Young boy, late at night, first time I listened to this, headphones on... The end of that song, me just staring at a dark ceiling. My god is was astonishing.
As ever, you’ve had some great comments and insights already so I won’t try to add. Others have explained the background to the track well. I’ll relate a magical moment instead. About 30 of 40 of us met up in a pub in Leeds for an evening of Kate and Beer. The bar staff were great, and played Kate all evening. We chatted, flirted, drank and danced - and then this came on. As the song reached its climax the pub fell silent - and then, spontaneously, 30-40 Kate Bush fans belted it out in harmony: HEE-HAWWW, HEE-HAWWW, HEEE-HAWWWWWW!!! You had to be there. Magic.
Inspired by reading The Shining by Stephen King, it uses the house as a metaphor for the person, some negative bad energy has got in and she is trying to escape it and and get it out of her "house", so she changes shape first to a bird and the into a mule (hee -HAWWW!". It's about how people can shut themselves away and not let anyone in to share their life, but also how we have to find a way to learn what we can let in and stay and what has to be kept or thrown out to stop it hurting us. First time you hear it it is a little overwhelming - more Kate WTF? moments, especially the donkey braying bit! What an amazing album from a unique and amazing artist.
This song has been know to scare a few people, which I guess that it's designed to do so. Then when Kate turns into a mule, the look on your face was priceless to be honest! I remember following the instructions on the album sleeve to play it loud and annoying my parents (RIP) especially when it came to the last two tracks! I will go into some detail into my feelings about this album and the reaction of EMI when they were first presented with it in another comment. But here's one of a few Kate Bush quotes about this song: "The Shining' is the only book I've read that has frightened me. While reading it I swamped around in its snowy imagery and avoided visiting certain floors of the big, cold hotel, empty for the winter. As in 'Alien', the central characters are isolated, miles (or light years) away from anyone or anything, but there is something in the place with them. They're not sure what, but it isn't very nice. The setting for this song continues the theme - the house which is really a human being, has been shut up - locked and bolted, to stop any outside forces from entering. The person has been hurt and has decided to keep everybody out. They plant a 'concierge' at the front door to stop any determined callers from passing, but the thing has got into the house upstairs. It's descending in the lift, and now it approaches the door of the room that you're hiding in. You're cornered, there's no way out, so you turn into a bird and fly away, but the thing changes shape, too. You change, it changes; you can't escape, so you turn around and face it, scare it away. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982)" Here are the lyrics: ("Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw!") When you left, the door was (slamming!) You paused in the doorway (slamming!) As though a thought stole you away (slamming!) I watched the world pull you away (Lock it!) So I run into the hall (Lock it!) Into the corridor (Lock it!) There's a door in the house (slamming!) I hear the lift descending (slamming!) I hear it hit the landing (slamming!) See the hackles on the cat standing With my key I (lock it) With my key I (lock it up) With my key I (lock it) With my key I (lock it up) I am the concierge chez-moi, honey Won't letcha in for love, nor money ("Let me in!") My home, my joy I'm barred and bolted and I (Won't let you in) (Get out of my house!) No stranger's feet Will enter me (Get out of my house!) I wash the panes, (Get out of my house!) I clean the stains away (Get out of my house!) This house is as old as I am (Slamming) This house knows all I have done (Slamming) They come with their weather hanging 'round them, (Slamming) But can't knock my door down! (Slamming) With my key I (lock it) With my key I (lock it) This house is full of m-m-my mess (Slamming) This house is full of m-m-mistakes (Slamming) This house is full of m-m-madness (Slamming) This house is full of, full of, full of fight! (Slam it) With my keeper I (clean up) With my keeper I (clean it all up) With my keeper I (clean up) With my keeper I (clean it all up) I am the concierge chez-moi, honey Won't letcha in for love, nor money ("It's cold out here!") My home, my joy. I'm barred and bolted and I (Get out of my house!) (Won't let you in) (Get out of my house!) No stranger's feet (Get out of my house!) Will enter me (Get out of my house!) I wash the panes (Get out of my house!) I clean the stains (Get out of my house!) (Get out of my house!) (Get out of my house!) (Get out of my house!) Won't enter me (Get out of my house!) (Get out of my house!) (Get out of my house!) (Get out of my house!) Yeah! Won't let you in! (Get out of my house!) (Get out of my house!) "Let me in! "Woman let me in! Let me bring in the memories! Woman let me in! Let me bring in the Devil Dreams!" I will not let you in! Don't you bring back the reveries I turn into a bird, Carry further than the word is heard "Woman let me in! I turn into the wind. I blow you a cold kiss, Stronger than the song's hit" I will not let you in I face towards the wind I change into the Mule "I change into the Mule" Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw-hee-haw-hee-haw-hee-haw... "Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"
I remember my first time listening to the album. Get out of my house was a favorite right away. Ugh, love when Kate goes the spooky route. You will see it a couple of times in the next album.
So, in that era, some kids were into punk, SKA or rock...but this was what I played LOUD. And Kate Bush could knock them all flat. I used to sing this as loud as I could.
To be played loudly when one is stuck with a houseguest who’s overstayed their welcome! I’d say this song (and album) is the most challenging in Kate’s catalog. Congrats on making it through! Sounds like you’ve got a few bonus tracks before moving on to Hounds of Love. It may have been mentioned already, but just fyi-the songs on side two of that album are collectively called ‘the Ninth Wave.’ Together they tell a single story and are intended to be listened to all in one sitting. That may not work with the format of your channel, but something to keep in mind as you journey through those songs… Thanks for another great reaction video and looking forward to more!
“It's meant to be a bit scary. It's just the idea of someone being in this place and there's something else there... You don't know what it is. The track kept changing in the studio. This is something that's never happened before on an album. That one was maybe half the length it is now. The guitarist got this really nice riff going, and I got this idea of two voices - a person in the house, trying to get away from this thing, but it's still there. So in order to get away, they change their form - first into a bird trying to fly away from it. The thing can change as well, so that changes into this wind, and starts blowing all icy. The idea is to turn around and face it. You've got this image of something turning round and going "Aah!"' just to try and scare it away.” - Kate Bush (Kris Needs, 'Dream Time In The Bush'. ZIgZag (UK), 1982)
The mule or wild ass is important in old mystical traditions as representing total obstinance, or a stubborn refusal to yield, which is an impulse present within all of us, but in doing so, one can find oneself in a state of self-imposed exile or alienation. At the end of this song it seems as though the evil ( devil dream/memories) have found their way in and then she is being pursued. She turns into a bird to fly away from the devil's spell, he turns into a cold wind, she turns against the wind and turns into a mule.. Hee Haw Hee Haw Hee Haw!!.... Then the last fade out includes a male chorus intoning what sounds like the rhythmic vocal signatures used with the tabla drum in the classical traditions of India or the Sufi music of West Asia or Pakistan. But there are words superimposed over it which seem to be saying, " lock it, lock it up, There is a devil in the house, locking the door.." -so the evil is now INSIDE and must now be locked IN...?! How creepy is that???
Hahah, I love to hear that. And seriously, I can't believe this record. Legendary, and I haven't even finished it yet. PS, I'm hoping to get the next Siouxsie & the Banshees up within a couple days. :)
@@mattsnider2667 oh you got bonus tracks for us? Im guessing the lord of the reedy river a Donovan cover is one of those Always here for more Sioux but I know you got a lot of music to get through.
This is my favourite Kate Bush album, so looking at my top four, we have: 📍1st - The Dreaming - this is such a ballsy album and I think a landmark piece of work, her 1st studio album were she was the sole producer 📍2nd - ???? - you haven't reacted to it yet! 😀 📍3rd - Never For Ever - as a co-producer and starting to use the Fairlight CMI Kate begins to spread her musical wings 📍4th - The Kick Inside - just a brilliant debut album When EMI were presented with the album some executives were extremely upset due to the amount of studio time (in multiple studios - including Abbey Road) that they had to pay for, for what they considered to be an album that didn't contain any commercial tracks on it. At one there was a possibility that EMI would reject the album, but then wiser heads intervened because they realised that Kate would strongly defend her material and would never go back to the drawing board. But, it does make me wonder about the strange decision to release "Sat In Your Lap" over a year in advance of the album release... maybe some parts of EMI wanted the album to fail. In the event it got to number 3 in the UK album although sales were lower than the previous albums. The critical reaction was mixed, to say the least, although recently it has undergone an significant reevaluation amongst music critics. As for myself despite the many brilliant Kate Bush albums, this is the one that I play the most. BTW: the official music video for "Sat In Your Lap" was filmed in studio two at Abbey Road. Matt, I would certainly be interested in your overall feelings about this particular album. It's brilliant that you are taking the time (and effort) to do such a deep dive into Kate's work.
The whole donkey thing reminds me of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer's Night Dream". It also reminds me of a dream I had when I was 5 years old where I was running down the stairs from something or someone chasing me and I felt I wasn't running fast enough and turned into a butterfly. And I also think it connects back the to 'The Dreaming' and animals in aboriginal culture.
yep, that really happened and yep, you really did hear that. Here come the Hee-haws! In relation to the title track I did say it might be the most "Kate Bush" Kate Bush song. But just a few tracks later I am shamelessly changing my mind and saying this might just be the most "Kate Bush" Kate Bush song (don't worry I'll reverse ferret later on and say the same about "Waking the Witch" and "Jig of Life" on the next album and then about "Heads We're dancing" and "Rockets Tail" on the one after that .... and so on...). But if you ever wondered what a song combining Stephen King's "The Shining" and Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh might sound like, then this song gives you the answer - and who hasn't wondered that from time to time? This is the final song on this album and while I personally rate a few others of Kate's above "The Dreaming" this is still a remarkable album. It is a wild, untamed beast of an album that shows to everyone that the boundaries of the genre actually lie far beyond what we often think. Beyond the horizon that you can see, the ocean stretches out for mile after mile after mile. What Kate does in this album was literally unheard of for a female artist up until she kicked down the wall. The dreaming remains essential listening and remains a very important and influential achievement. There are some b sides from this period worth hearing. in "ne t'enfuis pas' she sings in French and about 2/3 of the way through you realise she is seducing you by whispering into your ear in French (in a later album she will try to seduce the listener by whispering numbers into their ear). And in her cover of "Lord of the Reedy River" she manages (at least to me) to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Been wanting to send a comment on this one. This is the song that compelled me under the magician's spell. Just saw your pat benatar reaction so I think you'll understand. That was what was on my turntable before the dreaming came out. That and the Pretenders, Joan Jett, Blondie, romeo void, even Berlin, Missing Persons and throw in my worn out Rickie Lee Jones. I knew of Kate Bush from the album I had stolen from my sister that a friend had given her ( it's okay, she left my Gilda Radner concert album with the same friend) thought she was unique. I'll check her ou more.. later (remember you had to buy a vinyl album first, not pull it up on your phone and I was busy, new music expoding) Then I heard this song and thought omg, she'll go there, where else will she go, maybe I want to go along. Bought the album as soon as I could find it, and have been entranced ever since. But it took this song to shake me awake.
![Shnootz - Reaction Video (Kate Bush - The Ninth Wave [Part 2])](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/m63ne1-rNW0/mqdefault.jpg)
Perhaps the pinnacle of Kate's most "out there" album. Sheer brilliance.
Young boy, late at night, first time I listened to this, headphones on... The end of that song, me just staring at a dark ceiling. My god is was astonishing.
You can't find words with Kate. Nothing was like this, nothing ever will be.
As ever, you’ve had some great comments and insights already so I won’t try to add. Others have explained the background to the track well. I’ll relate a magical moment instead. About 30 of 40 of us met up in a pub in Leeds for an evening of Kate and Beer. The bar staff were great, and played Kate all evening. We chatted, flirted, drank and danced - and then this came on. As the song reached its climax the pub fell silent - and then, spontaneously, 30-40 Kate Bush fans belted it out in harmony: HEE-HAWWW, HEE-HAWWW, HEEE-HAWWWWWW!!! You had to be there. Magic.
Inspired by reading The Shining by Stephen King, it uses the house as a metaphor for the person, some negative bad energy has got in and she is trying to escape it and and get it out of her "house", so she changes shape first to a bird and the into a mule (hee -HAWWW!". It's about how people can shut themselves away and not let anyone in to share their life, but also how we have to find a way to learn what we can let in and stay and what has to be kept or thrown out to stop it hurting us. First time you hear it it is a little overwhelming - more Kate WTF? moments, especially the donkey braying bit! What an amazing album from a unique and amazing artist.
This song has been know to scare a few people, which I guess that it's designed to do so. Then when Kate turns into a mule, the look on your face was priceless to be honest!
I remember following the instructions on the album sleeve to play it loud and annoying my parents (RIP) especially when it came to the last two tracks!
I will go into some detail into my feelings about this album and the reaction of EMI when they were first presented with it in another comment.
But here's one of a few Kate Bush quotes about this song:
"The Shining' is the only book I've read that has frightened me. While reading it I swamped around in its snowy imagery and avoided visiting certain floors of the big, cold hotel, empty for the winter. As in 'Alien', the central characters are isolated, miles (or light years) away from anyone or anything, but there is something in the place with them. They're not sure what, but it isn't very nice.
The setting for this song continues the theme - the house which is really a human being, has been shut up - locked and bolted, to stop any outside forces from entering. The person has been hurt and has decided to keep everybody out. They plant a 'concierge' at the front door to stop any determined callers from passing, but the thing has got into the house upstairs. It's descending in the lift, and now it approaches the door of the room that you're hiding in. You're cornered, there's no way out, so you turn into a bird and fly away, but the thing changes shape, too. You change, it changes; you can't escape, so you turn around and face it, scare it away. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982)"
Here are the lyrics:
("Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw!")
When you left, the door was
(slamming!)
You paused in the doorway
(slamming!)
As though a thought stole you away
(slamming!)
I watched the world pull you away
(Lock it!)
So I run into the hall
(Lock it!)
Into the corridor
(Lock it!)
There's a door in the house
(slamming!)
I hear the lift descending
(slamming!)
I hear it hit the landing
(slamming!)
See the hackles on the cat
standing
With my key I
(lock it)
With my key I
(lock it up)
With my key I
(lock it)
With my key I
(lock it up)
I am the concierge chez-moi, honey
Won't letcha in for love, nor money
("Let me in!")
My home, my joy
I'm barred and bolted and I
(Won't let you in)
(Get out of my house!)
No stranger's feet
Will enter me
(Get out of my house!)
I wash the panes,
(Get out of my house!)
I clean the stains away
(Get out of my house!)
This house is as old as I am
(Slamming)
This house knows all I have done
(Slamming)
They come with their weather hanging 'round them,
(Slamming)
But can't knock my door down!
(Slamming)
With my key I
(lock it)
With my key I
(lock it)
This house is full of m-m-my mess
(Slamming)
This house is full of m-m-mistakes
(Slamming)
This house is full of m-m-madness
(Slamming)
This house is full of, full of, full of fight!
(Slam it)
With my keeper I
(clean up)
With my keeper I
(clean it all up)
With my keeper I
(clean up)
With my keeper I
(clean it all up)
I am the concierge chez-moi, honey
Won't letcha in for love, nor money
("It's cold out here!")
My home, my joy.
I'm barred and bolted and I
(Get out of my house!)
(Won't let you in)
(Get out of my house!)
No stranger's feet
(Get out of my house!)
Will enter me
(Get out of my house!)
I wash the panes
(Get out of my house!)
I clean the stains
(Get out of my house!)
(Get out of my house!)
(Get out of my house!)
(Get out of my house!)
Won't enter me
(Get out of my house!)
(Get out of my house!)
(Get out of my house!)
(Get out of my house!)
Yeah! Won't let you in!
(Get out of my house!)
(Get out of my house!)
"Let me in!
"Woman let me in!
Let me bring in the memories!
Woman let me in!
Let me bring in the Devil Dreams!"
I will not let you in!
Don't you bring back the reveries
I turn into a bird,
Carry further than the word is heard
"Woman let me in!
I turn into the wind.
I blow you a cold kiss,
Stronger than the song's hit"
I will not let you in
I face towards the wind
I change into the Mule
"I change into the Mule"
Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw-hee-haw-hee-haw-hee-haw...
"Hee-haw! Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"
The look on your face was so recognisable! And enjoyable! The originality in her work here is so attractive to me. She let it all out.
I was waiting to see what you would make of that one. More, please.
That album was quite the trip, wasn't it? And what a way to finish it!
I remember my first time listening to the album. Get out of my house was a favorite right away. Ugh, love when Kate goes the spooky route. You will see it a couple of times in the next album.
I love love love this song. Kate Bush was so inspiring and ahead of the game. The Dreaming is spotty but amazing
So, in that era, some kids were into punk, SKA or rock...but this was what I played LOUD. And Kate Bush could knock them all flat. I used to sing this as loud as I could.
To be played loudly when one is stuck with a houseguest who’s overstayed their welcome!
I’d say this song (and album) is the most challenging in Kate’s catalog. Congrats on making it through!
Sounds like you’ve got a few bonus tracks before moving on to Hounds of Love. It may have been mentioned already, but just fyi-the songs on side two of that album are collectively called ‘the Ninth Wave.’ Together they tell a single story and are intended to be listened to all in one sitting. That may not work with the format of your channel, but something to keep in mind as you journey through those songs…
Thanks for another great reaction video and looking forward to more!
“It's meant to be a bit scary. It's just the idea of someone being in this place and there's something else there... You don't know what it is. The track kept changing in the studio. This is something that's never happened before on an album. That one was maybe half the length it is now. The guitarist got this really nice riff going, and I got this idea of two voices - a person in the house, trying to get away from this thing, but it's still there. So in order to get away, they change their form - first into a bird trying to fly away from it. The thing can change as well, so that changes into this wind, and starts blowing all icy. The idea is to turn around and face it. You've got this image of something turning round and going "Aah!"' just to try and scare it away.” - Kate Bush (Kris Needs, 'Dream Time In The Bush'. ZIgZag (UK), 1982)
The mule or wild ass is important in old mystical traditions as representing total obstinance, or a stubborn refusal to yield, which is an impulse present within all of us, but in doing so, one can find oneself in a state of self-imposed exile or alienation. At the end of this song it seems as though the evil ( devil dream/memories) have found their way in and then she is being pursued. She turns into a bird to fly away from the devil's spell, he turns into a cold wind, she turns against the wind and turns into a mule..
Hee Haw Hee Haw Hee Haw!!....
Then the last fade out includes a male chorus intoning what sounds like the rhythmic vocal signatures used with the tabla drum in the classical traditions of India or the Sufi music of West Asia or Pakistan. But there are words superimposed over it which seem to be saying, " lock it, lock it up,
There is a devil in the house, locking the door.."
-so the evil is now INSIDE and must now be locked IN...?!
How creepy is that???
Luca recognizes a rare and matchless masterpiece when he hears one!
I've been patiently waiting for this one to come up just to see your facial expressions and it did not disappoint :P. What a song....what an album!
Hahah, I love to hear that. And seriously, I can't believe this record. Legendary, and I haven't even finished it yet.
PS, I'm hoping to get the next Siouxsie & the Banshees up within a couple days. :)
@@mattsnider2667 oh you got bonus tracks for us? Im guessing the lord of the reedy river a Donovan cover is one of those
Always here for more Sioux but I know you got a lot of music to get through.
@@nikolanikolic1366 Yes, that is one of them, and the other two are "Ne T'Enfuis Pas" and "Un Baiser D'Enfant"
This is my favourite Kate Bush album, so looking at my top four, we have:
📍1st - The Dreaming - this is such a ballsy album and I think a landmark piece of work, her 1st studio album were she was the sole producer
📍2nd - ???? - you haven't reacted to it yet! 😀
📍3rd - Never For Ever - as a co-producer and starting to use the Fairlight CMI Kate begins to spread her musical wings
📍4th - The Kick Inside - just a brilliant debut album
When EMI were presented with the album some executives were extremely upset due to the amount of studio time (in multiple studios - including Abbey Road) that they had to pay for, for what they considered to be an album that didn't contain any commercial tracks on it.
At one there was a possibility that EMI would reject the album, but then wiser heads intervened because they realised that Kate would strongly defend her material and would never go back to the drawing board.
But, it does make me wonder about the strange decision to release "Sat In Your Lap" over a year in advance of the album release... maybe some parts of EMI wanted the album to fail.
In the event it got to number 3 in the UK album although sales were lower than the previous albums.
The critical reaction was mixed, to say the least, although recently it has undergone an significant reevaluation amongst music critics.
As for myself despite the many brilliant Kate Bush albums, this is the one that I play the most.
BTW: the official music video for "Sat In Your Lap" was filmed in studio two at Abbey Road.
Matt, I would certainly be interested in your overall feelings about this particular album.
It's brilliant that you are taking the time (and effort) to do such a deep dive into Kate's work.
The whole donkey thing reminds me of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer's Night Dream". It also reminds me of a dream I had when I was 5 years old where I was running down the stairs from something or someone chasing me and I felt I wasn't running fast enough and turned into a butterfly. And I also think it connects back the to 'The Dreaming' and animals in aboriginal culture.
yep, that really happened and yep, you really did hear that.
Here come the Hee-haws!
In relation to the title track I did say it might be the most "Kate Bush" Kate Bush song. But just a few tracks later I am shamelessly changing my mind and saying this might just be the most "Kate Bush" Kate Bush song (don't worry I'll reverse ferret later on and say the same about "Waking the Witch" and "Jig of Life" on the next album and then about "Heads We're dancing" and "Rockets Tail" on the one after that .... and so on...).
But if you ever wondered what a song combining Stephen King's "The Shining" and Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh might sound like, then this song gives you the answer - and who hasn't wondered that from time to time?
This is the final song on this album and while I personally rate a few others of Kate's above "The Dreaming" this is still a remarkable album. It is a wild, untamed beast of an album that shows to everyone that the boundaries of the genre actually lie far beyond what we often think. Beyond the horizon that you can see, the ocean stretches out for mile after mile after mile. What Kate does in this album was literally unheard of for a female artist up until she kicked down the wall. The dreaming remains essential listening and remains a very important and influential achievement.
There are some b sides from this period worth hearing. in "ne t'enfuis pas' she sings in French and about 2/3 of the way through you realise she is seducing you by whispering into your ear in French (in a later album she will try to seduce the listener by whispering numbers into their ear). And in her cover of "Lord of the Reedy River" she manages (at least to me) to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Just imagine if the cover of the dreaming was based on this & not Houdini, the mind boggles
Been wanting to send a comment on this one. This is the song that compelled me under the magician's spell. Just saw your pat benatar reaction so I think you'll understand. That was what was on my turntable before the dreaming came out. That and the Pretenders, Joan Jett, Blondie, romeo void, even Berlin, Missing Persons and throw in my worn out Rickie Lee Jones. I knew of Kate Bush from the album I had stolen from my sister that a friend had given her ( it's okay, she left my Gilda Radner concert album with the same friend) thought she was unique. I'll check her ou more.. later (remember you had to buy a vinyl album first, not pull it up on your phone and I was busy, new music expoding) Then I heard this song and thought omg, she'll go there, where else will she go, maybe I want to go along. Bought the album as soon as I could find it, and have been entranced ever since. But it took this song to shake me awake.
There is no better song to clean house by!
Haha, makes sense to me!
My favorite off this album