Watching for the coins to fall
Phillip Bailey finds you at exactly the right moment and refuses to let go
Most people who leave a lasting mark on history, or in the hearts of others, are ultimately remembered for one thing—even if their lives were far more complicated than that. Perhaps that’s not a failing of memory but a necessity. We don’t remember whole lives, more we remember the story that stayed with us.
Driving over the weekend, I tried Spotify’s DJ X feature. The first set was random—fast-forwarded. The second, some listening familiarity. Then the third opened with an eighties favourite: Philip Bailey’s “Walking on the Chinese Wall.” I didn’t realise then, but listening back now, it was such a spiritual sound for me. Produced by Phil Collins, Bailey employed his signature falsetto against a soothing percussive sound.
I played it over—do you have the same condition? Words matter more to me now. The hook that kept pulling me back: “Watching for the coins to fall.” As a hook should, it anchored me to the tune.
I’m not sure why we listen to music—escape, memory, comfort, connection, perhaps all four. But now and then a song finds you at exactly the right moment and refuses to let go.
Four decades later, still watching for the coins to fall.
P.S. Here’s the link. I know you’re going to listen on repeat. Watch out for the drum intro at 0.18. Mr Collins, please!
Nick
