
| 5 | Nov 30, 1991 | 22 | 104 |
| 6 | Dec 7, 1991 | 20 | 106 |
| 7 | Dec 14, 1991 | 17 | 109 |
| 8 | Dec 21, 1991 | 13 | 113 |
| 9 | Dec 28, 1991 | 13 | 113 |
| 10 | Jan 4, 1992 | 14 | 112 |
| 11 | Jan 11, 1992 | 16 | 110 |
| 12 | Jan 18, 1992 | 12 | 114 |
| 13 | Jan 25, 1992 | 13 | 113 |
| 14 | Feb 1, 1992 | 15 | 111 |
| 15 | Feb 8, 1992 | 21 | 105 |
| 16 | Feb 15, 1992 | 26 | 100 |
| 17 | Feb 22, 1992 | 38 | 88 |
| 18 | Feb 29, 1992 | 46 | 80 |
| 19 | Mar 7, 1992 | 56 | 70 |
| 20 | Mar 14, 1992 | 59 | 67 |