Some people are born with talent oozing out of their pores, while others of us do well to remember which sock goes on which foot each morning.

Philip David Charles Collins, aka Phil Collins, is an English drummer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and singer of the band Genesis and is also a solo artist. Between 1982 and 1989, Collins scored three UK and seven US number-one singles in his solo career. When his work with Genesis, his work with other artists, as well as his solo career is totaled, Collins had more US Top 40 singles than any other artist during the 1980s.

My claim to fame is that I can fold a really neat stack of towels.

Collins originally wrote this song for his album Face Value and titled the song How Can You Just Sit There?  But he decided he didn’t like the song well enough to include it in the album and it was set aside.  Until … movie director Taylor Hackford, who was directing Against All Odds at the time, appeared at the end of one of Collins’ concerts to ask him to write the title song for the film.

As was the case with several of his early solo songs, it was inspired and written shortly after the breakup between him and his first wife, which he says transformed him from being a musician into also being a lyricist.

“That song was written during my first divorce. My first wife and the kids had gone and I was left there. The song was written out of experience as opposed to a ‘what if’ song. If that personal stuff had not happened to me at the time, I probably would never have made an album, and if I was to have made an album eventually, it probably would have been a jazz/rock thing. Without that stuff I wouldn’t have felt the stuff I felt sitting at a piano night after night, day after day writing stuff.”

Against All Odds
Phil Collins

How can I just let you walk away
Just let you leave without a trace?
When I stand here taking every breath with you, ooh ooh
You’re the only one who really knew me at all

How can you just walk away from me
When all I can do is watch you leave?
‘Cause we’ve shared the laughter and the pain
And even shared the tears
You’re the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now
Well there’s just an empty space
And there’s nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face
Ooh, take a look at me now
Well there’s just an empty space
And you coming back to me is against the odds
And that’s what I’ve got to face

I wish I could just make you turn around
Turn around and see me cry
There’s so much I need to say to you
So many reasons why
You’re the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now
Well there’s just an empty space
And there’s nothing left here to remind me
Just the memory of your face

Now Take a look at me now
‘Cause that’s just an empty space
But to wait for you is all I can do
And that’s what I’ve got to face

Take a good look at me now
‘Cause I’ll still be standing here
And you coming back to me is against all odds
It’s the chance I’ve got to take
Take a look at me now

Songwriters: Phil Collins
Against All Odds lyrics © Concord Music Publishing LLC