FEATURE:
Shot Into the Killer Storm
PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz
Kate Bush’s The Kick Inside at Forty-Three: A Truly Outstanding Title Track
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I have some of Kate Bush’s…
lyrics tattooed on my arms. A couple of lines are from The Kick Inside’s opening track, Moving, whilst the others are from its closing track. The Kick Inside’s exceptional title track is one I have explored before but, as the album is forty-three on 17th February, I wanted to revisit it. The lines I have tattooed from that song are “You must lose me like an arrow/Shot into the killer storm”. That visual is so powerful and beautiful. Before moving on, a little bit of detail regarding The Kick Inside, in terms of its story and why Kate Bush decided to write about the subject she did:
“The lyrics were inspired by a traditional folk song called "Lucy Wan". According to Paddy Bush, at the time of recording the song there were some experiments where actual sections from "Lucy Wan" were taken and processed and used in a very unusual way”.
“The song The Kick Inside, the title track, was inspired by a traditional folk song and it was an area that I wanted to explore because it's one that is really untouched and that is one of incest. There are so many songs about love, but they are always on such an obvious level. This song is about a brother and a sister who are in love, and the sister becomes pregnant by her brother. And because it is so taboo and unheard of, she kills herself in order to preserve her brother's name in the family. The actual song is in fact the suicide note. The sister is saying 'I'm doing it for you' and 'Don't worry, I'll come back to you someday.' (Self Portrait, 1978)
That's inspired by an old traditional song called 'Lucy Wan.' It's about a young girl and her brother who fall desperately in love. It's an incredibly taboo thing. She becomes pregnant by her brother and it's completely against all morals. She doesn't want him to be hurt, she doesn't want her family to be ashamed or disgusted, so she kills herself. The song is a suicide note. She says to her brother, 'Don't worry. I'm doing it for you.' (Jon Young, Kate Bush gets her kicks. Trouser Press, July 1978)”.
It is perhaps not surprising that, even on her debut album, Bush was drawing inspiration from such unusual sources. I think The Kick Inside is the perfect way to end her debut album, as we get this sort of haunting pause as the sister, who has written a suicide note, says that by the time you (the brother) reads it, she will be gone. I think the lyrics on the title track are among the most stirring and memorable Bush has ever written. There are passages in the song that really grab your imagination and provoke wonderful images. Even though it is not among her most romantic lyrics, I do really like the opening verse: “I've pulled down my lace and the chintz/Oh, do you know you have the face of a genius?/I'll send your love to Zeus/Oh, by the time you read this/I'll be well in touch”.
PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Walter/WireImage/Getty Images
One follows the story in the song and, whilst it deals with a tough subject and something quite unorthodox, there is this emotion and sadness. The impossible situation the sister is put into is heartbreaking: “No more under the quilt/To keep you warm/Your sister I was born/You must lose me like an arrow/Shot into the killer storm”. On an album overflowing with brilliant songs and richness, I think The Kick Inside is one of my favourites. Bush’s voice is so versatile and strong right through the song. She manages to convey sacrifice, pain and tenderness. Whilst the composition is quite simple, I think it is really affecting and effective. The language used throughout is like nothing like you’d expect from another songwriter: “You and me on the bobbing knee/Didn't we cry at that old mythology he'd read!/I will come home again, but not until/The sun and the moon meet on yon hill”. I want to write a few short features about various songs and aspects of The Kick Inside. I think Kate Bush’s debut album is still underrated and, forty-three years after its release, it remains startling, hugely original and wonderous! If you have not heard the album, make sure you do, as it is a magnificent piece of work. I wanted to highlight the title track, as it is a sensational thing of beauty, loss and, well…incest. Bush has always pushed boundaries with her song and, whilst The Kick Inside could have come across odd on paper, she makes it work wonderfully. It just leaves it to me to wish a happy anniversary to…
A simply wonderful album.