Running Up That Hill

And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that Hill,
With no problems.

Today's edition of Retro Friday features Kate Bush, and the song Running Up That Hill. I have had one of "those" weeks and this song really spoke to me this morning!

Kate Bush, who was born Catherine Bush on July 30, 1958, is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic style of music and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers in the last 30 years. Bush was signed by EMI at the young age of 16 after receiving a recommendation from Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. In 1978, at the age 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights", which made her the first woman to have a UK number-one with a self-written song. She was also the most photographed woman in the United Kingdom during the following year.

After her 1979 tour, which (by the way) was the only concert tour that she did, Bush released the 1980 album Never for Ever, which made her the first British solo female artist to top the UK album charts and the first female artist ever to enter the album chart at No. 1. She has released a total of ten albums, three of which topped the UK Albums Chart, and has had a grand total of twenty-five UK Top 40 hit singles including "Wuthering Heights", "Running Up that Hill", "King of the Mountain", "Babooshka", "The Man with the Child in His Eyes", and "Don't Give Up" (a duet with Peter Gabriel)—all of which reached the Top 10.

There is something about Kate Bush's musical style that is really appealing to me. Many reviewers have used the term "surreal" to describe her music, but there is often something haunting about her sound and song lyrics. Many of her songs have a melodramatic emotional and musical surrealism to them that makes it difficult to categorize her style. It has been observed that even the more joyous pieces are often tinged with traces of melancholy, and the most sorrowful pieces have elements of vitality struggling against all that would oppress them.

Here is "Running Up The Hill" by Kate Bush. Have a listen and see what you think about her musical style!



Cheers!