Lyrics of _Organic_Acid_

[IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@mitvma.mit.edu]

 To: Love-Hounds
 From: Andrew Marvick
 Subject: Lyrics of _Organic_Acid_

   The following lyrics--actually a combination of lyrics and
"pure" poetry--are taken from an early recording by Kate Bush.
The true title of the song is unknown to fans, but IED has
accepted the title _Organic_Acid_ as a reasonable title for
purposes of identification. _Organic_Acid_ is the title given
to the song by the bootleggers who have released it as the
b-side of _The_Cathy_Demos,_Volume_Five_.
   The song is a slow and sensitive ballad sung by a very
young Kate Bush to her own piano accompaniment. The recorded sound
is identical to that heard on the other twenty-two demo-tracks
which have come to be known as "The Cathy Demos", and IED
believes it must belong to the same collection.
   This song is radically different from the others in that
collection, however, in that it includes a rather long poem
by Kate's brother John Carder Bush, who recites a stanza or two
between each verse and chorus of Kate's song. (Kate's piano
continues between verses as a support to John's recitation.)
   IED cannot see any really clear connection between Kate's
song and John's poem: the former seems to be a kind of
lullabye to a troubled lover, and is filled with imagery of
the sea. (One possibility, therefore, is that this is the
song known as _Atlantis_, which IED has not heard but which
is listed among the songs on the near-mythical album, _The_Early_
_Years_.) John's poem, however, is a far more detailed and explicit
descriptive poem which details the progress and violent end
of a vaguely perverted love affair. It is possible that the
speaker in Kate's song is addressing a character in John's
poem, or possibly the narrator of John's poem, himself; but
neither of these interpretations seems likely to IED. (On the other
hand, the reference to the beach at the climax of John's poem
does provide for the possibility that the two are interconnected.)
It seems more probable that Kate simply invited John to recite one of
his poems during the performance of her song. She must have
felt that the two works complemented each other in some intangible
way; and IED, for one, agrees with her.
   Although this collaboration could have been recorded as
late as 1977, IED thinks a more likely date for it is
1975, possibly even 1972 or 1973. The discovery
that the "Cathy Demos" number _more_ than twenty-two songs re-opens
the possibility that these EPs stem from the same collection of
"thirty songs" which, according to Peter FitzGerald-Morris,
were sent round to various record companies by the Bush family's
friend Ricky Hopper in late 1972 and early 1973.


                             _Organic_Acid_

                        Poetry by John Carder Bush
                       Music and Lyrics by Kate Bush

"He got her drunk very quickly.
 Holding hands, they found the broom-cupboard,
 Where he had control as far as the fall,
 When his hand covered wet hair.
 She took over among furniture wax,
 Dust, and the cloying yellow of polishing-cloth.
 When he was sick, she comforted him."

     Hush, my friend, sleep,
     And cuddle to the wind.
     Sleep on through the waves
     That may wet your lover's dream.

          We have been far through this night long hours.
          We will go far, tomorrow, out of sight, ooh...

"He couldn't do it properly;
 The disco, the office, the pub,
 Had left out those details of delight.
 Satisfied, he would collapse out,
 Puzzled at why she still squirmed,
 Held onto him, tears curling into her mouth.
 This was something _their_ stories always omitted:
 That her joy would seem like pain,
 When he focused after his release."

     Do sand and shells and stones
     Peep in through your night?
     But you should not be hurt
     For all will pass in time.

          We have been far through this night long hours.
          We will go far, tomorrow, out of sight, ooh...

"In the third week of the relationship
 She was tripping on organic acid,
 Would stop to pick up a rained-out leaf,
 Would give it tenderly into his hand--
 Full of dead things before they reached the car.
 When they drove she sat with mouth open
 As though photographed on the impact of a stomach <?>,
 Her right fist gripping the skin of his left leg.
 Hooking the steering-wheel closer to his heart,
 He feared her, and slapped out sideways into her face.
 She entered the cut with her tongue,
 Gurgling gratitude for the strange taste."

     Do you feel the dark?
     Then hush, and realize
     That though the angels never come,
     Prayers can soothe your mind.

          We have been far through this night long hours.
          We will go far, tomorrow, out of sight, ooh...

"There was no premonition of the wet hog's back.
 The sportscar slumped, snout into a beach,
 Their corpses giving the vehicle arms,
 Petrol and blood at last dripping together.
 But quick flashes of a planned lunch:
 Cold red beef, white cloth by a cherrywood fire,
 Game pie, and for him two pints of colder beer,
 The winter air tucking under their eyelids
 As they spun on the gravel at Clamdon;
 Their hands steaming from quick moisture,
 The aromatic finger drawn up to his nostril--
 Dazed after mutual masturbation,
 They zigzagged into a conservative end."

     Oh hush, my friend, sleep...

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-- Andrew Marvick