This song is the debut solo single by the English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins. It was released as the lead single from Collins' debut solo album, Face Value, in January 1981.

Collins wrote the song amid the grief he felt after divorcing his first wife Andrea Bertorelli in 1980. In a 2016 interview, Collins said of the song's lyrics: "I wrote the lyrics spontaneously. I'm not quite sure what the song is about, but there's a lot of anger, a lot of despair and a lot of frustration." In a 1997 BBC Radio 2 documentary, the singer revealed that the divorce contributed to his 1979 hiatus from Genesis until the band regrouped in October of that year to record the album Duke.

Lyrics

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord

And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord

Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord

Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand

I've seen your face before my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am

Well I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes

So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been

It's all been a pack of lies

And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord

Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord

Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord

Well I remember, I remember, don't worry, how could I ever forget

It's the first time, the last time we ever met

But I know the reason why you keep your silence up, oh no you don't fool me

Well the hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows

It's no stranger to you and me

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord

Well been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord

I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord

Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord

I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord

And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord

I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord

Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord

I can feel it in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord

Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord

Songwriters: Phil Collins

In the Air Tonight lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Concord Music Publishing LLC