That Vote

[Neil Calton <nbc@vd.rl.ac.uk>]

I did post an earlier script on this issue but as I have not seen it
appear I'll take the chance to revise my thoughts.

>Subject: Re: Who'd they use to vote for?
>From: ci-dandelion!david@seismo.CSS.GOV (David Watson)
>
>I have interpreted Kate's heavy emphasis on the word "him" to mean
>"*him* as opposed to *her*", but I never checked the timing of the
>taping of _The Dreaming_ against even the grossest of milestones
>in recent British political history, e.g., the rise of Margaret Thatcher.
>Even so, as far as I know, her era started long after the conversion to
>decimal currency, so if my interpretation is correct, then so is Kate's
>observation.

>From: tucker@rocky.STANFORD.EDU (Andy Tucker)
>Well, here's an approximate timeline (sorry if I get something wrong, British
>politics isn't exactly my specialty):
>
>1964	Harold Wilson (Labour) becomes prime minister
>1967	Decimal Currency Act (or some similar name) passed
>1970	Edward Heath (Conservative) becomes prime minister
>1971	Enactment of the Decimal Currency Act
 14th February 1971 to be exact
>1974	Wilson becomes prime minister
>1976	Wilson resigns; Jim Callaghan (Labour) becomes prime minister
>1979	Margaret Thatcher (Conservative) becomes prime minister
>1982	Kate Bush releases _The Dreaming_ (presumably written over the past
>	year or two)
>
>My guess is that Kate was referring to Wilson -- he was prime minister when
>the currency act was passed, he led the Labour party for many years (anyone
>know Kate's politics?), and he was prime minister shortly before Thatcher
>(supporting David's theory above).  At one time, he (and Labour) were very
>popular -- perhaps Kate is referring to the disillusionment many people had
>with Labour in the 70's, leading to the election of Margaret Thatcher.
>"That's when we used to vote for him" implies that "we" vote for someone
>else now.

Political dates are spot on Andy.

This last line really is driving me crazy.
What is it doing in the song? How does it fit in with the rest of the lyrics?
The suggestions put forward by Andy and David are interesting but I wonder 
whether Kate intended such a precise meaning. Also, I'm not sure that "heavy
emphasis" adequately describes the way the word `him' is sung - it certainly
is not strong enough to clearly suggest an antithesis to *she*.

The Thatcher versus Wilson interpretation does not fit easily in with the
tone of the rest of the song: such a subtle piece of political observation
just feels out of place with the underlying theme. And why should a bunch of
criminals care about who they voted for; and it is hard to see them now
voting for Mrs T. (though come to think of it most of her cabinet seem to
be a bunch of crooks).

Further, in our General Election (unlike your Presidential Election)
we do not vote for a prime minister but for a local MP. 
Only the voters in Finchley can actually cast their vote for Maggie. 
Of course indirectly if we vote Tory then we help to put Mrs T. in number 10.
At the time _TD_ came out Thatcher (barely into the third year of her first
term) had not achieved her iron lady/world stateswoman image. Being relatively
early in her `reign' she was just another leader who happened to be a woman
(granted a rare example). At that stage one was more likely to say "vote for
them" meaning the Tory or Labour party rather than "him" or "her" meaning a
particular leader. However, Kate had used the word "them" to end the previous
line and repeating it would have been aesthetically unpleasing.

If Kate had written those lyrics this year then I would more readily embrace 
the viewpoint that Thatcher is being obliquely refered to, as she is now a very
powerful icon in the British political arena. It would still leave me
wondering on the relationship of the last line to the underlying themes. If
like the references to old banknotes it is purely a nostalgic remembrance of
the past, is it the robber or Kate who is expressing this thought? As I've said
I cannot fathom why the gang member could care greatly about the political past.
If that last line is Kate interjecting her own memories does that mean she
now votes for Maggie (surely not!) when she previously voted for Wilson or
possibly Heath? (You'll notice there are a lot of questions in this piece and
very few answers).

Personally, I think the decimalisation issue is a red herring: after all, by
my reckoning, Kate was 13 when it was introduced and why should any
politician involved in its introduction have had any impact on her. I cannot
remember anything noteworthy about  D-day as it was called. Perhaps, Kate
used to vote for a local politician called Bob Note! :-) Oh well, maybe
she'll tell us the real answer one day. Personally, I'd be content for
someone to adequately explain why that last line is there at all. 
It must have some significance. Help!

****

Sgt Pepper entered the British LP charts at number 3 last week. I'm not
sure if this includes CD sales. Also in the top 30 LPs is The Smiths
compilation `Louder Than Bombs' which was previously only available in the US.

A compilation of Billy Bragg's first 2 albums and the 'Between the Wars' ep
is now available entitled 'Back to Basics'. Both this and 'Talking with the
Taxman' are also now on CD (price 7-99 sterling).

Be seeing you.