Steam (Peter Gabriel song)


"Steam" is the second single from English rock musician Peter Gabriel's 1992 album Us. Gabriel has said that the song is about a relationship in which the woman is sophisticated, bright, cultured, and knows everything about anything while the man knows nothing about anything; however, he does know about the woman, and she does not know much about herself.
"Steam" reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart, number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number one on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. In Canada the single became a number-one hit, topping the RPM Top Singles chart on the week of 27 February 1993, knocking Whitney Houston's hit "I Will Always Love You" off the top spot after a 10-week run. "Steam" also charted within the top 10 in Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand and Portugal.
An alternative version of this song called "Quiet Steam" was a B-side on the "Digging in the Dirt" single. It is a very lo-fi take on the popular version that appeared on the album. On Secret World Live, "Steam" is preceded for a minute or so by the "Quiet Steam" version.

Music video

The video for "Steam" was directed by Stephen R. Johnson, who also directed the videos for Gabriel's earlier hits "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time". The director said he wanted to cram the video with as many "things" as possible. The video features digital imagery and numerous instances of sexual symbolism.

Awards and nominations

Track listing

All songs written by Peter Gabriel.
  1. "Steam " – 6:02
  2. "Games Without Frontiers " – 5:19
  3. "Steam " – 6:44
  4. "Steam " – 5:44

    Personnel

Producers
Musicians

Weekly charts

Year-end charts