The song that embarrasses Kate Bush to bursting: “It makes me just want to die”
Looking across the scores of the musical landscape, there’s perhaps no one who whips up such enigmatic enthral at the sheer mention of their name quite like Kate Bush. She’s one of those artists who, rather inexplicably in some ways, has kept a certain dramatic allure at the front and centre of their brand, mostly because she largely keeps away from the spotlight, and understands the exact right moment to step into it.
But this is not to say that she has spent an entire life and career being permanently elusive. Indeed, there have been plenty of occasions in which the singer has been upfront, and sometimes disarmingly honest, about her artistry, leaving no illusions as to her true thoughts on her most prolific exports, as well as those who don’t quite reach the pinnacle of those heady heights.
After all, over the course of almost half a century blessing the music industry with her ethereal opines, it’s only natural that there will have been some instances in which Bush’s usual songwriting magic has run short. What’s so refreshing about her, however, is that she’s not shy of admitting to her shortcomings, and will even go so far as to completely blast the tracks that make her look back and cringe.
One such example of the singer truthfully voicing her embarrassment was with regards to her 1978 song ‘Oh England My Lionheart’ – a tune that all but cemented the beginnings of her career, but that she later wished to leave by the wayside. This was to the point where, in a 1993 interview, she gave the track a complete dressing down, not before explaining on why some of her efforts haven’t aged so well.
“Either the lyric’s not thought out properly or it’s just crap or the performances weren’t well executed,” she said. “But you have to get it in context. You were doing it at the time and it was the best you could do then. You’ve got to live with it. Some of those early songs, though, you think, ‘What was I *thinking* about? Did *I* write that?'”
Indeed, the passing of time is a good reason enough to chart the maturity of any singer’s musical evolution, but Bush only solidified this further by adding: “I think some of my lyrics were just, well, mad, really. And why not! You’ve got to be prepared to fail and get a bit hurt or bruised along the way.”
As the conversation then drifted over to the dreaded subject of ‘Oh England My Lionheart’ and her potential connection to the song, Bush then recoiled in horror. “Do you like that one?” she exclaimed, “That’s one of the ones I meant. It makes me just want to die. There’s just something about that time. It’s such an old song. Oh God, I haven’t heard it for so long. Must have been on tour in 1979.” With that, there’s no denying her true feelings on the subject, and why it hasn’t seen a live rendition in some 46 years – but what exactly is Bush’s point?
In her typical spiritual sense, she is explaining that music is a constant journey – one that has mostly seen her soaring above the clouds, admittedly, but not without the odd patch of turbulence along the way. ‘Oh England My Lionheart’ may just be one of those rough cases, but it’s an imperfection Bush has had to learn to live with, and certainly not one that makes her patriotic and proud.
