"Driving the Last Spike" is the third track on the

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

album ''

We Can't Dance ''We Can't Dance'' is the fourteenth studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released on 11 November 1991 by Virgin Records in the UK and a day later by Atlantic Records in the US. It is their last studio album recorded with drummer and s ...

'', released in 1991. The song's lyrics by

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

are about th
Navvies:railway workers of the 19th century
many of whom died constructing Britain's

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s. The song narrates the thoughts and feelings of an unnamed railway worker in the form of a

soliloquy A soliloquy (, from Latin ''solo'' "to oneself" + ''loquor'' "I talk", plural ''soliloquies'') is a monologue addressed to oneself, thoughts spoken out loud without addressing another. Soliloquies are used as a device in drama to let a character ...

or internal

monologue In theatre, a monologue (from el, μονόλογος, from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts aloud, though sometimes a ...

. The title is a phrase meaning the completion of a major railway project—placing the " last spike" is often a momentous occasion. The original idea came from a book that actor Dennis Waterman gave to Collins. Despite not being released as a single, "Driving the Last Spike" charted in Canada and the United States, peaking at number 51 on the Canadian ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' Top Singles chart and number 25 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart.

Personnel

* Tony Banks – keyboards *

– vocals, drums, drum machine * Mike Rutherford – electric guitars, bass guitar

Live performances

"Driving the Last Spike" was performed live only on the band's 1992 ''

The Way We Walk ''The Way We Walk – Live in Concert'' is a 1993 live video from the ''We Can't Dance'' tour by Genesis. The footage was videotaped on 8 November 1992 at Earls Court in London, and first released on VHS in March 1993 as ''Genesis Live – The W ...

'' The Way We Walk Tour Songs & Dates
/ref> Tour. The second half of the song (starting at 5:41) was transposed to a lower key starting after the first nine shows of the tour. This was done to accommodate Collins' deepening voice without straining. (A recording of an early performance of "Driving the Last Spike" was released as an Atlantic Records promo CD featuring the second half of the song in the album key.) "Driving the Last Spike" was featured on the live album '' The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs'', and the live DVD ''

The Way We Walk - Live in Concert ''The Way We Walk – Live in Concert'' is a 1993 live video from the '' We Can't Dance'' tour by Genesis. The footage was videotaped on 8 November 1992 at Earls Court in London, and first released on VHS in March 1993 as ''Genesis Live – The ...

''.

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Driving The Last Spike Genesis (band) songs 1991 songs Songs written by Tony Banks (musician) Songs written by Phil Collins Songs written by Mike Rutherford Rock ballads Songs about labor

Personnel

Live performances

Charts

See also

References