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[hsut@purdue-ecn.ARPA (Bill Hsu)]

Really-from: Bill Hsu


	SOME UNOBSERVANT OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE STRUCTURE OF TWO
			KATE BUSH SONGS


	A long time ago, I foolishly suggested that it would be fun
to do some thematic analyses of Kate Bush songs. Somebody (jer?) suggested
as candidates And Dream of Sheep and Hello Earth, since most people thought
they shared musical material but were unable to say exactly where.
Well, here's what I dredged up. The comments are mostly on musical 
themes and motifs. 

	So are the two songs similar? Well, yes and no. The similarities
are more subtle than the direct quoting of musical phrases. Generally,
I'd say Kate Bush used a surprising economy of means in these two
songs to achieve very varied effects. The two songs are in the same
key (C# minor, occasionally moving into E major) and are similar in
harmony also.

	And Dream of Sheep is mainly composed of five main phrases: (there
are different ways to break them up, but this is how I did it)

(1) The open fifths of "Little light shining...guide them to me". 
    The first passage goes E E (5th) B, B (5th) F# etc. The first
    chord is a C# minor 7th (C# E G# B) and contributes to the tense,
    mysterious quality of the opening.

(2) "My face is... (repeated)". This is a relatively calm phrase,
    consisting mostly of repeated E's.

(3) "If they find me...for a buoy". Another calm phrase, alternating
    mostly between B and G#.

(4) "Let me be weak...of sheep". Quiet descending figures, ending in 
    E major.

	The first break in the song has the female voice saying
"Come here, (name)". (1) is then repeated and extended with variations
("I'll wake up...a seeking craft". Call this (1a).) Then we have (2),
(3), (3) again, but truncated ("I'll tune into..." and "I can't be 
left to..."). A repeat of (4) leads to the first new material for 
awhile.

(5) "Ooh their breath..." Open 6th's. A short phrase is repeated as
    a kind of coda.


	The opening of Hello Earth is very similar to that of ADOS. The
first phrase "Hello Earth Hello Earth" is over the same chord as ADOS
(C# minor 7th) tho the theme is slightly changed. Hello Earth goes
G# G# B, C# C# F#, while ADOS goes E E B, B B F#. I'd like to associate
the chord and the thematic material with some kind of "contemplation"
motif. It opens the two songs on Ninth Wave which are about the
narrator contemplating her surroundings rather than hallucinating.

	Hello Earth is much looser in construction than ADOS. Division
of themes are not as clearcut as ADOS, so roughly here are the artificial
divisions:

(1) "Hello Earth ... peek-a-boo little earth". Notice the "blot you out
    out..." motif (C# E G# B) which returns often in the song. 

    Part of (1) is repeated; "With just my heart...asleep at the seat"
has the same thematic material as "With just one hand...little earth".

(2) "I get out of... travelling fast". Open fifths again.

(3) "Look at it go (twice)". 

	The first break in Hello Earth is again achieved with an
non-Kate voice, the chorus that will return at the end of the song.
Compare the "Come here..." passage in ADOS.

	(1) is repeated with variations for "Hello Earth, Hello Earth,
watching storms...the wind out to sea". Then there is a passage 
constructed of variations on C# D# E B ("All you...etc"). I see this
as a combination of the open 5th motif of the opening of ADOS and
the "blot you out out" phrase (C# E G# B).

	(2) with all its rhythmic rigor and open fifths is repeated
for "Go to sleep...head of the tempest". A short connecting phrase
("Murderer...") and then a repetition of (3) for "Why did I go...".


	So there are definitely similarities. The upward leap of a fifth
is an important motif, along with the C# minor 7th chord as both
harmony and melodic line (in arpeggiated form). Both songs are in
the same key, and the harmony is rather similar. While the songs were
not terribly complex, the way Kate Bush uses a limited amount of
material to achieve her many different effects is interesting.

	Comments?


					Bill Hsu