Author:Kate Bush
Collections of lyrics are often somewhat strange affairs. Reading the lyrics as poetry or verse, without the familiar musical accompaniment can be an odd experience. Still, Kate Bush has never been afraid to do something a little left field, so here we have a collection of lyrics in this rather nice cloth bound book. Now this isn’t a comprehensive volume by any means – it comprises selected lyrics from her large catalogue, mainly taken from her albums of course, but also including a smattering of non album tracks which haven’t appeared in printed form before. The lyrics aren’t in chronological order, being arranged instead in a number of themed sections, and there’s no indication as to what the basis for inclusion was, other than presumably the author’s personal preference. I thought the words might perhaps be augmented on occasion with illustrations pertinent to each song, but in fact this is presented purely as a book of verse. As such, some pieces work better than others, with the lyrics from her later albums being the strongest for me, but as the songs jump from one era to another it’s hard to trace a definite line of development in her songwriting skills. I’m especially pleased with he inclusion of so much from her last studio album, 50 Words For Snow, which is surely one of her most underrated albums. There’s also a very good and quite lengthy introduction by David Mitchell (of Cloud Atlas fame), who you may recall contributed some pieces to the Before The Dawn shows. He’s obviously a huge fan, and his love of the albums shines out in his writing, as he tells of hearing them for the first time and gives an assessment of each one, relating them his own life and experiences. A very well put together book, which has obviously been given all the care and attention to detail you would expect – a perfect Christmas present for the Kate Bush fan in your life!
Length of Read:Medium
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
This is one for the committed follower of Bush’s albums and career.
One thing you’ve learned
Time to dig out the original albums and give them all another listen.
And by the way, could there have been a more apt title for a book by the reclusive and enigmatic Ms Bush….
Ah but didn’t she comment that she wasn’t really that reclusive? Sure, the maternity leave for Bertie was longer than most can afford, but she made the point that her chosen path of living in peace and comfort on the Devon Coast is fairly standard for someone of her means. There is a media demand that stars spend their time partying and being seen in places to be seen. That she didn’t play ball was not necessarily reclusive.
(and did zou know that kezboards in Swityerland have the Zs and Ys the opposite waz round?)
Trouble is..
No matter how good, song lyrics aren’t to be confused with poetry. Two different things entirely.
Amen.
It. Doesn’t. Work.
The general rule is that lyricists write lousy poetry and poets write lousy lyrics. Leonard Cohen did both well because he knew the difference.
And so does Clive James.
Trouble is..
No matter how good, song lyrics aren’t to be confused with poetry. Two different things entirely.
To someone completely unfamiliar with Kate’s songs, a book of her lyrics resembles a book of verse but it isn’t. It’s at best a half of the original intention.
A useful learning tool to someone who wants to have a bash at singing her songs, mind.
Nearly all of her album covers have the lyrics on anyway, Only place for ’em.
Previous volumes have included Scott Walker and Neil Tennant, anybody got an opinion of those?
I am a huge Kate Bush fan and generally her lyrics are great, however they probably need to be combined with her extraordinary tunes, voice and production to get the full benefit.
Agreed – the lyrics without the music is half the story – an enjoyable book to dip in and out of though when the mood takes you.