Re: This Woman's Work

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (Chris Williams)]

You wrote:
>Hi Everyone,
>Recently, when listening to "This Woman's Work" on Sensual World, I suddenly 
>realised that it sounds like Kate is saying goodbye to her mother, who died 
>just before Red Shoes was released (5 yrs later.) [Strangely, though, the 1st 
>verse of the song sounds like it's about child-birthing, although it does not 
>seem to relate to the rest of the song at all!]

   The first line, and the rest of the song, was specifically written for the
John Hughes film _She's Having A Baby_. It directly relates to the action
in the film. Hughes lets Kate's song play in full with no additional voices
over the montage of the of the husband (Kevin Bacon) worried about his
wife's (Elizibeth Perkins) difficult delivery. The film is worth catching, if
only to catch how well the song fits into the film. I'd say that (apart from
Kate's own film) this is the best usage of Kate's music in a film. _Be Kind
To My Mistakes_ works wonderfully in _Castaway_, but it's used in the
opening titles, and would have more impact later.

>Does anyone know if Kate's mum first got sick in 1989? Listen to the song & 
>it really sounds like she's preparing to say goodbye to someone she loves who 
>is dying. Also, it is fascinating to compare it with "Moments of Pleasure", 
>where it sounds like Kate is actually making direct reference back to Woman's 
>Work & hence completing the story about mum:(i.e. "Give me those moments back" 
>- Woman's Work;"Just let us try to give these moments back to those we love, 
>to those who will survive." - Moments of Pleasure.)

   Interesting point, and one that I had not noticed. We don't know much about
Hannah Bush's illness, when it started or even what it was. The family was, and
always has been very protective of each other. We do know that at the time of 
the 1990 Convention, Hannah was somewhat frail.

  

                          Chris Williams of
                             Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
                               chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (his)
                                 vickie@njin.rutgers.edu      (hers)