Track of the Week: Kate Bush: Breathing (1980)
Seeing as the threat of nuclear fallout has raised its ugly head once more, it seems pertinent to revisit one of the most powerful visions of live after the bomb in pop music history. Before 1980, Kate Bush appeared to be something of a novelty; true, her idiosyncratic and adventurous song-writing style had given her one huge hit and several albums that sold pretty well, but despite the drama and emotional range hinted at in her music, no one seemed to be sure if she was in it for the long run. But by her third album, 1980's 'Never Forever', she had started experimenting with even more adventurous song structures, using her voice and the new technology of the Fairlight, and had started to produce her own work, revealing a new ambition and originality. Supported by three gloriously eccentric singles, it became her first album to go straight to number one, and hinted at the brilliance that lay ahead.
'Breathing' is perhaps an odd choice for a single, being as it is a five-and-a-half minute epic about giving birth during nuclear fallout. It still managed to reach number 5 in the singles chart, perhaps as a result of the genuine fear of the possibility of nuclear war breaking out during the Cold War. However, most of the single's success can be put down to its musical brilliance. 'Breathing' was Kate Bush's most ambitious song up to that point, its use of Fairlight effects and multi-part song writing paving the way for the bizarre experiments of 'The Dreaming' and the epic sensual romanticism of 'Hounds of Love'. Few artists would have the emotional ability or sheer audacity to tackle a song about a mother giving birth during nuclear fallout, but those qualities are part of what make Kate Bush so special. It helps that she is blessed with one of the most stunningly beautiful and expressive voices in the whole of pop music, but not only is she gifted, she also knows how best to use her talents. The song opens quietly and delicately, full of dread, with just Kate's vocals accompanied by piano, as she describes how 'Chips of plutonium / Are twinkling in every lung'. The fear is felt not just for the protagonist's own sake, but for her baby, whom she imagines 'Breathing the fall-out in' inside her during the chorus, and so also for the future of the human race. The dynamics rise during the chorus, as the mother thinks of her unborn baby with tenderness and fear for the future. At this point the rest of the band make themselves herd, with special mention for Del Palmer's beautiful, mournful fretless bass playing. Overlaid on top are Kate's multi-tracked vocals chiming 'In, out, in, out', mimicking the flow of air through the mother's lungs, and with a sensuality I probably don't need to explain to most heterosexual males. After the second chorus, there is a quiet piano interlude, over which various noises of panic and static can be heard, together with a sampled radio voice informing the listener how to recognise a nuclear explosion, all courtesy of the Fairlight sampler. This middle bit in particular is reminiscent of the art-rock of Pink Floyd, perhaps slightly fitting since Kate Bush was 'discovered' by Pink Floyd's guitarist, David Gilmour. Then, suddenly, the band enter back in, with the bass playing an ominous minor key ascending riff, as a chorus of voices sing, in increasingly desperate tones, 'What are we going to do without..../We are all going to die without...' whilst Kate Bush's voice rises to a dramatic peak over the top as she pleads ' Leave us something to breathe!'. We know that the protagonist's baby is being born into a world with little or no hope of survival. After reaching its climax, the song ends, leaving us alone with an eerie silence as the last crashing chords fade away, and the tension is left unresolved - we are not told the ultimate fate of the mother and her child. Thanks to its emotionally engaging music and its fearlessness to deal with such large issues, the song is a striking success. 'Breathing' is an emotional and harrowing picture of a possible future in which, as the Sex Pistols had sung three years earlier, there really IS no future, and the unforgettable images it conjures up remind us that we are still living in a world where nuclear fallout is a possibility, something it is easy to forget as we progress with day-to-day life.
'Breathing' is perhaps an odd choice for a single, being as it is a five-and-a-half minute epic about giving birth during nuclear fallout. It still managed to reach number 5 in the singles chart, perhaps as a result of the genuine fear of the possibility of nuclear war breaking out during the Cold War. However, most of the single's success can be put down to its musical brilliance. 'Breathing' was Kate Bush's most ambitious song up to that point, its use of Fairlight effects and multi-part song writing paving the way for the bizarre experiments of 'The Dreaming' and the epic sensual romanticism of 'Hounds of Love'. Few artists would have the emotional ability or sheer audacity to tackle a song about a mother giving birth during nuclear fallout, but those qualities are part of what make Kate Bush so special. It helps that she is blessed with one of the most stunningly beautiful and expressive voices in the whole of pop music, but not only is she gifted, she also knows how best to use her talents. The song opens quietly and delicately, full of dread, with just Kate's vocals accompanied by piano, as she describes how 'Chips of plutonium / Are twinkling in every lung'. The fear is felt not just for the protagonist's own sake, but for her baby, whom she imagines 'Breathing the fall-out in' inside her during the chorus, and so also for the future of the human race. The dynamics rise during the chorus, as the mother thinks of her unborn baby with tenderness and fear for the future. At this point the rest of the band make themselves herd, with special mention for Del Palmer's beautiful, mournful fretless bass playing. Overlaid on top are Kate's multi-tracked vocals chiming 'In, out, in, out', mimicking the flow of air through the mother's lungs, and with a sensuality I probably don't need to explain to most heterosexual males. After the second chorus, there is a quiet piano interlude, over which various noises of panic and static can be heard, together with a sampled radio voice informing the listener how to recognise a nuclear explosion, all courtesy of the Fairlight sampler. This middle bit in particular is reminiscent of the art-rock of Pink Floyd, perhaps slightly fitting since Kate Bush was 'discovered' by Pink Floyd's guitarist, David Gilmour. Then, suddenly, the band enter back in, with the bass playing an ominous minor key ascending riff, as a chorus of voices sing, in increasingly desperate tones, 'What are we going to do without..../We are all going to die without...' whilst Kate Bush's voice rises to a dramatic peak over the top as she pleads ' Leave us something to breathe!'. We know that the protagonist's baby is being born into a world with little or no hope of survival. After reaching its climax, the song ends, leaving us alone with an eerie silence as the last crashing chords fade away, and the tension is left unresolved - we are not told the ultimate fate of the mother and her child. Thanks to its emotionally engaging music and its fearlessness to deal with such large issues, the song is a striking success. 'Breathing' is an emotional and harrowing picture of a possible future in which, as the Sex Pistols had sung three years earlier, there really IS no future, and the unforgettable images it conjures up remind us that we are still living in a world where nuclear fallout is a possibility, something it is easy to forget as we progress with day-to-day life.
posted by Jonathan Thornton at 6:49 pm
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