The way the lyrics say "I've come home" at the exact moment the song finally resolves with a perfect cadence after all this chromatic wandering is pure genius. Amazing to think that Kate was still a teenager when she came up with this unique and mature example of the art of songwriting.
Apparently they let her age a bit more before they put her in the business (with thanks to David Gilmour), but before even then, she had supposedly written around 200 songs.
that's so far the most beautiful example of "painting with words" that I've ever heard, beating 6-0 6-0 6-0 Michael Jackson's key change on the word "change" in "man in the mirror"
She wrote that song at 18 in one evening, recorded it during the night and was ready to release it the next morning. And it's her most popular song ever. Mind blowing
With the population being so much more now than when the song came out and how many people are now listening to her because of stranger things ...her most famous song has to be run up that hill.
Kate Bush is a freaking genius, and not just the old stuff. Get the good headphones, put on her Sky of Honey suite from Aerial (start with Prelude), turn off the lights, lie down, and spend the next 45 minutes in sonic bliss.
I saw someone say that she would have been considered prog/experimental rock had she not enjoyed major success internationally (making her more archetypally "pop" for reasons unrelated to her music) and that has stuck with me.
Amazing work!! Now that you're on the subject of Kate Bush and modulation, I'd love to see a video on her song Babooshka which also has two completely unique chord progressions and uses parallel modulation using borrowed tonic! It also has 3-bar phrases!
I grew up in SE London - my brother had some friends who had a band. They were looking for a singer, and turned down this girl from Blackheath who auditioned. Six months later she was on TOTP singing this song. I remember when it came out, it was sensational - completely revolutionary and seen as such.
I must have listened to this song thousands of times, just like everyone else. I always sensed that it had a unique chord progression, but I never dwelled on it. What sets you apart and makes you superior to many musicians is this. Thank you endlessly.
I thought that this was a great song. But there are a lot of great songs with unique chord progressions out there too. I was wondering, "what other songs out there also have great and interesting chord progressions?" Then "Harvest For the World" by the Isley Brothers came on the radio. You know any other song out there that has the same chords as Harvest for the World?
I can’t believe you upload this just as I’m about to submit my case study on Kate Bush for uni! I’m so glad this strange beautiful song got the recognition it deserved when it released.
An absolutely delightful analysis of Kate Bush… America did not carry Kate Bush albums when I first discovered her in 1978… I had to special order the albums from the UK. So many of her songs had unique chord progressions and fascinating melodies on top of the progression. Everything about Kate Bush is unique, and I am still a huge fan to this day.
I must have heard this song a million times, but I've NEVER realised just how WEIRD it truly is. And yet, it works! One of the greatest songs ever written.
Yeah because this song really is not that weird at all, just throwing chords and melody without understanding what she was doing, playin the guitar and singing. Anything works, this is extraordinary and at the same time it is not, I mean complex chords structures. The point is, it is not that hard to write a -complex song---or---are they complex? Just use many chords, who cares?
@@PaulJohnBeatles you're a very, very silly little sausage, aren't you. I challenge you to produce something in the same ballpark as Wuthering Heights.
THE best song even written! :) and I'm a Beatles fan, but I think this Kate Bush song tops them all. The song is harmonically, melodically and vocally incredible, as is the story of how it came to be written, the book it's based on, and the story of the author of the book.
Genius. Her music moved me forty-five years ago and now even just hearing snatches of song and thinking with half of my brain about the chord progression it still catches me with a lump in my throat. What a magical talent
That song has been always astonishing for me, not only due to the chords progression but to the bars 5/4 and 7/4 inserted in the chorus too. Never tired of listening to it. And the guitar solo as outro !!!(wich most of radio stations cut as soon as the voice is fading). That record is a gem.
@@lucasa4301 To have it work as 4/4, you’d have to count double time (so you’re counting what naturally feels like a bar as in fact being two bars). Otherwise, try counting in fours over this song and you’re pretty soon going to encounter bars that begin on your “three” and you’ll be completely out of sync.
@@fromchomleystreet Having a displaced beat is not uncommon in classical music though (especially after Brahms). I think it's easier and more intuitive to place emphasis on an irregular beat in 4/4, than it is to constantly change the time signature, especially when the irregularities are pretty brief before everything synchs up again, neatly into 4. Besides, this song is *meant* to have a sort of floating where-is-the-beat quality, and is definitely not felt in 5 or 7 or whatever it was. As a general rule, if you ever find yourself switching between odd meters but the pattern is divisible by 4... you're probably over complicating it ;)
Absolutely one of my all-time favourite songs. I never tire of it and now, seeing the shifting key and time signatures, I'm not surprised why. The "you know it's me, Cathy" part and the short phrase after at the end of the bridge is goosebump-inducing every damn time!
That first explanation of chromatic mediants reminded me of the “crawling spider” technique used by Mellotron players to compensate for the instrument’s mechanically limited sustain. It worked by moving from chord-to-chord one or two notes at a time, with the remaining note(s) tying over from one chord to the next and so on, “crawling” across the keyboard - creating lush harmonies as you go. King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King is a good example of this technique.
I love it because, despite being a weird chord progression, it sounds so natural and can be liked by so many people. Plus her voice is so melodic and unique.
At last!!!! I’ve been waiting and waiting for you David, or Mr.Beato, or Mr. Huart or one of the many other wonderful music analysts to point out the brilliance of this chord progression! Play this chord progression to any serious pop-smith and tell them to write a number one hit song with it and they would look at as if you were mad! Ms. Bush is a genius! Both musically AND emotionally!
Thank you for your analasys, and especially explaining about the uplift you feel when going from the chorus back to the verse. I will never forget when I first heard that as a very small boy, perhaps 4 or 5 years old; It was like magic, and it touched me in way I didn't understand, and I still don't, really.
This is so bizarre. I actually came to TH-cam just now to explore this song to see if there had been any videos looking into WH's composition. Then up pops your video as if by magic! There was a recent post on Facebook which made me curious to listen to Wuthering Heights again. Another brilliant and informative video David
As a kid in the 90s, I remember how difficult/expensive it was to get guitar tablature and music. There was a definite barrier there that lead to picking things out by ear or picking the brains of the early internet. Theses days, with channels like this, just an excellent time for new musicians - and old.
Love Fullhouse also. Never see it get too much attention which I think is crazy. Maybe ppl are pushed back because it’s too high pitched (though most of her songs were at that point)
She does this a lot on her debut album going from one chord to the next not really following the "rules" but rather whether the next chord sounds good with the preceding chord. Man with the Child in his Eyes does the same thing, all over the place with it's key centers.
It would be cool to hear an analyzes of George Harrisons' song "Beware of Darkness". It has a very unusual chord progression and switches keys in mysterious ways.
Bush is such a great example of just doing what the song needs, IMO. Some songs do surprising harmonic stuff like this, but others are very simple. Being complex or novel isn't the point, but she can go there when it serves the music. Such great taste on top of skills.
I honestly think Kate was one of the most unique writers of that pop era (not that I would consider her music "pop"). Her ability to evoke the emotion of the subject matter with her chord progressions is so exceptional. Love her.
It reminds me of a beautiful song, written and sung from the hidden top story, of a lunatic asylum. Pain, anguish, inconsolable love. Emilie Bronte distilled down into a three minute song. It is truly sublime.
the phrase from "it's me" to "so cold" and the 3 piano notes completing the long vocal note kills me every time. She changed rhythms to make music to get along with her singing. Usually it's the other way around. wow..
I was wondering when you would talk about Kate Bush, the album the kick inside contains lots of very interesting chord progressions. I'm very glad you did it !
This song got be hooked on Kate. I've listened to her for decades and have never grown tired of her music. I was in music theory when I first started listening to her and it really made me appreciate her music. To go from this song and the others from the album to The Dreaming, Hounds of Love then on to Aerial just shows how much of a genius she is. Although the wait between releases was unbearable, they were definitely worth it in the end. I'm glad that Stranger Things exposed her to a generation that may not have heard her music.
I have a good ear for music. But when I bought the record in 1978 and wanted to take out the chords, it was not easy. KB is undoubtedly a musical genius! Thank you for analyzing this song and greetings from Sweden!
I student of mine wanted to learn this song a few years back, had great fun teaching it, such an interesting chord progression. Great analysis as always! 👍
She is so unusual and unique and beautiful in more ways than one. She doesn't care about music convention and this song sounds so spooky and beautiful at the same time. Love it.
This song mesmerized me when I first heard it. It was def. this chord progression, but also the way Kate's voice followed it. Still delivers a chill when I hear it.
I can think of several chord progressions that go A, F, E. It's a slightly unusual move because you'd expect the A to be minor (or the F to be an F#). But you do hear that kind of modal mixture elsewhere. It's that C# that truly sets it apart. It's not a chord that you'd expect to complete the loop at all. It doesn't resolve and it doesn't create a natural turnaround back to the A.
I don't know exactly about A F E but there are a lot of songs that go A F D, If I remember correctly heart shaped box and qotsa's go with the flow (might be G Eb C) are two examples of that classic mediant sound
The C sharp could be a borrowed chord from the F# Harmonic Minor , which can be seen as a spinning off from the 6 of A major.Therefore abling us to actually play through the song.Which is what it's all about. Follow the melody and work out the key changes as you go. Usually , the borrowed chords are from a parallel minor key or the harmonic / melodic minor off of the 6th, in this case F#. The ' Bad Dreams etc' is in D flat. As is the chorusy 'Heathcliff'. In D Flat.Indeed , she plays the home chord of D Flat when she sings ' ( I've come) home now ). So you can improvise all the way through. Chromatic Mediants are ok but they do not help as much as the *KEY* when you want to *PLAY* music and curiously improvise.A very satisfying thing to do without being bogged down by the online buzzwordery of it all ! SONG is KEY.
I truly don't know much music theory as I've always played by ear. I find it to be ht emost emotionally moving song ever. Not just for the lyrics but the chord feel demonstrates it better than any other I can think of. I remember the first time I banged it on and worked it out on keyboard and I've still to find anything else that matches this weird chord arrangement. It's truly sublime and I'll never understand how she can have written this when she was so young.
@@zonumanaid Indeed she did _ I've read how she wrote it but that's not the point. It's the fact she did something so complex and unmatched by anyone else whilst young.
Kate used some wonderful chord progressions early in her career - the chords in "The Man With the Child in His Eyes" get me every time. A couple of other remarkable, possibly unique chord progressions are Genesis's "Mad Man Moon" and Split Enz's "Iris".
I love the chromatic mediant flavour of the A -> F. A long time ago when I didn’t have a very broad conception of music I though that major scales and modes were lame and that all good songs were in harmonic minor but then I forced myself to *only* use major chords to the point of getting nondiatonic stuff. I came up with (transposed) Amaj Fmaj Abmaj Bbmaj as a chord loop and now I’m in love with it. It’s so whimsical and energetic
First off, this is a striking and memorable enough chord progression that as soon as I saw the chords in the thumbnail I knew exactly what we were doing. I mean, OK there was also a picture of Kate Bush next to it, but the chords would have been enough. I think another reason why the Ab chord actually sound stable/resolved is that the first two chords implicitly emphasize the A (as the common note) and the second two emphasize the G# in the same way, so you get this sort of minor second alternation creating tension in two bar units, but the Ab is enharmonically that same G# repeating, so it feels like the music has decided the issue at least temporarily. Also, it's honestly those Gb chords that hit the hardest. Every time. You hit that chorus and you just want to hold up a lighter and sing along. And the Gb "Cathy" after the bridge is a goosebump moment.
Thank you! I've tried justifying my fascination with this song to people but without the music theory base knowledge, I just sounded like a lunatic repeating, "There's something going on there! I can't explain it!"
@@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute I can appreciate this fragment for showing the uniqueness of the singers voice. But the randomness of the chord progression wasn't enough for me. Benjamin Britten would have made the entire composition in this random style. If you go there, go big or go home. lol
@bitterrotten You have described exactly what often happens to me too 😊 I have no music theory background at all, but I have an instinctive feeling for harmony, allowing me to play by ear most of the songs I have in my head, both melody and harmony, although I couldn't tell which keys and chords I'm playing 😬 And, trying to convey to others my feelings about some peculiar chord progression, I'm falling into the same frustrating (for me) and annoying (for others) "can't explain" situation. But, being often unable to observe in others my same emotions, I've come to believe that some people are focusing mainly on the song's melody, being possibly not _tone_ , but _harmony_ deaf? And, I'm from Italy, so forgive my english 😉
Great video. Loved your analysis of the chromatic mediants. For the chorus, though, couldn't it be argued that it modulates to Db major and starts on the IV chord with the Ebm7 and Ab7 being a strong iim7 - V7 progression?
how kate bush approaches chord changes is with roman numerals but with a lot of key modulations. Some other songs are dead giveaways because she'll keep reusing the same roman numerals in different keys, making it very clear what shes doing. Also lots of substitutions. From what I've seen it's usually two changes in a key, a key change, two changes, a key change. You can use that formula and you'll end up with Kate Bush-esque progressions. For the first part its Maj-III to I in Fmajor and then in E major its I to maj-VI. That's how they're harmonically linked and you can hear if really clearly if you play some scale tones over them. In F major the E is a diminished Vii so it's subbed with a major chord as used to pivot to the new key. It also still uses that minor third movement to get to the C#, so it's sorta still got some diminished qualities.
It’s amazing she wrote this at age 18. Her later work using the Fairlight CMI is also astonishing because she really dug down into the programming to get the sounds and instruments she wanted. Edit: totally a 180 from Kate Bush, but the band System of a Down uses a lot of interesting chord progressions and rhythms due to their influences from Armenian music.
This was a really informative presentation. Thank you. My favourite part of Wuthering Heights is the bridge. Her vocal is so pleading and expression perfect. Kate Bush is such a unique artist.
Nirvana has a lot of interesting chord progressions. Would also be fun to see an analysis on Elton John's "The Ballad of Danny Bailey" , since it has such odd chord changes and also just a lot of different chords in general.
Im SO glad you did a video on this song. Ive wanted Charles Cornell to talk about Wuthering Heights ever since his video on Running Up That Hill (which is NOT interesting musically). Wuthering Heights shows more of Kate's love for cool chord changes.
David are you sure the pre-chorus is in Bb minor? I perceive it more in Db major! It seems an example of tonal ambiguity that 12Tone talked about in his video on "In the end" (referring to the bridge of the song): the keys get blurred but major slightly prevails.
Great video! Thanks for analyzing Kate Bush. On the Wuthering Heights subject, the prog metal Angra from Brazil did a cover of the song on their first LP, "Angels Cry". Of course, it has a prog metal vibe to it, but I believe it does justice to Kate Bush. At least for me, it was a great introduction to her. :)
If you want to go nuts on some chromatic mediants and weird chord progression, I highly recommend digging into Cardiacs. Dirty Boy in particular with it's section with a progression that modulates up a semi-tone with every repetition. It's *brilliant.*
Thanks for covering this song. I've only recently got into Kate's music in a much deeper way and I'm currently reading an excellent biography. The music for Wuthering Heights immediately caught my ear, mainly for the timing but also the harmony. I don't think I'll ever understand how someone can be so talented at such an age. I've come to understand that she was surrounded by all manner of art as a young girl and I assume she just soaked all of this up. She is one of a kind.
This is true however many arts also get a creative "second wind" in their 50s and 60s, and then this is followed by their "Swan Song" release before their demise. The pursuit of craftsmanship after the chaotic unbridled creativity of youth is one part of the creative's journey.
I've been meaning to ask for a Kate Bush for a while now, this is a dream come true. Needless to say, I'd love to see even more. One of my top 3 musicians ever and trying to figure out her songs give me a headache. Great video as always
@@iainlindleyjust the current “It girl.” If she wants “her” music to stand the test of time, she should definitely work on utilizing interesting chord changes, instead of reusing the same basic ones over and over again.
I’d love to get a chord with progression analysis of some Pink Floyd songs. The progression of Dogs is super unusual, and the chords when the singing starts in shine on you crazy diamond are definitely worth an analysis. I haven’t seen anyone else break down the harmonic structure of these songs. I love your videos
Well... either they'd amplify each other and you'd get something on another plane of musical theory.... or they'd cancel each other out and you'd get a three chord punk song - which would still be amazing!
David is one of the best music guru. How he deconstruct music to have reason artistically is so inspiring and worth knowledge. I am a big Kate Bush fan and to watch this video makes me appreciate her more. It will be interesting if David can talk about the beautifully weird chord progression behind A Sky of Honey
Chromatic mediants can be found in a few choice pop songs. Verse of head over heals, Radiohead loved em...but yes this is unusual to see so many. Suede love em too!
Your video popped up in my TH-cam feed and since then I've been visiting your older videos which explain musical composition concepts (scales, modes, chromatic mediants etc) so well! I was lucky enough to get tickets for the first show of Kate Bush's sell out 22 nights at London Hammersmith Apollo in 2014. A mesmerising show, although focussed on her masterpiece Ninth Wave suite (Hounds of Love) and later Aerial album. So, no Wuthering Heights played, or any other early stuff (nobody minded - it's her show, and her artistic choice). Her debut album has so many standout compositional parts - you should have a go at deconstructing 'Man with the Child in His Eyes', or the lovely piano-based closer 'Kick Inside'.
Possibly. But the point you're overlooking is that this progression is rarely, if ever, used in pop music, as the presenter states. So, whether this genius was 'tinkering' or otherwise, she still composed one of the greatest, most unique sounding, pop songs ever! If she wasn't a genius she wouldn't have gone with this progression in the first place because she wouldn't have known it was precisely the sound she wanted for the song. And that's why she's a genius (sorry, I had to get the word 'genius' in as many times as possible so that there was no doubt)!
This is what I love about music. Even when something doesn't follow "conventional rules", it can still sound great, and still be described by other "rules"
Where the key signature changes I hear that as D flat major (vi, V, IV, ii, I) rather than B flat minor (which would imply i, flat VII, flat VI, iv, II).
For me, the pre-chorus “too long I’m roamed in the night” is pretty clearly in Bb minor, but then we flip to the relative major of Db major (so, in a sense, a different mode of essentially the SAME key) for the chorus, which is beautifully articulated (whether by design or fortuitous coincidence) by the fact that the word “home” falls on the tonic chord - the point at which we do indeed arrive “home”
I absolutely LOVE this song, one of the best 'oddball' songs I've ever heard. Kate Bush doesn't follow musical convention; she makes her own rules as she goes along, and as a result distinguishes her material with an unmistakable aesthetic character. Wonderful things happen when an artist works that way.
Thank you for explaining this progression. I've tried to figure this progression out on the piano and mandolin at times but could never understand what the dickens Kate was doing. Gotta love Kate. She's truly one of a kind.
I loved Kate Bush as a young lad, not knowing how complex and unusual her music was. Many years later there came her album Aerial. There it was! That same old mystery than in Cloudbusting, Breathing, Babooshka and all her other songs. Beautiful and unique.❤😂
Loooove your analyses David! And the piano outros always inspire me too :) I’ve been eagerly waiting for someone to harmonically analyze Elliot Smith’s brilliant Figure 8 B-side “Colourbars”. That chord progression is so unconventionally chromatic and yet soo melodically copacetic. Improvising over the progression seems (for some reason) to consonantly accommodate any choice of notes, whether present in the current chord or not. Love that song. Would love to see you tackle any Elliott actually. I know that you began as a singer/ songwriter guitar dude so I’m sure you share my enthusiasm for his work. Your vids have helped me overcome a heretofore unconquerable musical plateau and continue to deepen and profoundly enrich my appreciation for all music. Keep up the great stuff 🤙
Hey David, as a kid I used to put on a side of vinyl and try to get each song down, at least the chord progression. When I put on Pat Benatar "Crimes of Passion" I was knocking them down until this one. I sounded like a kid in guitar center, lost. There used to be a saying if you were sitting in with a band, "When in doubt, go up a 4th" (in guitar-speak, A to D) that did NOT apply, lol. I assumed it was written for the movie by some theoried-up piano wiz and gave up. It's good to now find out it was due to the eccentricity of Kate Bush's writing and imaginative thinking. BTW, a challenge my friend and I used to do was "see how many snare hits you can play consecutively" on Yes' "Long Distance Runaround". My mother dented the 2nd floor radiator signalling us to stop playing air-drums on the 3rd floor flat at 1AM but it was great fun. After smoking some lamb's breath, getting 4 straight elevated you to "genius" level in our unofficial scoring.
'Rendezvous 6:02' by UK has one of the weirder chord sequences I've heard. Great song and analysis on 'Wuthering Heights'. I can see where it's an acquired taste but I've always enjoyed it.
LOONA Yves' New goes by the chord progression Am, Dm, Bb, F, but with the F major as the home chord, giving us a iii-vi-IV-I progression. Half the time, however, the song skirts around the root chord instead of landing on it even on key sections like preceding the start of the choruses. This extends its resolution and makes the song feel like it's constantly being propelled forward. The constant camera panning in the music video accompanies this melodic feeling of constant movement, which is really pretty compelling for a form of pop music this commercial. A fully materialized audio-visual concept.
This song hit all my right buttons straight away: the lyrical singing, the strange vibe and ohhh, that guitar solo from David Gilmour…. Cutting that solo off is sheer sacrilege! Truly a song of beauty.
I was impressed by Kate Bush’s debut single when it came out in 1978 (I am four months younger than her). So I’m delighted to see this analysis now. It is interesting that, in the opening chord loop, if you omit the E major chord, then you have A - F - C^# (and repeat), and the roots of successive major chords all descend by a major 3rd, dividing the octave into three equal parts. This kind of loop appears in late Romantic music, and lacks a clear tonal center. Kate adds the E major, which reinforces A as the tonic, and also gives four chords in the loop, allowing a nice two-bar harmonic rhythm of changes. David, how about a video on examples of *doubly* chromatic mediants in popular music?
That was really interesting. Going to have to get a Kate Bush songbook and play some. I’d like a vid on Its My Life by Talk Talk. Starts in mixylydian I think then does some kind of interesting changes for a pop song Sparks - This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the both of us, jumps out as odd chords for a pop song
I also like the little passing note the piano does on that C# chord which creates a wonderful tension - the E to F (minor to major third). I know it's a very common thing to do in blues, but works particularly well here IMHO
Thank you David Bennett, I've waited for decades for this information. When this song came out, I immediately fell in love, went to the keyboard, but gave up. Some other song were easier to play, not this beautiful song written and sung by a beautiful lady.
I really love all your videos. I probably look forward to a new "DBP" video over anything else on my TH-cam subscriptions.. of any particular type, be it music, gaming, or anything else. I've learned so much from your channel too. Thank you! I'm a child of the 80s, but I had no idea how brilliant Kate Bush was, other than having that catchy "Running Up That Hill" song.
David, you're a legend - thanks so much, I've been a massive fan of Kate Bush since this song, and you've broken it down beautifully, making it a lot less intimidating than I imagined. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. Please keep doing the unusual chord progressions videos, as they are super helpful & inspiring for songwriters and musicians like myself. ❤❤❤
Songwriting pianists tend to create more complex chord progressions than songwriting guitarists. Just beautiful and imaginative. I play guitar and this is just something I’ve noticed. Look at Elton John, another pianist and his songs have so many chords.
If this is true, it may be more to do with the fact that pianists are more often classically trained than guitarists. People think of the guitar as an instrument you can just pick up and figure out, but piano as something a teacher teaches you the “correct” way to do. As a consequence, a lot of guitar in popular music is much more rudimentary than we would accept from a pianist (imagine the piano equivalent of strumming cowboy chords)
I remember the first time i heard this it was one of those WTF? moments (in a good way) - so different from anything else on the radio at the time. I remember experiencing a similar reaction the first time I heard The Sugarcubes (Bjork). Kate's music is other worldly
Yesss. This is a great analysis of a great song. Ok, it is only this one 'KB' song from one 'KB' album and you could easily look at multiple songs on every one of her albums and that is before we even turn to her brilliance as a lyricist (I mean c'mon, 'A Coral Room' 'Breathing' 'And Dream of Sheep' 'The Infant Kiss' 'The Kick Inside' etc etc etc), and her brilliance as a producer ('The Ninth Wave' 'Endless Sky of Honey' 'Rocket's Tail' etc etc), her brilliance as a singer ('Reaching Out' 'Breathing' 'Night of the Swallow' 'The Wedding List' 'Violin' 'This Woman's Work' 'Moments of Pleasure'), her brilliance as a director ('This Woman's Work'), and her daring experimentation ('Babooshka' Egypt' 'Breathing' the entire album 'The Dreaming' 'The Ninth Wave' 'Rocket's Tail' etc etc). A genuine bona fide, real life genius. Thanks for this - a really enjoyable video.
I'm a chemist not a musician at all but I do like learning about patterns and stuff and I got to say your videos make me very interested in music! Super informative super easy to understand and entertaining! thanks !
The way the lyrics say "I've come home" at the exact moment the song finally resolves with a perfect cadence after all this chromatic wandering is pure genius. Amazing to think that Kate was still a teenager when she came up with this unique and mature example of the art of songwriting.
Apparently they let her age a bit more before they put her in the business (with thanks to David Gilmour), but before even then, she had supposedly written around 200 songs.
I am simpler. I take the Key, time sig & chord prog for granted. Folks as You & David, parse it out; to be assimilated. TYSM.@@Hysteria98
@@Hysteria98She is one of the most talented pop musicians by far.
@@Hysteria98 I love the passage "Let me in your window". WINDOW sung through four different notes is pure art.
that's so far the most beautiful example of "painting with words" that I've ever heard, beating 6-0 6-0 6-0 Michael Jackson's key change on the word "change" in "man in the mirror"
She wrote that song at 18 in one evening, recorded it during the night and was ready to release it the next morning. And it's her most popular song ever. Mind blowing
by standard expectations kate bush should never have made it into charting pop music. so so special and important that somehow she did it anyway
Similarly, she did this with Babooshka. Written and recorded on the fly to make the required number of tracks per the record label contract.
Pretty sure Running Up That Hill is her most popular/best selling song.
@@AirborneAshes you could say the same about bjork
With the population being so much more now than when the song came out and how many people are now listening to her because of stranger things ...her most famous song has to be run up that hill.
Kate Bush is a freaking genius, and not just the old stuff. Get the good headphones, put on her Sky of Honey suite from Aerial (start with Prelude), turn off the lights, lie down, and spend the next 45 minutes in sonic bliss.
Seconding this. Aerial is such a beautiful album. I'd also recommend 50 Words For Snow for a cold rainy night or a winter day.
What, and miss "A Coral Room"?
The cooing of the pigeons
Finally a video on Kate Bush! Please explore her discography. Her songs are so unusual and intricate, with so many different time signatures!
Good lord yes.
And Peter Gabriel
@@robertvondarth1730 Peter before 90's.
@@AlefjjPeter before he left Genesis
I saw someone say that she would have been considered prog/experimental rock had she not enjoyed major success internationally (making her more archetypally "pop" for reasons unrelated to her music) and that has stuck with me.
Amazing work!! Now that you're on the subject of Kate Bush and modulation, I'd love to see a video on her song Babooshka which also has two completely unique chord progressions and uses parallel modulation using borrowed tonic! It also has 3-bar phrases!
What I like especially about that song is how the last phrase of the chorus blends incredibly smooth into the chord progression of the intro
Babooska always befuddles me with its progression. An in depth analysis would be very welcome
The Dreaming
The 9th Wave
Yooooooooooooo I was just thinking about babooshka and how funky it sounded. You’re spot on.
What is parallel modulation with borrowed tonic ? I use to play the song
I grew up in SE London - my brother had some friends who had a band. They were looking for a singer, and turned down this girl from Blackheath who auditioned. Six months later she was on TOTP singing this song. I remember when it came out, it was sensational - completely revolutionary and seen as such.
Your brother must of been humiliated once he saw this song lol
No, he thought it was funny. It was his friends who were in the band!
The move to the Ab and the delivery as she sings 'I hated you, I loved you too' is just perfect! It always makes me smile.
Alan Partridge's version (crooned to the hotel attendant) was classic too. 😁
Stop, you sound like a trapped boy.
I must have listened to this song thousands of times, just like everyone else. I always sensed that it had a unique chord progression, but I never dwelled on it. What sets you apart and makes you superior to many musicians is this. Thank you endlessly.
Like McCartney at his finest, Bush has an uncanny ability to hide great musical complexity behind eminently listenable and appealing pop music.
I thought that this was a great song. But there are a lot of great songs with unique chord progressions out there too. I was wondering, "what other songs out there also have great and interesting chord progressions?" Then "Harvest For the World" by the Isley Brothers came on the radio. You know any other song out there that has the same chords as Harvest for the World?
A masterpiece of a song, and a masterpiece of an analysis!
Thank you!
She learned a lot from her time with Peter Gabriel, for sure.
@@illegal_space_alienshe didn’t know Peter at this point though.
@@illegal_space_alienshe wrote this at home on the family piano when she was 17 and didn’t know anyone in the music industry.
And it was on a masterpiece of an album
I can’t believe you upload this just as I’m about to submit my case study on Kate Bush for uni! I’m so glad this strange beautiful song got the recognition it deserved when it released.
An absolutely delightful analysis of Kate Bush… America did not carry Kate Bush albums when I first discovered her in 1978… I had to special order the albums from the UK. So many of her songs had unique chord progressions and fascinating melodies on top of the progression. Everything about Kate Bush is unique, and I am still a huge fan to this day.
I must have heard this song a million times, but I've NEVER realised just how WEIRD it truly is. And yet, it works! One of the greatest songs ever written.
Yeah because this song really is not that weird at all, just throwing chords and melody without understanding what she was doing, playin the guitar and singing. Anything works, this is extraordinary and at the same time it is not, I mean complex chords structures. The point is, it is not that hard to write a -complex song---or---are they complex? Just use many chords, who cares?
@@PaulJohnBeatles you're a very, very silly little sausage, aren't you. I challenge you to produce something in the same ballpark as Wuthering Heights.
THE best song even written! :) and I'm a Beatles fan, but I think this Kate Bush song tops them all. The song is harmonically, melodically and vocally incredible, as is the story of how it came to be written, the book it's based on, and the story of the author of the book.
@@PaulJohnBeatlesshe wrote it on the piano.
@@nstrug Piano or the guitar it doenst change anything, but good for Her.
Genius. Her music moved me forty-five years ago and now even just hearing snatches of song and thinking with half of my brain about the chord progression it still catches me with a lump in my throat. What a magical talent
That song has been always astonishing for me, not only due to the chords progression but to the bars 5/4 and 7/4 inserted in the chorus too. Never tired of listening to it. And the guitar solo as outro !!!(wich most of radio stations cut as soon as the voice is fading). That record is a gem.
Yes - that guitar solo...
I'm pretty sure it's just 3 bars of 4/4 and he's over complicating things. The phrases are for sure irregular, but the time signature is not.
@@lucasa4301 To have it work as 4/4, you’d have to count double time (so you’re counting what naturally feels like a bar as in fact being two bars). Otherwise, try counting in fours over this song and you’re pretty soon going to encounter bars that begin on your “three” and you’ll be completely out of sync.
@@fromchomleystreet Having a displaced beat is not uncommon in classical music though (especially after Brahms). I think it's easier and more intuitive to place emphasis on an irregular beat in 4/4, than it is to constantly change the time signature, especially when the irregularities are pretty brief before everything synchs up again, neatly into 4. Besides, this song is *meant* to have a sort of floating where-is-the-beat quality, and is definitely not felt in 5 or 7 or whatever it was.
As a general rule, if you ever find yourself switching between odd meters but the pattern is divisible by 4... you're probably over complicating it ;)
Absolutely one of my all-time favourite songs. I never tire of it and now, seeing the shifting key and time signatures, I'm not surprised why. The "you know it's me, Cathy" part and the short phrase after at the end of the bridge is goosebump-inducing every damn time!
That first explanation of chromatic mediants reminded me of the “crawling spider” technique used by Mellotron players to compensate for the instrument’s mechanically limited sustain. It worked by moving from chord-to-chord one or two notes at a time, with the remaining note(s) tying over from one chord to the next and so on, “crawling” across the keyboard - creating lush harmonies as you go. King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King is a good example of this technique.
I love it because, despite being a weird chord progression, it sounds so natural and can be liked by so many people. Plus her voice is so melodic and unique.
At last!!!! I’ve been waiting and waiting for you David, or Mr.Beato, or Mr. Huart or one of the many other wonderful music analysts to point out the brilliance of this chord progression! Play this chord progression to any serious pop-smith and tell them to write a number one hit song with it and they would look at as if you were mad! Ms. Bush is a genius! Both musically AND emotionally!
She borrowed the chorus melody from Barry Manilow's Mandy.
Thank you for your analasys, and especially explaining about the uplift you feel when going from the chorus back to the verse. I will never forget when I first heard that as a very small boy, perhaps 4 or 5 years old; It was like magic, and it touched me in way I didn't understand, and I still don't, really.
This is so bizarre. I actually came to TH-cam just now to explore this song to see if there had been any videos looking into WH's composition. Then up pops your video as if by magic! There was a recent post on Facebook which made me curious to listen to Wuthering Heights again. Another brilliant and informative video David
As a kid in the 90s, I remember how difficult/expensive it was to get guitar tablature and music. There was a definite barrier there that lead to picking things out by ear or picking the brains of the early internet. Theses days, with channels like this, just an excellent time for new musicians - and old.
Smile turns to anger turns to hope to swoon to sadness to ... One of the most expressive songs ever created. Great look into the tonal relationships.
Kate BUsh is possibly the greatest and at the same time most underappreciated songwriter in history. A truly original talent.
Kate Bush AND David Bennett? I thought Christmas was last month!
Clearly January will be Magic again.
Kate herself has LOTS of unusual chord progressions. Check out Fullhouse, Moving, the Man with a Child in his Eyes, In search of Peter Pan…
Yes agree,and looks like she's more Focus on dance to express her whole appearance.she 's incredibly energetic and presticious artist.
Fullhouse is CRAZY! I love that song, so creative.
Love Fullhouse also. Never see it get too much attention which I think is crazy. Maybe ppl are pushed back because it’s too high pitched (though most of her songs were at that point)
She does this a lot on her debut album going from one chord to the next not really following the "rules" but rather whether the next chord sounds good with the preceding chord. Man with the Child in his Eyes does the same thing, all over the place with it's key centers.
It would be cool to hear an analyzes of George Harrisons' song "Beware of Darkness". It has a very unusual chord progression and switches keys in mysterious ways.
Bush is such a great example of just doing what the song needs, IMO. Some songs do surprising harmonic stuff like this, but others are very simple. Being complex or novel isn't the point, but she can go there when it serves the music. Such great taste on top of skills.
I honestly think Kate was one of the most unique writers of that pop era (not that I would consider her music "pop"). Her ability to evoke the emotion of the subject matter with her chord progressions is so exceptional. Love her.
Why don't you consider it pop? Was it not popular enough?
It reminds me of a beautiful song, written and sung from the hidden top story, of a lunatic asylum.
Pain, anguish, inconsolable love.
Emilie Bronte distilled down into a three minute song.
It is truly sublime.
A masterpiece!
the phrase from "it's me" to "so cold" and the 3 piano notes completing the long vocal note kills me every time. She changed rhythms to make music to get along with her singing. Usually it's the other way around. wow..
I was wondering when you would talk about Kate Bush, the album the kick inside contains lots of very interesting chord progressions. I'm very glad you did it !
This song got be hooked on Kate. I've listened to her for decades and have never grown tired of her music. I was in music theory when I first started listening to her and it really made me appreciate her music. To go from this song and the others from the album to The Dreaming, Hounds of Love then on to Aerial just shows how much of a genius she is. Although the wait between releases was unbearable, they were definitely worth it in the end. I'm glad that Stranger Things exposed her to a generation that may not have heard her music.
I think it works so well precisely because it's somewhat unnerving. When we hit the chorus, it's just pure bliss.
Thanks for analysing Wuthering Heights David. That’s an amazing progression! Great video!
Thank you 😊
I have a good ear for music. But when I bought the record in 1978 and wanted to take out the chords, it was not easy. KB is undoubtedly a musical genius! Thank you for analyzing this song and greetings from Sweden!
Oh boy, trying to figure out Kate Bush songs by ear, especially the early stuff, can be a true pain in the ass 😂
I student of mine wanted to learn this song a few years back, had great fun teaching it, such an interesting chord progression. Great analysis as always! 👍
She is so unusual and unique and beautiful in more ways than one. She doesn't care about music convention and this song sounds so spooky and beautiful at the same time. Love it.
This song mesmerized me when I first heard it. It was def. this chord progression, but also the way Kate's voice followed it. Still delivers a chill when I hear it.
A masterclass of songwriting and performance. And only 18. Other worldly.
Queen - bicycle race, really cool chord progression
Kate Bush is my favourite artist so it makes me very happy indeed to see such a great video about her. I think she's a genius.
I don't know well Kate Bush (just her hits), but with this perfect song, yes she is a genius for sure, even she would write and sing only this one :)
I love the outro solo, and how it dances around the tonic and never really rests there for long, right along with the chord progression underneath it.
Ian Bairnson, he died last year😢
I can think of several chord progressions that go A, F, E. It's a slightly unusual move because you'd expect the A to be minor (or the F to be an F#). But you do hear that kind of modal mixture elsewhere. It's that C# that truly sets it apart. It's not a chord that you'd expect to complete the loop at all. It doesn't resolve and it doesn't create a natural turnaround back to the A.
And? Care to share?
I don't know exactly about A F E but there are a lot of songs that go A F D, If I remember correctly heart shaped box and qotsa's go with the flow (might be G Eb C) are two examples of that classic mediant sound
As David explains though, it does create a very natural turnaround, within its context of chromatic mediants.
'Sweet dreams are made of this' by Eurythmics comes mind :)
The C sharp could be a borrowed chord from the F# Harmonic Minor , which can be seen as a spinning off from the 6 of A major.Therefore abling us to actually play through the song.Which is what it's all about.
Follow the melody and work out the key changes as you go.
Usually , the borrowed chords are from a parallel minor key or the harmonic / melodic minor off of the 6th, in this case F#.
The ' Bad Dreams etc' is in D flat.
As is the chorusy 'Heathcliff'. In D Flat.Indeed , she plays the home chord of D Flat when she sings ' ( I've come) home now ).
So you can improvise all the way through.
Chromatic Mediants are ok but they do not help as much as the *KEY* when you want to *PLAY* music and curiously improvise.A very satisfying thing to do without being bogged down by the online buzzwordery of it all !
SONG is KEY.
I absolutely love Kate Bush. When I first heard the song when she released the album, I was awestruck! Thanks for the video. Informative as always.
I truly don't know much music theory as I've always played by ear. I find it to be ht emost emotionally moving song ever. Not just for the lyrics but the chord feel demonstrates it better than any other I can think of.
I remember the first time I banged it on and worked it out on keyboard and I've still to find anything else that matches this weird chord arrangement. It's truly sublime and I'll never understand how she can have written this when she was so young.
maybe simply she knew no boundaries at the time, followed her ear and what matched the storytelling
She wrote many songs before she came of age to be in the business.
@@zonumanaid Indeed she did _ I've read how she wrote it but that's not the point. It's the fact she did something so complex and unmatched by anyone else whilst young.
@@Hysteria98 I know that - that doesn't change anything.
Kate used some wonderful chord progressions early in her career - the chords in "The Man With the Child in His Eyes" get me every time. A couple of other remarkable, possibly unique chord progressions are Genesis's "Mad Man Moon" and Split Enz's "Iris".
Raise that Enz flag James. Iris is an almost forgotten single.
I love the chromatic mediant flavour of the A -> F. A long time ago when I didn’t have a very broad conception of music I though that major scales and modes were lame and that all good songs were in harmonic minor but then I forced myself to *only* use major chords to the point of getting nondiatonic stuff.
I came up with (transposed) Amaj Fmaj Abmaj Bbmaj as a chord loop and now I’m in love with it. It’s so whimsical and energetic
Still hard to know she was 18 when she wrote, recorded and achieved this amazing composition. Thanks for the breakdown!
Fifteen when she wrote man with the child in his eyes. Very gifted lady
First off, this is a striking and memorable enough chord progression that as soon as I saw the chords in the thumbnail I knew exactly what we were doing. I mean, OK there was also a picture of Kate Bush next to it, but the chords would have been enough.
I think another reason why the Ab chord actually sound stable/resolved is that the first two chords implicitly emphasize the A (as the common note) and the second two emphasize the G# in the same way, so you get this sort of minor second alternation creating tension in two bar units, but the Ab is enharmonically that same G# repeating, so it feels like the music has decided the issue at least temporarily.
Also, it's honestly those Gb chords that hit the hardest. Every time. You hit that chorus and you just want to hold up a lighter and sing along. And the Gb "Cathy" after the bridge is a goosebump moment.
Thank you! I've tried justifying my fascination with this song to people but without the music theory base knowledge, I just sounded like a lunatic repeating, "There's something going on there! I can't explain it!"
I'd call it 'Wandering Heights' in the same spirit I called McCartney's 'Long Winding Road' the 'Long and Winding Song'. both are too ponderous.
@@noscrubbubblez6515 Oh my god we don't have the same ear ! :) What is the perfect song for you? I would like to understand. :)
@@HeyBulldog-Beatles-Tribute I can appreciate this fragment for showing the uniqueness of the singers voice. But the randomness of the chord progression wasn't enough for me. Benjamin Britten would have made the entire composition in this random style. If you go there, go big or go home. lol
@bitterrotten
You have described exactly what often happens to me too 😊
I have no music theory background at all, but I have an instinctive feeling for harmony, allowing me to play by ear most of the songs I have in my head, both melody and harmony, although I couldn't tell which keys and chords I'm playing 😬
And, trying to convey to others my feelings about some peculiar chord progression, I'm falling into the same frustrating (for me) and annoying (for others) "can't explain" situation. But, being often unable to observe in others my same emotions, I've come to believe that some people are focusing mainly on the song's melody, being possibly not _tone_ , but _harmony_ deaf?
And, I'm from Italy, so forgive my english 😉
Great video. Loved your analysis of the chromatic mediants. For the chorus, though, couldn't it be argued that it modulates to Db major and starts on the IV chord with the Ebm7 and Ab7 being a strong iim7 - V7 progression?
Do more videos on Kate Bush! Please
how kate bush approaches chord changes is with roman numerals but with a lot of key modulations. Some other songs are dead giveaways because she'll keep reusing the same roman numerals in different keys, making it very clear what shes doing. Also lots of substitutions. From what I've seen it's usually two changes in a key, a key change, two changes, a key change. You can use that formula and you'll end up with Kate Bush-esque progressions.
For the first part its Maj-III to I in Fmajor and then in E major its I to maj-VI. That's how they're harmonically linked and you can hear if really clearly if you play some scale tones over them. In F major the E is a diminished Vii so it's subbed with a major chord as used to pivot to the new key. It also still uses that minor third movement to get to the C#, so it's sorta still got some diminished qualities.
It’s amazing she wrote this at age 18. Her later work using the Fairlight CMI is also astonishing because she really dug down into the programming to get the sounds and instruments she wanted.
Edit: totally a 180 from Kate Bush, but the band System of a Down uses a lot of interesting chord progressions and rhythms due to their influences from Armenian music.
This was a really informative presentation. Thank you.
My favourite part of Wuthering Heights is the bridge. Her vocal is so pleading and expression perfect.
Kate Bush is such a unique artist.
Nirvana has a lot of interesting chord progressions. Would also be fun to see an analysis on Elton John's "The Ballad of Danny Bailey" , since it has such odd chord changes and also just a lot of different chords in general.
Im SO glad you did a video on this song. Ive wanted Charles Cornell to talk about Wuthering Heights ever since his video on Running Up That Hill (which is NOT interesting musically).
Wuthering Heights shows more of Kate's love for cool chord changes.
David are you sure the pre-chorus is in Bb minor? I perceive it more in Db major! It seems an example of tonal ambiguity that 12Tone talked about in his video on "In the end" (referring to the bridge of the song): the keys get blurred but major slightly prevails.
Great video! Thanks for analyzing Kate Bush. On the Wuthering Heights subject, the prog metal Angra from Brazil did a cover of the song on their first LP, "Angels Cry". Of course, it has a prog metal vibe to it, but I believe it does justice to Kate Bush. At least for me, it was a great introduction to her. :)
'Word on a Wing' by David Bowie is also really unusual.
If you want to go nuts on some chromatic mediants and weird chord progression, I highly recommend digging into Cardiacs. Dirty Boy in particular with it's section with a progression that modulates up a semi-tone with every repetition. It's *brilliant.*
Yessssss
if i could only listen to a couple of songs for the rest of my life this would be in the list.. just superb
Thanks, David! Great work. Another song with an amazing unique chord progression: Neneh Cherry - Manchild
Thanks for covering this song. I've only recently got into Kate's music in a much deeper way and I'm currently reading an excellent biography. The music for Wuthering Heights immediately caught my ear, mainly for the timing but also the harmony. I don't think I'll ever understand how someone can be so talented at such an age. I've come to understand that she was surrounded by all manner of art as a young girl and I assume she just soaked all of this up. She is one of a kind.
Hi, what's the name of the biography pls?
@@vanessalouzon Hi. It's called "Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush" by Tom Doyle. I got it for Christmas and I'm really enjoying it.
I Heard her come back gig expensive but sold out in short time.much fanatic fans there...
I read the book a few years ago. Very informative, but it really REALLY annoys me that the author refers to her throughout as "Bush", not "Kate"!
I have a strong feeling that such creative chord progressions can only be written at a young age, before you have been perverted by craftmanship.
I think you're right, beginner's mind.
You are absolutely right. I've been writing songs for thirty years and the earlier ones were far better! :-(
This is true however many arts also get a creative "second wind" in their 50s and 60s, and then this is followed by their "Swan Song" release before their demise. The pursuit of craftsmanship after the chaotic unbridled creativity of youth is one part of the creative's journey.
Yep. Seal on Kiss From A Rose: 'i just played a few chords that sounded good together'
I've been meaning to ask for a Kate Bush for a while now, this is a dream come true. Needless to say, I'd love to see even more. One of my top 3 musicians ever and trying to figure out her songs give me a headache. Great video as always
Taylor Swift could definitely learn a lesson or two in songwriting from Kate Bush, especially regarding chord progressions!
😳🤔😏🥴🤣
I think Taylor is doing just fine without your advice.
@iainlindley LOLOL you're funny 🤣🤣🤣
@@iainlindleyjust the current “It girl.” If she wants “her” music to stand the test of time, she should definitely work on utilizing interesting chord changes, instead of reusing the same basic ones over and over again.
@@iainlindleyLOOLOL you are funny 🤣🤣🤣
Lovely too have this classic tune delved into by you. Most of her music is a stand alone masterclass. Please do more of hers.
I’d love to get a chord with progression analysis of some Pink Floyd songs. The progression of Dogs is super unusual, and the chords when the singing starts in shine on you crazy diamond are definitely worth an analysis. I haven’t seen anyone else break down the harmonic structure of these songs. I love your videos
Fun fact: It was actually David Gilmour that got Kate Bush into the business to begin with!
side note: David Gilmour actually helped discover Kate Bush and played with her many times
"Get Out Of My House" is my favorite Kate Bush song. Her art is first, music is just one of her mediums.
Imagine if Kate Bush and Björk wrote a song together. 🦸♀️🦹♀️
Kate Bjork ?
@@PaulMiller-mn3me No, Bjösh!
Well... either they'd amplify each other and you'd get something on another plane of musical theory.... or they'd cancel each other out and you'd get a three chord punk song - which would still be amazing!
bushbjork!!!
No, sillies. It’s pronounced “Bjush”
David is one of the best music guru. How he deconstruct music to have reason artistically is so inspiring and worth knowledge. I am a big Kate Bush fan and to watch this video makes me appreciate her more.
It will be interesting if David can talk about the beautifully weird chord progression behind A Sky of Honey
Chromatic mediants can be found in a few choice pop songs. Verse of head over heals, Radiohead loved em...but yes this is unusual to see so many. Suede love em too!
Your video popped up in my TH-cam feed and since then I've been visiting your older videos which explain musical composition concepts (scales, modes, chromatic mediants etc) so well!
I was lucky enough to get tickets for the first show of Kate Bush's sell out 22 nights at London Hammersmith Apollo in 2014. A mesmerising show, although focussed on her masterpiece Ninth Wave suite (Hounds of Love) and later Aerial album. So, no Wuthering Heights played, or any other early stuff (nobody minded - it's her show, and her artistic choice). Her debut album has so many standout compositional parts - you should have a go at deconstructing 'Man with the Child in His Eyes', or the lovely piano-based closer 'Kick Inside'.
It's a striking song, but isn't it fairly obvious that she was tinkering at the piano, hit these four triads in a row, and went with it?
Possibly. But the point you're overlooking is that this progression is rarely, if ever, used in pop music, as the presenter states. So, whether this genius was 'tinkering' or otherwise, she still composed one of the greatest, most unique sounding, pop songs ever! If she wasn't a genius she wouldn't have gone with this progression in the first place because she wouldn't have known it was precisely the sound she wanted for the song. And that's why she's a genius (sorry, I had to get the word 'genius' in as many times as possible so that there was no doubt)!
David, i knew this song was unusual, but you analysis now shows why!! Excellent !!
This is what I love about music. Even when something doesn't follow "conventional rules", it can still sound great, and still be described by other "rules"
Where the key signature changes I hear that as D flat major (vi, V, IV, ii, I) rather than B flat minor (which would imply i, flat VII, flat VI, iv, II).
For me, the pre-chorus “too long I’m roamed in the night” is pretty clearly in Bb minor, but then we flip to the relative major of Db major (so, in a sense, a different mode of essentially the SAME key) for the chorus, which is beautifully articulated (whether by design or fortuitous coincidence) by the fact that the word “home” falls on the tonic chord - the point at which we do indeed arrive “home”
I absolutely LOVE this song, one of the best 'oddball' songs I've ever heard.
Kate Bush doesn't follow musical convention; she makes her own rules as she goes along,
and as a result distinguishes her material with an unmistakable aesthetic character.
Wonderful things happen when an artist works that way.
Thank you for explaining this progression. I've tried to figure this progression out on the piano and mandolin at times but could never understand what the dickens Kate was doing. Gotta love Kate. She's truly one of a kind.
I loved Kate Bush as a young lad, not knowing how complex and unusual her music was. Many years later there came her album Aerial. There it was! That same old mystery than in Cloudbusting, Breathing, Babooshka and all her other songs. Beautiful and unique.❤😂
Loooove your analyses David! And the piano outros always inspire me too :) I’ve been eagerly waiting for someone to harmonically analyze Elliot Smith’s brilliant Figure 8 B-side “Colourbars”. That chord progression is so unconventionally chromatic and yet soo melodically copacetic. Improvising over the progression seems (for some reason) to consonantly accommodate any choice of notes, whether present in the current chord or not. Love that song. Would love to see you tackle any Elliott actually. I know that you began as a singer/ songwriter guitar dude so I’m sure you share my enthusiasm for his work. Your vids have helped me overcome a heretofore unconquerable musical plateau and continue to deepen and profoundly enrich my appreciation for all music. Keep up the great stuff 🤙
Great video and analysis of a great tune
Hey David, as a kid I used to put on a side of vinyl and try to get each song down, at least the chord progression. When I put on Pat Benatar "Crimes of Passion" I was knocking them down until this one. I sounded like a kid in guitar center, lost. There used to be a saying if you were sitting in with a band, "When in doubt, go up a 4th" (in guitar-speak, A to D) that did NOT apply, lol. I assumed it was written for the movie by some theoried-up piano wiz and gave up. It's good to now find out it was due to the eccentricity of Kate Bush's writing and imaginative thinking.
BTW, a challenge my friend and I used to do was "see how many snare hits you can play consecutively" on Yes' "Long Distance Runaround". My mother dented the 2nd floor radiator signalling us to stop playing air-drums on the 3rd floor flat at 1AM but it was great fun. After smoking some lamb's breath, getting 4 straight elevated you to "genius" level in our unofficial scoring.
'Rendezvous 6:02' by UK has one of the weirder chord sequences I've heard.
Great song and analysis on 'Wuthering Heights'. I can see where it's an acquired taste but I've always enjoyed it.
LOONA Yves' New goes by the chord progression Am, Dm, Bb, F, but with the F major as the home chord, giving us a iii-vi-IV-I progression. Half the time, however, the song skirts around the root chord instead of landing on it even on key sections like preceding the start of the choruses. This extends its resolution and makes the song feel like it's constantly being propelled forward. The constant camera panning in the music video accompanies this melodic feeling of constant movement, which is really pretty compelling for a form of pop music this commercial. A fully materialized audio-visual concept.
This song hit all my right buttons straight away: the lyrical singing, the strange vibe and ohhh, that guitar solo from David Gilmour…. Cutting that solo off is sheer sacrilege! Truly a song of beauty.
4:30 That "5+7" sounds suspiciously like just three bars of 4.
I was impressed by Kate Bush’s debut single when it came out in 1978 (I am four months younger than her). So I’m delighted to see this analysis now.
It is interesting that, in the opening chord loop, if you omit the E major chord, then you have A - F - C^# (and repeat), and the roots of successive major chords all descend by a major 3rd, dividing the octave into three equal parts. This kind of loop appears in late Romantic music, and lacks a clear tonal center. Kate adds the E major, which reinforces A as the tonic, and also gives four chords in the loop, allowing a nice two-bar harmonic rhythm of changes.
David, how about a video on examples of *doubly* chromatic mediants in popular music?
That was really interesting. Going to have to get a Kate Bush songbook and play some.
I’d like a vid on Its My Life by Talk Talk. Starts in mixylydian I think then does some kind of interesting changes for a pop song
Sparks - This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the both of us, jumps out as odd chords for a pop song
I also like the little passing note the piano does on that C# chord which creates a wonderful tension - the E to F (minor to major third). I know it's a very common thing to do in blues, but works particularly well here IMHO
Thank you David Bennett, I've waited for decades for this information. When this song came out, I immediately fell in love, went to the keyboard, but gave up. Some other song were easier to play, not this beautiful song written and sung by a beautiful lady.
I really love all your videos. I probably look forward to a new "DBP" video over anything else on my TH-cam subscriptions.. of any particular type, be it music, gaming, or anything else. I've learned so much from your channel too. Thank you! I'm a child of the 80s, but I had no idea how brilliant Kate Bush was, other than having that catchy "Running Up That Hill" song.
David, you're a legend - thanks so much, I've been a massive fan of Kate Bush since this song, and you've broken it down beautifully, making it a lot less intimidating than I imagined.
Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.
Please keep doing the unusual chord progressions videos, as they are super helpful & inspiring for songwriters and musicians like myself. ❤❤❤
Thank you!
Songwriting pianists tend to create more complex chord progressions than songwriting guitarists. Just beautiful and imaginative. I play guitar and this is just something I’ve noticed. Look at Elton John, another pianist and his songs have so many chords.
If this is true, it may be more to do with the fact that pianists are more often classically trained than guitarists. People think of the guitar as an instrument you can just pick up and figure out, but piano as something a teacher teaches you the “correct” way to do. As a consequence, a lot of guitar in popular music is much more rudimentary than we would accept from a pianist (imagine the piano equivalent of strumming cowboy chords)
I remember the first time i heard this it was one of those WTF? moments (in a good way) - so different from anything else on the radio at the time. I remember experiencing a similar reaction the first time I heard The Sugarcubes (Bjork). Kate's music is other worldly
Yesss. This is a great analysis of a great song. Ok, it is only this one 'KB' song from one 'KB' album and you could easily look at multiple songs on every one of her albums and that is before we even turn to her brilliance as a lyricist (I mean c'mon, 'A Coral Room' 'Breathing' 'And Dream of Sheep' 'The Infant Kiss' 'The Kick Inside' etc etc etc), and her brilliance as a producer ('The Ninth Wave' 'Endless Sky of Honey' 'Rocket's Tail' etc etc), her brilliance as a singer ('Reaching Out' 'Breathing' 'Night of the Swallow' 'The Wedding List' 'Violin' 'This Woman's Work' 'Moments of Pleasure'), her brilliance as a director ('This Woman's Work'), and her daring experimentation ('Babooshka' Egypt' 'Breathing' the entire album 'The Dreaming' 'The Ninth Wave' 'Rocket's Tail' etc etc).
A genuine bona fide, real life genius. Thanks for this - a really enjoyable video.
I'm a chemist not a musician at all but I do like learning about patterns and stuff and I got to say your videos make me very interested in music! Super informative super easy to understand and entertaining! thanks !