RUNNING UP THAT HILL INFO

[rhill@netrun.cts.com (ronald hill)]

        Here's a few of the quotes in Cloudbusting about Running Up 
That Hill: 



Running Up That Hill

        The first track on the first side is "Running Up That Hill," 
and I'm sure you will have all heard this by now.  I am very excited 
about how it's been received by people!  It's so rewarding after 
working for a long time to see that your work is being received with 
open arms.  This song is very much about two people who are in love, 
and how the power of love is almost too big for them.  It leaves them 
very insecure and in fear of losing each other.  It's also perhaps 
talking about some fundamental differences between men and women.   
(1985, KBC 18)

        It's a bit of a cliche at the moment, with so many songs called 
this, but it is very much about the power of love [Kate is referring to 
two then-recent pop singles, "The Power Of Love" by Huey Lewis and The 
News, and "The Power Of Love" by Jennifer Rush, both of which were big 
hits in England in 1985 - IED], and the strength that is created 
between two people when they're very much in love, but the strength can 
also be, um...uh...threatening, violent, dangerous as well as gentle, 
soothing, loving.  And it's saying that if these two people could swap 
places - if the man could become the woman and the woman the man, that 
perhaps they could understand the feelings of that other person in a 
truer way, understanding them from that gender's point of view, and 
that perhaps there are very subtle differences between the sexes that 
can cause problems in a relationship, especially when people really do 
care about each other.   (1985, Homeground)

        You have this so called "Running Up That Hill" in which you 
want to make a deal with god.  What exactly is the deal you want to 
make?
        It's the two people in the song, a man and a woman, that what 
to make a deal with God in order to swap places with each other.  That 
if the man could be the woman, and vice-versa, they would understand 
what it's like from that other person's point of view and that perhaps 
there'd be less problems in the relationship.   (1985, Late November, 
The New Music)

*       Your music contains a lot of very strong emotions.  For 
example, the hit "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" is intense in 
that manner.  Can you explain the emotions behind this song. 
        It's very much about two people who are in love, a man and a 
woman, and the idea of it is they could swap places... The man being 
the woman and vice versa and they'd understand each other better.  In 
some ways talking about the fundamental differences between men and 
women, I suppose trying to remove those obstacles, being in someone 
else's place; understanding how they see it, and; hoping that would 
remove problems in the relationship.   (1986, Island-Ear)

        A man and a woman love each other enormously, so much so that 
the power of their love is the source of their problems.  Briefly, if 
they could make a pact with God to exchange their roles, the man 
becoming the woman and the woman the man, they would understand each 
other better and would resolve their differences.
        From a first listening, one gets the idea that it's with God 
that you want to switch roles...
        There are several people who have heard something of that sort. 
 That's a good reason for doing this interview, if one needed one.  
Tell them that I would never dare imagine such an exchange.   (1985, 
Guitares et Claviers)

        Is the single about the notion it might better to be dead - 
"doing a deal with God, get him to swap places", "Running Up The Hill" 
to heaven, to be where He is?
        That's a nice interpretation.  It's very much about love, 
really: trying to keep it alive.  I don't know that perfect love exists 
in any human being, but I don't think it can be encouraged enough.  
(Blitz, 1985)

        Well, it's about a relationship between a man and a woman.  
They love each other very much, and the power of the relationship is 
something that gets in the way.  It creates insecurities.  It's saying 
if the man could be the woman and the woman the man, if they could make 
a deal with God, to change places, that they'd understand what it's 
like to be the other person and perhaps it would clear up 
misunderstandings.  You know, all the little problems; there would be 
no problem.  
        A perfect world, then.
        Yes.  Idealistic.  But then I think a lot of art is that.  It's 
not necessarily real always.   (1985, Picture Disk)

        "Running Up That Hill" was one of the first songs that I wrote 
for the album.  It was very nice for me that it was the first single 
released, I'd always hoped that would be the way.  It's very much about 
a relationship between a man and a woman who are deeply in love and 
they're so concerned that things could go wrong - they have great 
insecurity, great fear of the relationship itself.  It's really saying 
if there's a possibility of being able to swap places with each other 
that they'd understand how the other one felt, that when they were 
saying things that weren't meant to hurt, that they weren't meant 
sincerely, that they were just misunderstood.  In some ways, I suppose 
the basic difference between men and women, where if we could swap 
places in a relationship, we'd understand each other better, but this, 
of course, is all theoretical anyway.   (1985, Open Interview)

*       It seems that the more you get to know a person, the greater 
the scope there is for misunderstanding.  Sometimes you can hurt 
somebody purely accidentally or be afraid to tell them something 
because you think they might be hurt when really they'll understand.  
So what that song is about is making a deal with God to let two people 
swap place so they'll be able to see things from one another's 
perspective.   (1985, The Times)

*       I was trying to say that, really, a man and a woman, can't 
understand each other because we are a man and a woman.  And if we 
could actually swap each others roles, if we could actually be in each 
others place for a while, I think we'd both be very surprised!  
[Laughs]  And I think it would be lead to a greater understanding.  And 
really the only way I could think it could be done was either... you 
know, I thought a deal with the devil, you know.  And I thought, "well, 
no, why not a deal with God!"  You know, because in a way it's so much 
more powerful the whole idea of asking God to make a deal with you.  
You see, for me it is still called "Deal With God", that was it's 
title.  But we were told that if we kept this title that it wouldn't be 
played in any of the religious countries, Italy wouldn't play it, 
France wouldn't play it, and Australia wouldn't play it!  Ireland 
wouldn't play it, and that generally we might get it blacked purely 
because it had "God" in the title.  Now, I couldn't believe this, this 
seemed completely ridiculous to me and the title was such a part of the 
song's entity.  I just couldn't understand it.  But none the less, 
although I was very unhappy about it, I felt unless I compromised that 
I was going to be cutting my own throat, you know, I'd just spent two, 
three years making an album and we weren't gonna get this record played 
on the radio, if I was stubborn.  So I felt I had to be grown up about 
this, so we changed it to "Running Up That Hill".  But it's always 
something I've regretted doing, I must say.  And normally I always 
regret any compromises that I make.    (1991, Classic Albums)

        On delivering Hounds Of Love she found EMI slightly changed in 
personnel and much better pleased with her, but there was an old 
familiar debate to engage in.  The A & R department had picked 
"Cloudbusting" as the first single, while Kate said it had to be "Deal 
With God."  Good grace revived, EMI gave way.  But then they said she 
couldn't call it "Deal With God."  For me, that is the title, but I was 
told that if I insisted, the radio stations in at least ten countries 
would refuse to play it because it had "God" in the title - Spain, 
Italy, America, lots of them.  I thought it was ridiculous.  Still, 
especially after The Dreaming, I decided to weigh up the priorities.  
Not compromise creatively, but not be so obsessive that... I had to 
give the album a chance.   (1989, Q)

*       That song is going to puzzle a lot of people.  I think perhaps 
the word God conjures up a sense of religion but it's quite often used 
symbolically.... (God is the) only person who can make the true bond of 
love possible.  [laughs] Hopefully there are enough people who listen 
to the music and see that it's actually not that religious.   (1985, 
Pulse)
  
        The first new track for almost three years and it was a very 
rewarding feeling when it was received so well.   (C.1986, AVD)

*       I had an idea of what I wanted to say in the song and I 
actually asked Del to write me a drum pattern, and he wrote this great 
pattern in the drum machine.  So I just put the Fairlight on top of it 
and that was the basis of the song, with the drone, which played quite 
an important part.   (1991, Classic Albums)

*       Regarding the types of sounds you get, how did you get that 
little part on "Running Up That Hill" that comes in first at the start 
of the song, after the drums and before the vocals?
        That's the Fairlight and that was actually what I wrote the 
song with.  That was what the song was written around. 
        And what about the altered voice at the end of the song, where 
you're singing, "If only I could, keep [she actually says "be"] Running 
Up That Hill"?  How was that done? 
        That's just a heavy effect. 
        What effect is on there?  Do you remember? 
        I guess I'll put "I won't say." 
        You won't say?
        No.  It was just a combination of the engineer and myself.  I 
think it's part of the thing of recording and there are so many 
limitations to what we do, to discover something interesting that 
perhaps people aren't really using... It's so quickly that people 
imitate things.  You've got to hand onto them, I suppose.  If you want 
to use them again.   (1986, Island-Ear)
        
        You, of course, had the big hit single "Running Up That Hill" 
taken from the Hounds Of Love album.  What inspired that song?
        That was the first song I wrote when we moved to the country.  
I think it was, perhaps, an expression of freedom from the things I'd 
felt before.  It's very much about love and the power of love.  And the 
frustration of misunderstanding within relationships.  If a man could 
become a woman and the woman a man, within their relationship, that 
perhaps they'd understand a bit more about each other.
        And that's the deal with God?
        Yes.
        There's some very complicated dance routines in the video.  
Must have taken a long time to work those out?
        That was a lot of fun.  I was working there with Diane Grey, a 
choreographer, who I met a couple of years ago.  It's very exciting 
working with other people.  I think it's especially so when you spend 
such a lot of time, say, in the studio where you're only working with a 
set group, say two other people.  And it was very inspiring working 
with the choreographer, who's also such a good dancer and we got on 
well together.  We had lots of fun.   (1985, Profile 6)
        

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rhill@netrun.cts.com (ronald hill)
NetRunner's Paradise BBS, San Diego CA