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From: Doug Alan <nessus@athena.mit.edu>
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 89
21:22:24 EST
Subject: Lord of the Reedy River
On the subject of Kate's cover of Donovan's "Lord of the Reedy River"...
> Of course, Kate herself recorded this song, and put it out as the b-side of the single Sat In Your Lap in 1981. A rumour persists that Donovan actually contributed a bit of backing vocal on Kate's track, though this has not been confirmed.
This is not a rumour! I know I've seen an interview with Kate where she said that she couldn't decide between doing a Captain Beefheart cover or a Donovan cover, but that the issue was decided when she got a chance to get Donovan to come into the studio with her to help out on the song.
|>oug
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 1995 09:20:56 +0200
From:
willker@chemie.uni-bremen.de (Wieland Willker)
Subject: Lord of the Reedy
River
Lord of the Reedy River
From the Garden:"...a rumour persists that Donovan himself contributed backing vocals to the recording. ..."
Yesterday I met a friend, who showed me a magazine called "Donovan's friends, No. 1, an official Donovan publication". It's from around 82/83 and it contains the following brief Kate interview:
"Kate Bush meets 'the lord of the reedy river'
...
Among many others, but in my opinion none have matched Kate Bush for her stunning version of 'The Lord of the Reedy River'. Kate gave the song a new angle and her interpretation was very highly imaginative. Not a lot of people are aware of the fact that Donovan himself sings the harmony vocals on her version, so with the help and co-operation from Lisa of the Kate Bush Fan Club, I asked Kate how it all came about. As this is the only cover version she has ever put on vinyl. "I had recorded 'Sat in your Lap' and at the time I never had anything to go on the B-side and I can remember at the time seeing Donovan on the TV. I hadn't seen him on the telly for nearly eight years, and there he was on quite a few programmes, it seemed everywhere I looked there was Donovan, it was a very strange feeling, something seemed to point me in his direction, then I started to play 'HMS Donovan' which is my all time favourite album. It was then I decided to record 'The Lord of the Reedy River' because it's such a beautiful song. So I phoned Donovan up and asked him for his permission to record the song, and he was so nice about it all, that I asked him if he would like to do some harmony vocals and he said 'Yes', and of course, he did."
...
- thank you Kate for all your help, all the best for the future. Unfortunately, this amazing version of 'Lord of the Reedy River' can only be found on the B side of 'Sat in your Lap'. ..."
(unsigned)
end credits in the magazine:
"Our special thanks to all my friends in music, for all their help, encouragement and good vibes, in the making of this magazine. They are ... Kate Bush, Lisa ...(here I left out several names) and my Lady of the Stars Linda." Donovan.
I don't know if this is a new information for everyone, but maybe for you?
Best wishes Wieland
From: Wieland Willker <willker@chemie.uni-bremen.de>
Date: Sun,
28 Jan 1996 14:49:44 -0100
Subject: Lord of the Reedy River + Donovan
Hello friends,
a while ago I posted an interview quote from a Donovan mag. where Kate reveals that Donovan is indeed singing backing vocals on 'Lord of the Reedy River'.
Recently I found another interview quote:
Kate: ...so far we have finished one single and the B-side, which is really great - a Donovan song. I've always wanted to do one of his songs, because I've admired his music and his voice for years. I decided to do this song and through a coincidence it started happening. Someone asked me what I was doing for the B-side while we were watching a Crystal Gayle show on TV. I was telling them I was going to do this Donovan song and all of a sudden Crystal Gayle said, '...and now my very special guest is Donovan' and you know we hadn't seen him on TV for years and years. It was really like it was right.
Sally: Fate.
Kate: Yes, and he came into the studio and did some backing vocals which is really great because I've always wanted to work with him.
(Sally James' almost legendary pop interviews, Eel Pie 1981)
I think, this is interesting.
Best wishes
Wieland
PS: In the same Sally James interview:
Sally: But you started writing when you were eleven. Where did the ideas for writing come from? It's quite unusual for people of that age to actually write songs.
Kate: Yes. I think a lot of it might have been to do with the things inside me and realizing how much pleasure music had given to other people I'd seen. Maybe it was because I had to play alone a lot.
Sally: Were you quite a solitary child then?
Kate: I had no friends of my own age until I went to school and those friends lived quite a way from me. And my brothers, who were a bit older than me, were out doing other things.
Sally: So you had to amuse yourself?
Kate: I spent a lot of time by myself.
PPS: Re the God-issue
"Kate speaks with the voice of the Oneness, because she's just a little closer to God than the rest of us." (John C. Bush)
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 88 08:09:21 PST
From: Douglas Weiman <WEIMAN@SRI-NIC.ARPA>
Subject: Ne T'Enfuis Pas
I want to explain my recent statement that I thought "Ne T'Enfuis Pas" was Kate's (actually *anybody's*) best work. I still think this is true - it is the most *complete* song I have ever heard.
The production sounds deceptively simple, but if attention is paid, all sorts of things are happening musically in the background and foreground. The stark percussion, the "shaker sound", the pathos of the slowly undulating melody, and the "stop on a dime" ending fit together to form a perfect musical line.
Lyrically, it is equally fantastic. For those who haven't seen the translation, here it is:
I am coming like a cat
through the night so black,
You are
waiting
and I fall
into your white wings, la la la,
And I sink
and I fly
like a feather
If the big eyes of my God
were not watching me
I would steal you
away
Don't fly away -
You have wings,
the power to leave me
You
fell from the sky
like an angel, la la la,
And I am afraid
that the sky will take you back
If the big eyes of my God
were not watching me
I would steal
you away
I am coming like a cat
through the night so black,
I beg you
I beg you
Don't fly away
These are the most mysterious lyrics Kate has ever written. There are very few clues as to who is singing, and who they are singing to. Is the "narrator" a male or female? Kate has taken the male perspective in other songs (Ran Tan Waltz, Hammer Horror, etc.). There is some kind of forbidden love relationship in the works, but unlike "The Infant Kiss", it is not clearly defined. The narrator is feeling confusion towards the subject - how can somebody be sinking and flying at the same time? Also, it seems that a great part of the forbiddeness of the relationship is self-imposed by the narrator. The image of the "desired" being taken back to the sky can refer to death or just abandonment. The narrator also seems to have some fear of the desired, who has the "power to leave me."
The narrator is portrayed in images of darkness -- the cat, the night so black; while the desired is shown to be light -- white wings, an angel. An age or perhaps class gap between the two people is implied. The "big eyes of my God" reflect not only a societal wrong in the relationship, but also a more inner turmoil within the narrator. The lyrics only *seem* simple on first glance, but I think there are almost endless possibilities regarding the interpretation of this piece, hence the fascination. Also, the vowel strings of the French language allow Kate's emotion to show the struggle, the emotion, and the desperation of the song. The hodge-podge of sounds of the English language would not have been nearly as effective had the song been done in English.
I stand by my statement - this is the best song Kate has ever done. I never hear it where I don't have to stop what I am doing and wait for the song and the spell to be completely cast before I can continue whatever I was doing. I would welcome people's ideas as to their interpretation of the song.
Date: Fri, 9 Dec 88 11:30:13 EST
From: jsd%UMASS.BITNET@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
(Jonathan S. Drukman)
Subject: ne t'enfuis pas
> I would welcome people's ideas as to their interpretation of the song.
I agree basically with what you're saying. I thought there was some sort of undesirability element in there based on the dark/light imagery, but you've pretty well nailed that end of the song down. I have nothing more to add other than to say that the first 50 or so times I heard it I had no clue as to the lyrics (other than "je t'en prie, ne t'enfuis pas") and I thought it was the most moving, beautiful song Kate had ever recorded. At this point, it's neck and neck between this one and "Running Up That Hill"... If only it were out on CD, it would probably be the winner...
Jon Drukman
Date: Fri, 09 Dec 88 10:58 PST
From:
IED0DXM%OAC.UCLA.EDU@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
Subject: Ne T'enfuis pas
IED read with great interest Doug Weiman's persuasive article about Ne T'enfuis pas. IED actually used to feel pretty much the same way Doug does now. He was convinced that that recording was one of the most perfect and complex pieces of music ever made --certainly in pop-music history. When, after the eighty-millionth listening (and already into his third or fourth copy of the single), he then discovered the vocal (Fairlight) melody in the introduction --before the main vocal begins, and so low in the mix that it had slipped by his attention for weeks--with its attendant harmony in fifths, he became convinced of the essential accuracy of his judgement. Musically, Ne T'enfuis pas is an absolute jewel.
As for the lyrics, IED sees the truth in what Doug says about them. Kate composed the song initially in French, using what little she felt confident of on her own, and then going to French friends for help in bringing the rest of the "story" into idiomatic French. The result is--IED is happy to say--excellent, from a linguistic point of view. As to the multivalence of the lyrics' meaning, IED does not disagree with Doug.
Kate has never discussed the process of recording this track, as far as IED is aware. We know that she usually spends only a few days on b-sides--in several cases we know she actually recorded the b-side in one or two takes. But she has never talked about the specific recording of Ne T'enfuis pas or Lord of the Reedy River (which IED believes is just as important in terms of sound and arrangement). It seems impossible that she could have done these recordings in only a day or two, but who knows?
As to whether Ne T'enfuis pas is the greatest song, however, well...Let's just say that since The Ninth Wave was released, IED has found it difficult to attach number values to specific recordings. But it's definitely up there.
-- Andrew Marvick
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 1992 23:13:09 -0800
From: BRUNO GUIGON <GUIGON%FRECP12.BITNET@mitvma.mit.edu>
Subject: Ne t'enfuis pas
Did I really heard someone ask for NE T'ENFUIS PAS with accentuation?
...
Si les grands yeux du Bon Dieu
Ne regardaient pas,
Je te
volerais
...
In French, "Bon Dieu" is used by children when they talk about God, but adults rarely use this expression.
written by Love-Hounds
compiled and edited
by
Wieland
Willker
Sept 1995 June 1996