Despite liking the song himself, and despite the band's previous success, he has claimed he wasn't certain the song would be a hit. Collins said that "large chunks" of the lyrics are about his first wife Andrea Bertorelli, to whom he was married from 1975 to 1980.
Despite liking the song and acknowledging the band's previous success, he expressed doubt about its potential for popularity. The lyrics of the song are heavily inspired by his first wife, Andrea Bertorelli, whom he was married to from 1975 to 1980.