PETER GABRIEL - THE BOOK OF LOVE

Released: January 30, 2010

Album: Scratch My Back

Peter Gabriel’s version of “The Book of Love” was recorded for the 2004 film “Shall We Dance” and later released as the lead single from his 2010 album “Scratch My Back”. The album featured Gabriel covering twelve songs by various artists, using only orchestral arrangements and vocals instead of traditional rock instrumentation. His stripped-down, emotive take on “The Book of Love” transformed Stephin Merritt’s dry, wry original into a deeply heartfelt ballad.

Gabriel’s “Scratch My Back” project was meant to be a song exchange—artists he covered would, in turn, reinterpret his songs on a companion album called “I’ll Scratch Yours”. Peter Gabriel originally intended to release “Scratch My Back” and “I’ll Scratch Yours” as a simultaneous two-part project in 2010, but delays arose as some artists either missed deadlines or declined to participate, forcing changes to the concept. With new contributors, the rebranded “And I’ll Scratch Yours” finally came out in September 2013. “Scratch My Back” peaked at No. 12 on the UK Albums Chart and No. 26 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S. Gabriel’s version of “The Book of Love” remains one of the most beloved covers of the song, often used at weddings and emotional moments in film and television.

While waiting for the companion album’s completion, Gabriel opted for an alternative approach—releasing a series of double A-sided singles on iTunes during 2010, each featuring one song from “Scratch My Back” alongside a corresponding cover of a Gabriel song. These were released on full moons, aligning with Gabriel’s affinity for lunar cycles. The first of these, “The Book of Love” (Gabriel’s cover of The Magnetic Fields) and “Not One of Us” (covered by Stephin Merritt), was released on 30 January 2010. Subsequent releases included “The Boy in the Bubble” (Gabriel covering Paul Simon) paired with “Biko” (Simon covering Gabriel) on 28 February and “Flume” (Gabriel covering Bon Iver) paired with “Come Talk to Me” (Bon Iver covering Gabriel) on 30 March. 

Peter Gabriel was drawn to The Magnetic Fields through a friend’s recommendation and became captivated by their songwriting. He found “The Book of Love” particularly compelling because of its mix of deep romance and subtle cynicism, making it more than just a sentimental love song. While working on the orchestration for his song “Signal to Noise”, Gabriel decided to arrange “The Book of Love” for strings as well. He managed to get it recorded during the “Signal to Noise”session, resulting in a stripped-down, emotive version that has since gained a cult following.