Kate said she was inspired to write this song after hearing French composer Erik Satie's Gymnopedies (3 piano pieces that he wrote in 1888), which Kate is playing an excerpt from at the beginning of this performance. Your interpretation is great, although Kate occasionally explains her lyrics, she has always said that she prefers to have listeners find their own meanings. Glad that you have decided to continue to explore her albums, her music is a deep dive and nothing sounds the same - each of her songs is so innovative and unique (and it is very interesting to hear how her voice changes over the years, it just keeps getting better and better and more beautiful as she matures)
I'm loving these Kate reactions. She got under my skin in the 70s and I just keep coming back to her! I think a common thread throughout her work is that she speaks to the human condition, and that's what makes her a timeless artist. Keep up the great reactions! x
I have always loved this song, mostly because of the beautiful and haunting melody. Definitely a song about introspection, but I think she's left it up to the listener's interpretation. Wow and Oh England are great songs, don't skip them! :D I also recommend Don't Push Your Foot. It's a lot of fun. But the can't miss song on this album for me is In Search of Peter Pan.
I love this song, it's just so beautiful and uplifting. I'm glad you chose to watch the live performance, she's so amazing live! I really like your interpretation. Kate has said there really is no right or wrong as long as her lyrics mean something to you, but your interpretation seems close to what she meant when she wrote it.
Symphony in Blue is the musical theme of my life when I was 15 years old. I was introduced to Kate Bush one year before with the smash hit "Wuthering Heights" Symphony in Blue was played on the radio around july '79, at the time I didn't know the name of the song, and once I was lucky enough to record on tape part of the song. For years it was the only copy I had, and the song was only partial. In 1980 I became an exchange student in the U.S., in Michigan, I was surprised to learn nobody knew who Kate Bush was. Never found a Kate Bush's album in the U.S. that time. After College I returned many times to the U.S. on busines, and tried to find Kate Bush's albuns on Tower Record and Virgin in New York City to no success. Then in 1995 I went to London for a 5 day vacation. First thing I did was to go to a recod store to look for Kate Bush's albums. I found Lion Heart, and from the list of songs I guessed "Symphony in Blue" was the song I was looking for. Could not open the CD and listen to it in the store. From London I went to the United States on Business, where I still couldn't listen to the CD I had purchased in London. Finally I flew back home to São Paulo, Brazil where I opened the CD to find the song I had been looking for 16 years. I paid 12 pounds sterlings on that CD. Funny thing: today you think of a song and two to three minutes later you have already downloaded it to your smart phone...
A fantastic reaction. I'm really enjoying watching you discovering Kate's music. It's great that you are getting a lot out of her. She is an incredible artist who puts her heart and soul into everything she does.
Thanks for doing another Kate video. Yes, it is a (wonderful) journey with her music. When you do one of her songs; you could read the lyrics at the end after giving your initial thoughts. That would work.
I've always loved this album, and really can't pick a track that I don't love. I'm a big fan of "Oh England, My Lionheart" and "In Search of Peter Pan" and, well all of them... Thanks for the great reaction! Also, I'm obsessed with this version of Kate's hairstyle 🙂
The album was rushed out to cash in on her initial success and had an underwhelming critical reception, but sold well. It is her most underproduced, which she remained unhappy with, but I find it refreshingly unvarnished and emotionally honest. This track is possibly the most sensual of her early work. As I've suggested before listen to the tracks in order (possibly after a refresh listen to the previous one) to get a feeling for how the album was constructed to take the listener on a journey; it's not just a series of singles arranged any old how.
I agree with t he comments regarding reading the lyrics. Kate was inspired by so many things. I couldn't completely appreciate her music without understanding the material. I also learned so much through this process while researching the references. It seems like your enjoying the journey. I'm enjoying listening to early Kate via your videos.
Some artists think outside the box, Kate never acknowledged that there was ever a box in the first place. She just did whatever she wanted musically. I think she became a better singer as her career progressed. Compare her at twenty one in this video to her singing ten years later on "The Sensual World". IMO only, of course.
A good interpretation. Kate usually had something in mind when writing a song but also invited people to interpret in any way that resonated with them. The album was rushed out to satisfy the record company’s desire to cash in quick on momentum from the success of the first album, which had been released in February 1978. ‘Lionheart’ was released in November 1978, with Kate only having time to write three new songs for the album (including Symphony…’. The rest of the album was made up of songs from her back catalogue.
The symphony of life - life is a symphony (or is it a cabaret ?) - your definitely on the right track with your interpretation. Beautiful line when she says she sees herself on the piano as a melody - but of course a melody is only a melody when it's played (or life is lived) & then a melody can become a symphony when it's combined together with other melodies (our lives are a part of a greater whole). So much packed into this song - appreciate your reaction!!
When you said you'd react to all the album, I was like "Wow" 😁. But the speed your uploading reactions you will soon be at my favourite album "The Red Shoes" released in 1993. An album that if I was asked to pick a single track off I would struggle.
Regarding musical inspriations, you could go a long way pondering the word Blue in music starting with Miles Davis' album Kind of Blue. Then there's Joni Mitchell's album Blue which references his with the same album cover design and a title track about depression and creativity. After that there's Bob Dylan's song Tangled up in Blue which he once said is about binge listening to the Joni Mitchell album.
Just commenting on the idea of not pre-preparing yourself for Kate’s lyrics. I think your enjoyment has been enhanced by knowing the subject matter beforehand. I had no idea for many years what The Kick Inside was all about. It was compelling and strange, but the greatness of the song only became apparent when I understood what it was about. This is the case time and time again with Kate. I’d normally say go in blind to most artists, but I personally think you’ll enjoy the ride more if you know what the subject is. The concept for ‘The Ninth Wave’ is a great example of what I’m talking about. Without knowing the context, it’s pretty overwhelming on a first listen, especially if you take each song discretely.
I 100% agree. It's confusing for a lot of people because everything can be interpreted differently, but with Kate, she's actually referring to something in particular. It's definitely a game changer knowing exactly what story she is telling, especially for first-time listeners.
I agree with everything you say and feel about Kate Bush who is an obvious musical genius and whom I love. But another female artist from the late 70's onwards is Judie Tzuke. Starting with Stay With Me To Dawn and her following albums she is the nearest I feel to the vibe of Kate in British female singer/songwriter. Please check her younger videos out, there should be plenty from her first few albums on UA-cam. I'd be interested to see your reactions and know you'd enjoy her like you do Kate for the same reasons.
As a fan of Kate’s for 40 plus years, and someone who can gush over her brilliance, I’d be the first to say that this album, whilst it does have some great songs on it, is not much of a growth from The Kick Inside, nor does it have the obvious killer tracks of its predecessor. That’s not a criticism of Kate, she was a young woman in a very male dominated industry who managed to get her voice heard on many of the arguments about how her music was handled, but it’s clear that this album had pressure put on Kate to get another album out quickly. The great thing is that there’s still some gold to be mined in Lionheart, plus, just when you think she might have run out of creative juice, Never For Ever stuns you with inspiration and wild ideas, then The Dreaming and Hounds Of Love take it all to another plane. It doesn’t stop there, by any stretch. All her later albums are excellent, including one of my absolute favourites: the double album Aerial, a warm, comforting ride through songscapes that just transport you to another sonic realm.
Certainly this song was not rushed, or at least if it was it turned out amazingly well. But you can hear and tell that the album was a little rushed when you listen all the way through as you can hear repeating concepts that are not quite complete and polished in different songs. That is part of the artistic process and why some aspects of songs or composition sort of overlap in rushed albums, Still, there are some great tracks on here and symphony in blue grows and grows on me.
It's a tricky thing to do to analyze Kate's lyrics with no prior reading; good job 👍 very brave; but you have to decide whether it's best to read them beforehand or not. The video is from the 1979 Christmas special. There is a beautiful duet with Peter Gabriel of a Roy Harper song on it. I don't mind you stopping as I could just listen to the song myself. It's a reaction video. The only factor is whether you have something interesting to say. It stands or falls on that.
What do you make of these lines (Isolated to make the coherence clearer): I spent a lot of my time looking at blue...the sort of blue in those eyes you get hung up about...I associate love with red,/The colour of my heart when she's dead / Red in my mind when the jealousy flies
So pleased to see you review this one, off the sometimes disparaged (even by Kate, who considered it a rushed effort) second album Lionheart. This song is one of my top five favourites and given that the second album was released when she was still a teenager, it's an even more special accomplishment in my eyes. Onwards with the reviews! :)
Hadn't heard this for a long time. Thanks. Don't know if you're familiar with them but I'm also a fan of Siouxsie and the Banshees. They do some very interesting stuff. I don't think you would like everything they do but would be interested in your interpretation of some of their songs. I'm not requesting reaction videos but if you get the inclination and find the time check out these songs: The Last Beat of my Heart ( preferably the live video from 1991) The Rapture. Belladonna. Scarecrow. Good reaction and interpretation of Kate as usual. 👍
She also said it was too much like the first album. Considering she had written well over 100 songs at that point there was perhaps pressure to come up with songs that would continue the massive success of "the kick inside" Perhaps she tried to replicate too much. That said the whole album is full of stand alone songs that are great songs. Ive often wondered what happened to the other songs, but likely they were not quite up to her excellent writing standard to put in the backburner.
Kate was adventurous . You reacted visually but did not talk about it :) " The more I think about sex, the better it gets. Here we have a purpose in life: Good for the blood circulation, Good for releasing the tension, The root of our reincarnations.
Another song picking up this "subject" is "The Song of Solomon", one of my faves on "The Red Shoes", especially as regards the vocals of the Trio Bulgarka in this song.
I don't think there is an accurate interpretation to true art. Perhaps the commenter you referred was saying the same thing, in that you shouldn't feel you have to try to interpret the meaning from the lyrics. you can allow yourself to find your own meaning. This is the most special and meaningful of Kate's songs to me. It's just personal. No one else knows what this song means to me, because it's about how I felt, in a certain situation, at a certain time in my life. That's why Kate's songs are magic. I feel like they're an emotional canvas for you to explore your own meaning. Kind of like a mystical experience. Despite being rushed to record Lionheart, Kate actually said it's her most personal album. She felt it could have been better with more time, because she's a perfectionist. Lionheart is my favourite. It makes me sad to think that comment might put you off this album.
Kate said she was inspired to write this song after hearing French composer Erik Satie's Gymnopedies (3 piano pieces that he wrote in 1888), which Kate is playing an excerpt from at the beginning of this performance. Your interpretation is great, although Kate occasionally explains her lyrics, she has always said that she prefers to have listeners find their own meanings. Glad that you have decided to continue to explore her albums, her music is a deep dive and nothing sounds the same - each of her songs is so innovative and unique (and it is very interesting to hear how her voice changes over the years, it just keeps getting better and better and more beautiful as she matures)
This is my favorite version of that song. I like her performances from the 1979 Christmas special.
I love this song but then i love all her music🎶🙏💚
I'm loving these Kate reactions. She got under my skin in the 70s and I just keep coming back to her! I think a common thread throughout her work is that she speaks to the human condition, and that's what makes her a timeless artist. Keep up the great reactions! x
I have always loved this song, mostly because of the beautiful and haunting melody. Definitely a song about introspection, but I think she's left it up to the listener's interpretation.
Wow and Oh England are great songs, don't skip them! :D I also recommend Don't Push Your Foot. It's a lot of fun. But the can't miss song on this album for me is In Search of Peter Pan.
So glad that you are planning to listen to all the tracks on Lionheart. They are well worth it.
Oh, England, my Lionheart, gives me chills to this day. Looking forward to seeing you react to that one x
What an album this is. I adore Kashka From Baghdad and In The Warm Room. Thankyou for your review ;)
I’d recommend listening to every track on every album. Kate’s whimsy, melody and genius are really good company.
I love this song, it's just so beautiful and uplifting. I'm glad you chose to watch the live performance, she's so amazing live! I really like your interpretation. Kate has said there really is no right or wrong as long as her lyrics mean something to you, but your interpretation seems close to what she meant when she wrote it.
Symphony in Blue is the musical theme of my life when I was 15 years old.
I was introduced to Kate Bush one year before with the smash hit "Wuthering Heights"
Symphony in Blue was played on the radio around july '79, at the time I didn't know the name of the song, and once I was lucky enough to record on tape part of the song. For years it was the only copy I had, and the song was only partial.
In 1980 I became an exchange student in the U.S., in Michigan, I was surprised to learn nobody knew who Kate Bush was.
Never found a Kate Bush's album in the U.S. that time.
After College I returned many times to the U.S. on busines, and tried to find Kate Bush's albuns on Tower Record and Virgin in New York City to no success.
Then in 1995 I went to London for a 5 day vacation. First thing I did was to go to a recod store to look for Kate Bush's albums. I found Lion Heart, and from the list of songs I guessed "Symphony in Blue" was the song I was looking for. Could not open the CD and listen to it in the store.
From London I went to the United States on Business, where I still couldn't listen to the CD I had purchased in London.
Finally I flew back home to São Paulo, Brazil where I opened the CD to find the song I had been looking for 16 years.
I paid 12 pounds sterlings on that CD.
Funny thing: today you think of a song and two to three minutes later you have already downloaded it to your smart phone...
A fantastic reaction. I'm really enjoying watching you discovering Kate's music. It's great that you are getting a lot out of her. She is an incredible artist who puts her heart and soul into everything she does.
The opening notes are Eric Satie .
A good and honest reaction without any preparation. Please continue this.
Fantastic song, up there with Moving and L'amour looks something like you
Thanks for doing another Kate video. Yes, it is a (wonderful) journey with her music. When you do one of her songs; you could read the lyrics at the end after giving your initial thoughts. That would work.
Oh great suggestion!
I've always loved this album, and really can't pick a track that I don't love. I'm a big fan of "Oh England, My Lionheart" and "In Search of Peter Pan" and, well all of them... Thanks for the great reaction! Also, I'm obsessed with this version of Kate's hairstyle 🙂
@tecdessus Yes! Musically it's so gorgeous, showing her genius at song construction: the bridge to the chorus is just *exquisite*.
The album was rushed out to cash in on her initial success and had an underwhelming critical reception, but sold well. It is her most underproduced, which she remained unhappy with, but I find it refreshingly unvarnished and emotionally honest. This track is possibly the most sensual of her early work. As I've suggested before listen to the tracks in order (possibly after a refresh listen to the previous one) to get a feeling for how the album was constructed to take the listener on a journey; it's not just a series of singles arranged any old how.
I agree with t he comments regarding reading the lyrics. Kate was inspired by so many things. I couldn't completely appreciate her music without understanding the material. I also learned so much through this process while researching the references. It seems like your enjoying the journey. I'm enjoying listening to early Kate via your videos.
Some artists think outside the box, Kate never acknowledged that there was ever a box in the first place. She just did whatever she wanted musically. I think she became a better singer as her career progressed. Compare her at twenty one in this video to her singing ten years later on "The Sensual World". IMO only, of course.
Lionheart was my first Kate Bush album. Played it constantly for 2 days!
A good interpretation. Kate usually had something in mind when writing a song but also invited people to interpret in any way that resonated with them. The album was rushed out to satisfy the record company’s desire to cash in quick on momentum from the success of the first album, which had been released in February 1978. ‘Lionheart’ was released in November 1978, with Kate only having time to write three new songs for the album (including Symphony…’. The rest of the album was made up of songs from her back catalogue.
The symphony of life - life is a symphony (or is it a cabaret ?) - your definitely on the right track with your interpretation. Beautiful line when she says she sees herself on the piano as a melody - but of course a melody is only a melody when it's played (or life is lived) & then a melody can become a symphony when it's combined together with other melodies (our lives are a part of a greater whole). So much packed into this song - appreciate your reaction!!
Beautiful! Love all that. Makes a lot of sense
When you said you'd react to all the album, I was like "Wow" 😁. But the speed your uploading reactions you will soon be at my favourite album "The Red Shoes" released in 1993. An album that if I was asked to pick a single track off I would struggle.
Regarding musical inspriations, you could go a long way pondering the word Blue in music starting with Miles Davis' album Kind of Blue. Then there's Joni Mitchell's album Blue which references his with the same album cover design and a title track about depression and creativity. After that there's Bob Dylan's song Tangled up in Blue which he once said is about binge listening to the Joni Mitchell album.
Don't forget Otis Redding's album 'Otis Blue'
Just commenting on the idea of not pre-preparing yourself for Kate’s lyrics.
I think your enjoyment has been enhanced by knowing the subject matter beforehand.
I had no idea for many years what The Kick Inside was all about. It was compelling and strange, but the greatness of the song only became apparent when I understood what it was about.
This is the case time and time again with Kate.
I’d normally say go in blind to most artists, but I personally think you’ll enjoy the ride more if you know what the subject is. The concept for ‘The Ninth Wave’ is a great example of what I’m talking about. Without knowing the context, it’s pretty overwhelming on a first listen, especially if you take each song discretely.
I 100% agree. It's confusing for a lot of people because everything can be interpreted differently, but with Kate, she's actually referring to something in particular. It's definitely a game changer knowing exactly what story she is telling, especially for first-time listeners.
Hammer Horror is my favorite off of this album, but there are a bunch of good ones on it including this one.
pretty song, my favourites on this album are the songs Wow and Hammer Horror
Note that the performance clip is from her 1979 Xmas Special, the same special as "Egypt", which I have already recommended you to react to.
I agree with everything you say and feel about Kate Bush who is an obvious musical genius and whom I love. But another female artist from the late 70's onwards is Judie Tzuke. Starting with Stay With Me To Dawn and her following albums she is the nearest I feel to the vibe of Kate in British female singer/songwriter. Please check her younger videos out, there should be plenty from her first few albums on UA-cam. I'd be interested to see your reactions and know you'd enjoy her like you do Kate for the same reasons.
You would love Wow by her.Also Babooshka which were hits in the UK.
As a fan of Kate’s for 40 plus years, and someone who can gush over her brilliance, I’d be the first to say that this album, whilst it does have some great songs on it, is not much of a growth from The Kick Inside, nor does it have the obvious killer tracks of its predecessor.
That’s not a criticism of Kate, she was a young woman in a very male dominated industry who managed to get her voice heard on many of the arguments about how her music was handled, but it’s clear that this album had pressure put on Kate to get another album out quickly.
The great thing is that there’s still some gold to be mined in Lionheart, plus, just when you think she might have run out of creative juice, Never For Ever stuns you with inspiration and wild ideas, then The Dreaming and Hounds Of Love take it all to another plane.
It doesn’t stop there, by any stretch. All her later albums are excellent, including one of my absolute favourites: the double album Aerial, a warm, comforting ride through songscapes that just transport you to another sonic realm.
May I recommend a UK TV comedy series called Blackadder, start with series 2. Kate is a big fan.
The starting sequence is not part of that song. This is from the 45 minutes 1979 Christmas Special with a lot of songs... just transition.
(4090)
Certainly this song was not rushed, or at least if it was it turned out amazingly well.
But you can hear and tell that the album was a little rushed when you listen all the way through as you can hear repeating concepts that are not quite complete and polished in different songs.
That is part of the artistic process and why some aspects of songs or composition sort of overlap in rushed albums,
Still, there are some great tracks on here and symphony in blue grows and grows on me.
Ha, isn’t the intro directly from Eric Satie?
It's a tricky thing to do to analyze Kate's lyrics with no prior reading; good job 👍 very brave; but you have to decide whether it's best to read them beforehand or not. The video is from the 1979 Christmas special. There is a beautiful duet with Peter Gabriel of a Roy Harper song on it. I don't mind you stopping as I could just listen to the song myself. It's a reaction video. The only factor is whether you have something interesting to say. It stands or falls on that.
What do you make of these lines (Isolated to make the coherence clearer): I spent a lot of my time looking at blue...the sort of blue in those eyes you get hung up about...I associate love with red,/The colour of my heart when she's dead / Red in my mind when the jealousy flies
So pleased to see you review this one, off the sometimes disparaged (even by Kate, who considered it a rushed effort) second album Lionheart. This song is one of my top five favourites and given that the second album was released when she was still a teenager, it's an even more special accomplishment in my eyes. Onwards with the reviews! :)
Thank you! This one was great as usual for Kate
Hadn't heard this for a long time. Thanks.
Don't know if you're familiar with them but I'm also a fan of Siouxsie and the Banshees.
They do some very interesting stuff. I don't think you would like everything they do but would be interested in your interpretation of some of their songs.
I'm not requesting reaction videos but if you get the inclination and find the time check out these songs:
The Last Beat of my Heart ( preferably the live video from 1991)
The Rapture.
Belladonna.
Scarecrow.
Good reaction and interpretation of Kate as usual. 👍
I really believe it's better to read the lyrics first...sometimes she a little difficult to understand
*UA-cam LIVE SHOW CONCERT FOOTAGE:* KATE BUSH - TOUR OF LIFE (complete show - 1979 - my edit)
She also said it was too much like the first album. Considering she had written well over 100 songs at that point there was perhaps pressure to come up with songs that would continue the massive success of "the kick inside" Perhaps she tried to replicate too much. That said the whole album is full of stand alone songs that are great songs. Ive often wondered what happened to the other songs, but likely they were not quite up to her excellent writing standard to put in the backburner.
Kate was adventurous . You reacted visually but did not talk about it :)
" The more I think about sex, the better it gets.
Here we have a purpose in life:
Good for the blood circulation,
Good for releasing the tension,
The root of our reincarnations.
Another song picking up this "subject" is "The Song of Solomon", one of my faves on "The Red Shoes", especially as regards the vocals of the Trio Bulgarka in this song.
Things will get interesting when you get to The Dreaming...
Proper sound required, then you may take off.
I don't think there is an accurate interpretation to true art. Perhaps the commenter you referred was saying the same thing, in that you shouldn't feel you have to try to interpret the meaning from the lyrics. you can allow yourself to find your own meaning. This is the most special and meaningful of Kate's songs to me. It's just personal. No one else knows what this song means to me, because it's about how I felt, in a certain situation, at a certain time in my life. That's why Kate's songs are magic. I feel like they're an emotional canvas for you to explore your own meaning. Kind of like a mystical experience. Despite being rushed to record Lionheart, Kate actually said it's her most personal album. She felt it could have been better with more time, because she's a perfectionist. Lionheart is my favourite. It makes me sad to think that comment might put you off this album.
Forget the cellos at the very start, they're not part of the song.
please be quite better to talk sfter