Misunderstanding Lyrics
There must be some kind of mistake
I was waiting in the rain for hours
You were late
Now it's not like me to say the right thing
But you could've called to let me know
I checked your number twice, don't understand it
So I went home
Well, I'd been waiting for this weekend
I thought that maybe we could see a show
Never dreamed I'd have this feeling
But seeing you is believing
That's why I don't know why
You didn't show up that night
There must be some misunderstanding
There must be some kind of mistake
I was waiting in the rain for hours
You were late
Since then, I've been running around trying to find you
I went to the places that you always go
I rang your house but got no answer
Jumped in my car, I went round there
I still don't believe it
He was just leaving
There must be some kind of mistake
About
“Misunderstanding” is a song detailing the misbelief hopes of someone who has been stood up by their date.
Originally written by Phil Collins during the production of his debut solo album Face Value, the song ended up being donated (along with “Please Don’t Ask”) for Duke. According to Collins, the song was modeled after The Beach Boys‘ “Sail On, Sailor”, Sly and the Family Stone’s “Hot Fun in the Summertime” and Toto’s “Hold the Line”.
The song was featured on the U.S. leg of the Duke Tour of 1980, and was also featured on tours to promote future albums Abacab and Genesis. Despite its commercial success, it was dropped from the set lists of all the later tours. However a verse was sung sometimes in the We Can’t Dance Tour’s “Old Medley.” Collins also played the song in its entirety with a horn section in the U.S. during his First Final Farewell Tour in 2004.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
According to Songfacts: Banks recalled to Cleveland radio 98.5 WNCX:
“Misunderstanding“ was the first song we recorded that Phil wrote. Phil didn’t used to write all that much of Genesis' material in the early days, up to and including Duke, really. He just didn’t rate himself as a writer that much, I don’t think, and he’d never really tried it before. But after his problems with his marriage in that year, he started to write songs. And he played us a load of the songs he’d written and we picked out of them two songs. One of them was “Misunderstanding“.
- 9.In Too Deep
- 10.Mama
- 11.That’s All
- 12.Home by the Sea
- 14.Illegal Alien
- 15.Paperlate
- 17.Abacab
- 18.Keep It Dark
- 19.Turn It On Again
- 20.Behind the Lines
- 21.Duchess
- 22.Misunderstanding
- 23.Many Too Many
- 25.Undertow
- 27.Afterglow
- 30.Ripples
- 31.Los Endos
- 35.Firth of Fifth
- 36.The Cinema Show
- 38.Supper’s Ready
- 39.The Musical Box
- 40.The Knife
