The Ninth Wave - the best!

[MICSK@leeds.ac.uk (S. Kesavan)]

In all my years of listening to all kinds of music, I have never heard 
anything as imaginative and ingenious as 'The Ninth Wave'. Kate herself, must 
have been so pleased with the final product. 'Hounds of Love' appealed to 
ordinary Kate Bush fans (pop music) while 'The Ninth Wave' appealed to those 
who could appreciate albums such as 'The Dreaming' in its entirety.

The Ninth Wave, as I interpret it, is a story of a young girl who experiences 
emotional turmoil while in dream. The album starts with 'And dream of 
sheep'...here she comforts herself listening to the radio, trying to 
fall into a peaceful sleep not knowing what awaits her once she falls asleep. 
She has a nightmare and feels trapped (under ice)...that feeling of being 
locked in and not being able to get out. It suffocates her. She then is 
transported to medieval times where she is being persecuted and punished for 
acts of sorcery and black magic (waking the witch)....on the lines of burning 
witches on stakes......once dead, she then dreams herself as a ghost 
(watching you without me)...watching her partner "you watch the clock move 
the slow hand, I should have been home hours ago, but I'm not here" "to let 
you know whats been happening, there's a ghost in our home just watching you 
without me but I'm not here"........She then dreams herself (in person) going 
to see an astrologer "hello old lady" (jig of life) to find out what the 
future holds for her...."never never say goodbye to MY part of YOUR life" she 
begs...she wants to live for a little while longer..she wants no more 
misfortune....but alas she departs the earth, leaving on a space craft while 
watching the globe from space (Hello Earth) and she remembers good times on 
earth with her boyfriend "with just my heart and my mind, I could be driving 
home with you asleep on the seat"...she sees bad weather signs and wishes she 
could warn sailors of forthcoming sea storms "watching storms start to form 
over America...can't do anything, just watch them swing with the wind out to 
sea...all life savers, get out of the water, all you cruisers, get of the 
water, all you fishermen, head for home!"...she has no control...she feels 
alone with no one there to speak to...she has experienced so much distress 
and sadness over such a little while and can't understand why....until she 
wakes up and realises she has had a dream / nightmare (Morning fog)....she 
feels relieved..she sees all the people that she knows and suddenly tells 
them how much she loves them "I tell my mother, I tell my brother, I tell my 
father" and she also tells her boyfriend "Do you know what? I love you better 
now!" She is ecstatic.

My interpretations may be all wrong and a little simplistic but I enjoy 
thinking about what Kate's lyrics actually mean.

Those of you who say 'The Ninth wave' is not a good piece of work...just 
think...Kate Bush wrote and produced this album in her mid-twenties. I myself 
am 26 and I am sure that I could never produce anything like 'The Ninth Wave' 
in my whole lifetime. KATE BUSH IS A GENIOUS. We wait for your next album.

S. Kesavan