Turn It On Again Lyrics
(One, two, three, four!)
[Verse 1]
All I need is a TV show
That and the radio
Down on my luck again
Down on my luck again
[Chorus]
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
[Post-Chorus]
It's driving me mad
Just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she's not there
I, I, I, I, I
[Verse 2]
You're just another face
That I know from the TV show
I have known you for so very long
I feel you like a friend
Can't you do anything for me
Can I touch you for a while?
Can I meet you on another day
And we will fly away?
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
I can show you, I can show you
Some of the people in my life
[Post-Chorus]
It's driving me mad
It's just another way of passing the day
I, I get so lonely when she's not there
I, I, I, I, I
[Outro]
Turn it on
Turn it on, turn it on again
Turn it on
Turn it on, turn it on again
Turn it on (I can see another face)
Turn it on, turn it on again (I can see another face)
Turn it on (I can see another face)
Turn it on, turn it on again (I can see another face)
Turn it on (I can see another face)
Turn it on, turn it on again (I can see another face)
Turn it on (I can see another face)
Turn it on, turn it on again (I can see another face)
Turn it on (I can see another face)
Turn it on, turn it on again (I can see another face)
About
One of the defining hit songs released by Genesis, “Turn It On Again” describes part of the Duke story, as the title character falls in love with his television.
The track was an important one for Genesis, lending its name to their greatest hits collection and featuring as the only song from the Phil Collins vocal era to be performed during the band’s famous reunion show in 1982, Six of the Best.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
According to Songfacts, Tony Banks explained in the Way We Walk DVD:
Musically, it’s quite a complicated piece. For starters, it’s in a funny time signature, 13/8 or something. Not that you’d really notice that – it seemed more natural to do that than it was to make it 12, which would have been the more normal. Chord-wise, it goes through loads and loads of chords. It’s a very unlikely single in a way. The reason I think it works is because it sounds simple even though it isn’t. I’ve always quite liked that. The Beach Boys were good at that – things that sound deceptively simple but when you actually look at them, they’re really quite complicated.
Also, Rutherford said to Songfacts in a 2017 interview:
I have a slight problem with it and a complaint is that at the moment no one lives in the now. They’re all somewhere else on their screen talking to someone else, doing something else. There’s a big lack of just being where you are, enjoying the moment, blue sky, people you’re talking to.
The screen means they’re somewhere else, they’re mentally not near, and that’s a shame I think. I see families round the table who are on the phone, on the screen. I never allow that in my household. My kids are big now, but the danger is that everyone is somewhere else mentally.
- 2.Duchess
- 3.Guide Vocal
- 6.Heathaze
- 7.Turn It On Again
- 9.Cul-De-Sac
- 10.Please Don’t Ask
- 11.Duke’s Travels
- 12.Duke’s End