Released 23 October 1993 Length 4:04 | Recorded 1993 Label Atlantic | |
Format CD single, Cassette, 7" Vinyl Genre Alternative rock, hard rock | ||
"The Gift" is the first single from the 1993 album Full Moon, Dirty Hearts, by Australian rock band INXS. The song was written by Jon Farriss and Michael Hutchence.
Contents
The lyric appears to touch on the subject of war and AIDS, with the author questioning the promises made while looking at an "empty sky". The song ends with the strained and repeated verse:
"I was thinking, got the feeling, The gift you gave is gonna last forever. All the lies you find, all the truth you see, Rise and fall, but I know what's mine".Video
The music video for "The Gift" dramatises issues ranging from war and terrorism to famine and pollution with the band appearing to crash through the TV screen in anger. The video was banned by MTV, formerly INXS's greatest ally, owing to its use of Holocaust and Gulf War footage.
In an interview with the director and long-term collaborator, Richard Lowenstein; "The video uses harrowing visuals in order to portray man's ability to create havoc and destruction. The message behind the video is to show how as viewers, we have become accepting of, and increasingly apathetic to images of gross human suffering and violence."
B-sides
The B-sides on the first of two UK CD Single releases include two remixes of The Gift, a live version of Heaven Sent and a cover of Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild which was specially recorded for the April 1993 launch of Virgin Radio in the UK.
Track listings
CD Single 1 INXCD25
- The Gift
- The Gift (Bonus Beats Mix)
- Born to Be Wild
CD Single 2 INXCT 25
- The Gift
- The Gift (Extended Mix)
- Heaven Sent (Live)
CD Single 3 Atlantic 85722-2
- The Gift
- Born to Be Wild
- The Gift (Extended Mix)
- The Gift (Bonus Beat Mix)
- Heaven Sent (Live)
7" Vinyl and Cassette single INXS25
- The Gift
- The Gift (Extended Mix)