Famous Kate Bush Quotes
Source: Song lyrics, Hounds of Love (1985)
“I don't know if I'm closer to Heaven but
It looks like Hell down there.”
Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)
Context: I don't know if I'm closer to Heaven but
It looks like Hell down there.
These streets have never been paved with gold.
“There is magic within
There is magic without
Follow me and you'll learn
Just what life's all about.”
Song lyrics, Singles and rarities
Context: When the fantasy bells
Of the universe ring
You can fly through the sky
On a dragonfly's wing.
There is magic within
There is magic without
Follow me and you'll learn
Just what life's all about.
Kate Bush Quotes about love
“The eye in wonder
The eye that sees
The "I" that loves you.”
Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)
Context: The fine purple
The purest gold
The red of the Sacred Heart
The grey of a ghost
The "L" of the lips are open
To the "O" of the Host
The "V" of the velvet
The "E" of my eye
The eye in wonder
The eye that sees
The "I" that loves you.
Song lyrics, 50 Words for Snow (2011)
“We used to say
"Ah Hell, we're young"
But now we see that life is sad
And so is love.”
Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)
“Oh! Don't you throw my love away,
I need your loving, I need your loving…”
Song lyrics, Singles and rarities
Kate Bush Quotes about feelings
Song lyrics, The Kick Inside (1978)
“See those trees
Bend in the wind
I feel they've got a lot more sense than me
You see I try to resist…”
Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)
Song lyrics, Aerial (2005), A Sky of Honey (Disc 2)
Kate Bush: Trending quotes
Source: As quoted in "Kate Bush Speaks" by Owen Myers in Fader (23 November 2016)
Context: I'm really very happy if people can connect at all to anything I do. I don't really mind if people mishear lyrics or misunderstand what the story is. I think that's what you have to let go of when you send it out in the world. I'm sure with a lot of paintings, people don't understand what the painter originally meant, and I don't really think that matters. I just think if you feel something, that's really the ideal goal. If that happens, then I'm really happy.
Song lyrics, The Dreaming (1982)
Context: In Malta, catch a swallow,
For all of the guilty — to set them free.
Wings fill the window,
And they beat and bleed.
They hold the sky on the other side
Of borderlines.
Kate Bush Quotes
Song lyrics, The Sensual World (1989)
“Soon it will be the phase of the moon
When people tune in.”
Song lyrics, The Kick Inside (1978)
Context: Soon it will be the phase of the moon
When people tune in.
Every girl knows about the punctual blues,
But who's to know the power behind our moves?
“There's someone who's loved you forever but you don't know it.”
Song lyrics, 50 Words for Snow (2011)
Context: There's someone who's loved you forever but you don't know it.
You might feel it and just not show it.
“Everything just seems to take so much time. I don't know why. Time… evaporates.”
MOJO interview (2005)
Context: There were so many times I thought, "I'll have the album finished this year, definitely, we'll get it out this year." Then there were a couple of years where I thought, "I'm never gonna do this." If I could make albums quicker, I'd be on a roll wouldn't I? Everything just seems to take so much time. I don't know why. Time… evaporates.
“I say good night-night
I tuck him in tight.
But things are not right.”
Song lyrics, Never for Ever (1980)
Context: I say good night-night
I tuck him in tight.
But things are not right.
What is this? An infant kiss
That sends my body tingling?
“Just let us try
To give these moments back
To those we love
To those who will survive…”
Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)
Context: p>Just being alive
It can really hurt
These moments given
Are a gift from time.Just let us try
To give these moments back
To those we love
To those who will survive…</p
Song lyrics, The Sensual World (1989)
Context: Take away the love and the anger,
And a little piece of hope holding us together.
Looking for a moment that'll never happen,
Living in the gap between past and future.
Take away the stone and the timber,
And a little piece of rope won't hold it together.
This is the portion of "Jig of Life" which was actually written as well as spoken by Kate's brother John Carder Bush.
Song lyrics, Hounds of Love (1985), The Ninth Wave
Context: Can't you see where memories are kept bright?
Tripping on the water like a laughing girl.
Time in her eyes is spawning past life,
One with the ocean and the woman unfurled,
Holding all the love that waits for you here.
Catch us now for I am your future.
A kiss on the wind and we'll make the land.
Come over here to where When lingers,
Waiting in this empty world,
Waiting for Then, when the lifespray cools.
For Now does ride in on the curl of the wave,
And you will dance with me in the sunlit pools.
We are of the going water and the gone.
We are of water in the holy land of water
And all that's to come runs in
With the thrust on the strand.
Song lyrics, Aerial (2005), A Sky of Honey (Disc 2)
Context: The stars are caught in our hair
The stars are on our fingers
A veil of diamond dust
Just reach up and touch it
The sky's above our heads
The sea's around our legs
In milky, silky water
We swim further and further…
“If they find me racing white horses,
They'll not take me for a buoy.”
Song lyrics, Hounds of Love (1985), The Ninth Wave
Context: If they find me racing white horses,
They'll not take me for a buoy.
Let me be weak,
Let me sleep
And dream of sheep.
“As an artist, you’re never happy with anything you do. It’s part of the process.”
As quoted in "In conversation with Kate Bush" by Elio Iannacci in MacLeans (28 November 2016) https://www.macleans.ca/culture/arts/in-conversation-with-kate-bush/
Context: As an artist, you’re never happy with anything you do. It’s part of the process. You’re never really happy. I’m certainly not. That’s a good thing. It means you’re always striving to do better. You hope the next piece will be better.
“Now all the shows are over, it's pretty difficult to explain how I feel about it all.”
An open letter to her fans about her "Before the Dawn" concerts (26 August 2014 - 1 October 2014), in "After the Dawn" at her official "FISH P∑ΩPL∑" site "(22 October 2014) http://www.katebush.com/news/after-dawn
Context: Now all the shows are over, it's pretty difficult to explain how I feel about it all. It was quite a surreal journey that kept its level of intensity right from the early stages to the end of the very last show. It was also such great fun.
It was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. I loved the whole process.… I was really delighted that the shows were received so positively and so warmly but the really unexpected part of it all was the audiences. Audiences that you could only ever dream of. One of the main reasons for wanting to perform live again was to have contact with that audience. They took my breath away. Every single night they were so behind us. You could feel their support from the minute we walked on stage. I just never imagined it would be possible to connect with an audience on such a powerful and intimate level; to feel such, well quite frankly, love. It was like this at every single show.
Thank you so very much to everyone who came to the shows and became part of that shared experience. It was a truly special and wonderful feeling for all of us.
“We thought it would be so hard,
But it wasn't…
It wasn't easy, though!”
Song lyrics, The Sensual World (1989)
Context: He thought he was gonna die,
But he didn't.
She thought she just couldn't cope,
But she did.
We thought it would be so hard,
But it wasn't…
It wasn't easy, though!
Tribute to David Bowie, in "David Bowie, as remembered by…" in The Guardian (17 January 2016) https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/17/david-bowie-as-seen-by-deborah-harry-chris-kate-bush-stein-carlos-alomar-julien-temple-edwyn-collins
Context: David Bowie had everything. He was intelligent, imaginative, brave, charismatic, cool, sexy and truly inspirational both visually and musically. He created such staggeringly brilliant work, yes, but so much of it and it was so good. There are great people who make great work but who else has left a mark like his? No one like him.
Song lyrics, Never for Ever (1980)
MOJO interview (2005)
Context: I do think I go out of my way to be a very normal person and I just find it frustrating that people think that I'm some kind of weirdo reclusive that never comes out into the world. Y'know, I'm a very strong person and I think that's why actually I find it really infuriating when I read, 'She had a nervous breakdown' or 'She's not very mentally stable, just a weak, frail little creature'.
“Stepping out, off the page, into the sensual world.”
Song lyrics, The Sensual World (1989)
Context: Stepping out, off the page, into the sensual world.
And then our arrows of desire rewrite the speech…
“I hear him, before I go to sleep
And focus on the day that's been.”
Song lyrics, The Kick Inside (1978)
Context: I hear him, before I go to sleep
And focus on the day that's been.
I realise he's there,
When I turn the light off and turn over.
“There's something very special indeed,
In all the places where I've seen you shine, boy.”
Song lyrics, The Kick Inside (1978)
Context: There's something very special indeed,
In all the places where I've seen you shine, boy.
There's something very real in how I feel, honey.
It's in me.
It's in me,
And you know it's for real.
Tuning in on your saxophone…
“I need deeper understanding.
Give me deeper understanding…”
Song lyrics, The Sensual World (1989)
Context: I turn to my computer like a friend.
I need deeper understanding.
Give me deeper understanding…
“Is there so much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?”
Song lyrics, Hounds of Love (1985)
Context: Is there so much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?
You, it's you and me.
It's you and me won't be unhappy.
“Aren't we all the same? In and out of doubt.
I can see angels standing around you.”
Song lyrics, 50 Words for Snow (2011)
Context: Aren't we all the same? In and out of doubt.
I can see angels standing around you.
They shimmer like mirrors in Summer.
But you don't know it.
And they will carry you o'er the walls.
If you need us, just call.
“Unless we can prove
That we're doing it,
We can't have it all.”
Song lyrics, The Dreaming (1982)
Context: Out in the garden
There's half of a heaven,
And we're only bluffing.
We're not ones for busting through walls,
But they've told us
Unless we can prove
That we're doing it,
We can't have it all.
Song lyrics, The Dreaming (1982)
Context: I won't open boxes
That I am told not to.
I'm not a Pandora.
I'm much more like
That girl in the mirror.
Between you and me
She don't stand a chance of getting anywhere at all.
“Follow the Nile
Deep to much deeper.
The Pyramids sound lonely tonight.”
Song lyrics, Never for Ever (1980)
Context: Follow the Nile
Deep to much deeper.
The Pyramids sound lonely tonight.
The sands run red
In lands of the Pharoahs.
Their symmetry gets right inside me.
“I was there at the birth,
Out of the cloudburst,
The head of the tempest.”
Song lyrics, Hounds of Love (1985), The Ninth Wave
Context: I was there at the birth,
Out of the cloudburst,
The head of the tempest.
Murderer!
Murder of calm…
“On top of the world,
Looking over the edge,
You could see them coming.”
Song lyrics, Hounds of Love (1985)
Context: On top of the world,
Looking over the edge,
You could see them coming.
You looked too small
In their big, black car,
To be a threat to the men in power.
“Passing through air.
You mix the stars with your arms.”
Song lyrics, Singles and rarities
Context: Passing through air.
You mix the stars with your arms.
Walking through there.
The doom of eternity balms.
Skies of grey are not today.
“With no words, with no song
I'm gonna dance the dream
And make the dream come true…”
Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)
Context: Feel your hair come tumbling down
Feel your feet start kissing the ground
Feel your arms are opening out
And see your eyes are lifted to God
With no words, with no song
I'm gonna dance the dream
And make the dream come true…
“I could have been anyone.
You could have been anyone's dream.
Why did you have to choose our moment?”
Song lyrics, The Kick Inside (1978)
Context: I could have been anyone.
You could have been anyone's dream.
Why did you have to choose our moment?
Why did you have to make me feel that?
Why did you make it so unreal?
“Ooh with a little luck —
December will be magic again.”
Song lyrics, Singles and rarities
Context: See how I fall like the snow,
Come to cover the lovers,
(But don't you wake them up)
Come to sparkle the dark up,
With just a touch of make up.
Come to cover the muck up.
Ooh with a little luck —
December will be magic again.
“I was born in a cloud…
Now I am falling.
I want you to catch me.”
Song lyrics, 50 Words for Snow (2011)
Context: I was born in a cloud…
Now I am falling.
I want you to catch me.
Look up and you'll see me.
You know you can hear me.
The world is so loud. Keep falling. I'll find you.
“No one, no one is here
We stand in the Atlantic
We become panoramic…”
Song lyrics, Aerial (2005), A Sky of Honey (Disc 2)
Context: Could be in a dream
Our clothes are on the beach
These prints of our feet
Lead right up to the sea
No one, no one is here
No one, no one is here
We stand in the Atlantic
We become panoramic…
“You'll never know that you had all of me.
You'll never know the poetry you've stirred in me.”
Song lyrics, The Kick Inside (1978)
Context: You'll never know that you had all of me.
You'll never know the poetry you've stirred in me.
Of all the stars I've seen that shine so brightly,
I've never known or felt in myself so rightly,
It's in me…
Source: Song lyrics, The Sensual World (1989)
Song lyrics, The Red Shoes (1993)
Context: We take all the telescopes
And we turn them inside out
And we point them away from the big sky.
Put your eye right up to the glass.
Here we'll find the constellation of the heart.
Steer your life by these stars
On the unconditional chance
'Tis here where Hell and Heaven dance.
This is the constellation of the heart.
“They open doorways that I thought were shut for good.”
Song lyrics, The Kick Inside (1978)
Context: They open doorways that I thought were shut for good.
They read me Gurdjieff and Jesu.
They build up my body, break me emotionally.
It's nearly killing me, but what a lovely feeling!
“Little light shining,
Little light will guide them to me.”
Song lyrics, Hounds of Love (1985), The Ninth Wave
Context: Little light shining,
Little light will guide them to me.
My face is all lit up,
My face is all lit up.
MOJO interview (2005)
Context: For the last 12 years, I've felt really privileged to be living such a normal life. It's so a part of who I am. It's so important to me to do the washing, do the Hoovering. Friends of mine in the business don't know how dishwashers work. For me, that's frightening. I want to be in a position where I can function as a human being. Even more so now where you've got this sort of truly silly preoccupation with celebrities. Just because somebody's been in an ad on TV, so what? Who gives a toss?
Something, someone — help them.
"It's me."
Song lyrics, Hounds of Love (1985), The Ninth Wave
“Oh, I'm just trying to explain,
I'm a disbelieving angel.”
Song lyrics, Singles and rarities
Context: I feel so sorry for you,
Believing because they control.
And of all the guardian angels
They chose me to save your soul!
Oh, I'm just trying to explain,
I'm a disbelieving angel.
Song lyrics, The Kick Inside (1978)
Context: Ooh, it gets dark! It gets lonely,
On the other side from you.
I pine a lot. I find the lot
Falls through without you.
I'm coming back, love.
Cruel Heathcliff, my one dream,
My only master.
On her song "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)", in a Radio 1 Classic Albums interview with Richard Skinner (26 January 1992) http://gaffa.org/cloud/music/running_up_that_hill.html
Context: I was trying to say that, really, a man and a woman, can't understand each other because we are a man and a woman. And if we could actually swap each other's roles, if we could actually be in each other's place for a while, I think we'd both be very surprised! … And I think it would lead to a greater understanding. And really the only way I could think it could be done was either... you know, I thought a deal with the devil, you know. And I thought, "well, no, why not a deal with God!" You know, because in a way it's so much more powerful the whole idea of asking God to make a deal with you. You see, for me it is still called "Deal With God", that was its title. But we were told that if we kept this title that it would not be played in any of the religious countries, Italy wouldn't play it, France wouldn't play it, and Australia wouldn't play it! Ireland wouldn't play it, and that generally we might get it blacked purely because it had God in the title.
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