Re: under the ivy/cloudbusting/wilhelm reich

[jeffy@wam.umd.edu (Jeffrey Craig Burka)]

In article <9501302021.AA65730@student2.cl.msu.edu>,
Brian J Dillard <dillardb@student.msu.edu> wrote:
>which song was under the ivy originally the b-side for? cuz i always think of
>it as being the flipside (if not the physical b-side) of cloudbusting.

That was an interesting mix of symbolism you brought up.  Unfortunately,
though, "Under the Ivy" was not the b-side to "Cloudbusting."  Rather, it
was the b-side to "Running up that Hill."  My vinyl copy is on the RUTH
12", which contains the RUTH remix (available on TWW), UtI, and the RUTH
instrumental (in which "instrumental" means that the lead vox have been
removed, but the bv's are still in place.  this is perhaps my favorite KaTe
instrumental, though I must admit to not having had the chance to hear
"Dreamtime" yet).

Now my own stab at Under the Ivy...

I won't really try to argue with KaTe about what's "happening" in the song.
The lyrics show a clear invitation to go somewhere and do something,
whether that's making love or whatever.  It's the subtext which we all
clearly find so interesting.

Almost 4 years ago (ouch, has it been so long?), I was in the midst of an
e-mail conversation with a friend about communication in relationships.  I
brought up a couple of songs, including Happy Rhodes' "Words Weren't Made
for Cowards" and "Under the Ivy."  The idea I posited then, which I'm sure
I can't reproduce as eloquently as I did back then, was that the song was
an invitation for the second-person character to get to know the
protaganist better.  In a sense, this is a nice foil to RUTH -- instead of
swapping places, the protaganist is explaining where to go so that the
couple can more fully share in their relationship.  She's offering up a
map, explaining that if he *wants* to get to that level of communication,
this is how to do it -- this is where the real, internal self resides.

"It wouldn't take me long to tell you how to find me."

Of course, I'll readily admit that any number of interpretations of the
song are possible, and likely correct.  For all its simplicity, "Under the
Ivy" is an incredibly complex song, and the passion with which it's
performed is simply mindboggling.

Jeff