"The Gift" is the first single from the 1993 album Full Moon, Dirty Hearts

Full Moon, Dirty Hearts

Following the positive response to the sold-out UK Get Out Of The House Tour in 1993, Full Moon Dirty Hearts received mixed reviews on its release. At the time, the band had been hyping up their new-found raw and "grungy" sound. The album's release marked a steep downturn in terms of sales, with...

, by Australian rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band INXS

INXS

INXS are an Australian rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. Mainstays are Garry Gary Beers on bass guitar, Andrew Farriss on guitar/keyboards, Jon Farriss on drums, Tim Farriss on lead guitar and Kirk Pengilly on guitar/sax...

. The song was written by Jon Farriss

Jon Farriss

Jon Farriss is the drummer for the Australian rock band INXS.-Biography:...

 and Michael Hutchence

Michael Hutchence

Michael Kelland John Hutchence was an Australian musician and actor. He was the founding lead singer-songwriter of rock band :INXS from 1977 to his death in 1997, a period of twenty years. Hutchence was a member of short-lived pop rock group Max Q and recorded solo material which was released...

.

The lyric appears to touch on the subject of war and AIDS, with the author questioning the promises made while looking at an "empty sky". The song ends with the strained and repeated verse:

"I was thinking, got the feeling,

The gift you gave is gonna last forever.

All the lies you find, all the truth you see,

Rise and fall, but I know what's mine".

Video

The music video for "The Gift" dramatises issues ranging from war and terrorism to famine and pollution with the band appearing to crash through the TV screen in anger. The video was banned by MTV, formerly INXS's greatest ally, owing to its use of Holocaust and Gulf War footage.

In an interview with the director and long-term collaborator, Richard Lowenstein

Richard Lowenstein

Richard Lowenstein is an Australian film director. He has written, produced and directed the feature films He Died With A Felafel In His Hand, Dogs In Space, Say a Little Prayer, Strikebound and Ghost Story, as well as numerous ground-breaking and award-winning music videos for bands such as INXS...

; "The video uses harrowing visuals in order to portray man's ability to create havoc and destruction. The message behind the video is to show how as viewers, we have become accepting of, and increasingly apathetic to images of gross human suffering and violence."

B-sides

The B-sides on the first of two UK CD Single releases include two remixes of The Gift, a live version of Heaven Sent

Heaven Sent (INXS song)

"Heaven Sent" is the first single by INXS taken from their eighth studio album Welcome to Wherever You Are. It was released only in Europe, Japan and Australia. The song was written by Andrew Farriss who explained on the liner notes of the 1992 remaster: ”Originally I wrote the song as a 3/4...

 and a cover of Steppenwolf's

Steppenwolf (band)

Steppenwolf are a Canadian-American rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of Toronto group The...

 Born to Be Wild

Born to Be Wild

"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude...

 which was specially recorded for the April 1993 launch of Virgin Radio in the UK.

Track listings

CD Single 1 INXCD25

1. The Gift
2. The Gift (Bonus Beats Mix)
3. Born To Be Wild

CD Single 2 INXCT 25

1. The Gift
2. The Gift (Extended Mix)
3. Heaven Sent (Live)

7" Vinyl and Cassette single INXS25

1. The Gift
2. The Gift (Extended Mix)

Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	16
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	11
U.S. Billboard Modern Rock Tracks Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Songs is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on modern rock radio stations, most of which are alternative rock songs...	6