Long Walk Home

About

The Long Walk Home appears on the deluxe edition of In and Out of Consciousness and was recorded especially for the release in 2010. Written by British songwriter Martin Page, whose credits include “We Built This City” and “These Dreams”, the song was first released on his 2008 album *In the Temple of the Muse*. Robbie Williams covered it after hearing Page’s recording and relating to its themes of endurance and recovery.

The new version was co-produced by Williams and Trevor Horn at Sarm Studios in London. Page contributed arrangement work and backing vocals, preserving the original’s textured, atmospheric production while adding Williams’s warmer, more resonant vocal performance. The result is a richly layered ballad with echoes of The Police’s rhythmic restraint and Horn’s signature orchestral polish.

Lyrically, The Long Walk Home reflects on addiction, resilience and the slow process of self-redemption. Its imagery of night journeys and invisible walls mirrors Williams’s own struggles with fame and mental health. Lines such as “Another 5 a.m., the cancer crawls, and you’re pressed against an invisible wall” give the song a striking emotional weight that he channels with quiet control.

“I think he responded to the recovery lyrics. It was lovely to have Robbie Williams fall in love with this song.”Martin Page

Although not released as a single, The Long Walk Home was praised by listeners for its honesty and understated beauty. It closed the deluxe edition of *In and Out of Consciousness* on a contemplative note, underlining the album’s central message of reflection and renewal, and serving as a bridge between Williams’s past turmoil and his steadier creative resurgence.