Music

Peter Gabriel Debuts New Song ‘A Hard Lesson’ During Latest Full Moon

Peter Gabriel

Rolling Stone·May 31, 2026·via Rolling Stone

'It's a Journey'

Peter Gabriel Marks the Blue Moon With New Song ‘A Hard Lesson’

Another full moon brings another new single from the musician’s o\i project

By Althea Legaspi

Althea Legaspi

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May 31, 2026

May 31 marks the second full moon of the month, known as the blue moon, and with it comes another new single from Peter Gabriel ’s slowly gestating project, o\i , “A Hard Lesson.”

Like his previous LP, 2023’s i/o , he’s slowly unfurling his upcoming album with songs from o/i releasing with every full moon through the course of 2026. It culminates with the album’s release.

“A Hard Lesson” is the oldest song from his upcoming project, the musician revealed on his website. It was written in the late Eighties or early Nineties while Gabriel was in Senegal.

“I was falling in love with the music I heard there. I loved the tension created by the use of polyrhythms, particularly the threes and fours, so that was the start of this song,” he wrote.

“It’s a quirky, strange and long track but it’s a journey. It’s about trying to find a place, your place, how you fit in. I’ve enjoyed playing with old R&B and folk references as well.”