Hits me hard every time too Dan, thanks again for your heartfelt emotional reactiontion to my request. Here is a quote from Kate about the song for context. She later said: "It was written for John Hughes film She's Having A Baby. Really light comedy about this young guy who gets married, very much a kid. His wife is pregnant and it's alright until they get to the hospital and the baby's in the breach position. "That's the sequence I have to write the songs about and it's really very moving, him in the waiting room, having flashbacks of his wife and him going for walks, decoration. It's exploring his sadness and guilt, suddenly it's the point where he has to grow up. He'd been such a wally up to this point." As with most of the best song writers, lyrics can often be interpreted individually by the listener, and be relevant to many circumstances
It was especially written for the John Hughes film She's Having a Baby, about a man looking back over his relationship during life threatening complications for his wife and baby during labour, in times of crisis thinking of all your regrets, Kate captures that beautifully. Please check out all her back catalogue, its extraordinary and so rewarding, I'd put in a shout for Moments of Pleasure, A Coral Room or the live version of Prologue! Enjoy!
Hi and thanks for this reaction video. 'This Woman's Work' was once described by a journalist as a bravura performance by one the great voices of the last century, and it is easy to see why. It is just a gut wrenching song and was intended to be. Written basically on request from film makers to be set alongside some scenes that had already been filmed, the song was meant to tear your heart out at a very deep emotional level. Written by a woman but meant to convey the fear and dread felt by a young man while his wife and unborn baby are at risk during childbirth, the song revealed his thoughts about better happier days in the past, his dread about the possible loss of everything and the realization that it was time to grow up and become a father - all conveyed with Kate Bush's wonderful writing, vocal and production skills. One of the things about this song is that now that you have heard it and it has had this profound effect on you, you might think that as time passes its effect will lessen and since you know what is coming next in it you might become accustomed to it; but that is not how it will work. What you will find is that now that 'This Woman's Work' has got inside your mind and latched onto your emotions, what actually happens is that as time passes and you accumulate more and more loss and emotional trauma and scars, the song will hit you even harder. That is part of this song's genius. But then Kate Bush is one of the very few people in the entire canon of rock music about whom the term 'genius' genuinely applies. Thanks again.
No, she did not pass away. The clue to the outcome is the smile on the nurse’s face at the end. The song was sung from the man’s perspective as he feels regret over all the things he could have done better in his relationship with his partner as her life hangs in the balance.
The lyric “I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show/I should be hoping, but I can’t stop thinking” is a gut punch that gets to me every time. When we lost our daughter nearly five years ago, we spent an agonizing three days in the hospital waiting to hear some kind of word while she was on life support. That’s exactly how I felt - experiencing anticipatory grief but not daring to express it, while holding on to some hope that all would be well. Kate’s lyrical brilliance and keen insight into the human experience really shines here.
I am so sorry for you great, great loss. Thank you for sharing and illustrating the importance of the message this song can behold, when you really take it in. ❤
I agree with the previous comment if you've only previously listened to RUTH, then you are missing out on a lot of great songs by Kate. Her discography is of the highest quality, even the non-single release album tracks are great quality. Where you go from here is up to you, if you want to get an idea of how Kate evolved as an artist, you go back to the very beginning (and what a beginning it was) with "Wuthering Heights" Kate's original worldwide (apart from America) smash hit. What was a crazy is that it was her debut single. Then you can continue onwards from there. Or you could start in the mid 1980s at the time of the release of Kate's iconic "Hounds Of Love" album. I will leave it you, to decide. I hope that you will dive into Kate's discography, because I don't think that you will regret it.
Hits me hard every time too Dan, thanks again for your heartfelt emotional reactiontion to my request.
Here is a quote from Kate about the song for context.
She later said: "It was written for John Hughes
film She's Having A Baby. Really light comedy
about this young guy who gets married, very
much a kid. His wife is pregnant and it's alright
until they get to the hospital and the baby's in the
breach position.
"That's the sequence I have to write the songs
about and it's really very moving, him in the
waiting room, having flashbacks of his wife and
him going for walks, decoration. It's exploring his
sadness and guilt, suddenly it's the point where he
has to grow up. He'd been such a wally up to this
point."
As with most of the best song writers, lyrics can often be interpreted individually by the listener, and be relevant to many circumstances
It was especially written for the John Hughes film She's Having a Baby, about a man looking back over his relationship during life threatening complications for his wife and baby during labour, in times of crisis thinking of all your regrets, Kate captures that beautifully. Please check out all her back catalogue, its extraordinary and so rewarding, I'd put in a shout for Moments of Pleasure, A Coral Room or the live version of Prologue! Enjoy!
Hi and thanks for this reaction video. 'This Woman's Work' was once described by a journalist as a bravura performance by one the great voices of the last century, and it is easy to see why. It is just a gut wrenching song and was intended to be. Written basically on request from film makers to be set alongside some scenes that had already been filmed, the song was meant to tear your heart out at a very deep emotional level. Written by a woman but meant to convey the fear and dread felt by a young man while his wife and unborn baby are at risk during childbirth, the song revealed his thoughts about better happier days in the past, his dread about the possible loss of everything and the realization that it was time to grow up and become a father - all conveyed with Kate Bush's wonderful writing, vocal and production skills.
One of the things about this song is that now that you have heard it and it has had this profound effect on you, you might think that as time passes its effect will lessen and since you know what is coming next in it you might become accustomed to it; but that is not how it will work. What you will find is that now that 'This Woman's Work' has got inside your mind and latched onto your emotions, what actually happens is that as time passes and you accumulate more and more loss and emotional trauma and scars, the song will hit you even harder. That is part of this song's genius.
But then Kate Bush is one of the very few people in the entire canon of rock music about whom the term 'genius' genuinely applies.
Thanks again.
Exactly. Lately I've been watching a lot of reactions to this song, and even though I've heard it dozens of times, the tears flow every time.
A beautiful song that hits hard and only natural to react the way you did .
Thank you so much for your comment
No, she did not pass away. The clue to the outcome is the smile on the nurse’s face at the end. The song was sung from the man’s perspective as he feels regret over all the things he could have done better in his relationship with his partner as her life hangs in the balance.
If you only know her from "Running Up That Hill" your really missing out. So so many great songs. Thanks
Kate wrote, sang and played the piano. Also directed and played a small part in the video. Sheer genius.
produced it alone too
The lyric “I should be crying, but I just can’t let it show/I should be hoping, but I can’t stop thinking” is a gut punch that gets to me every time. When we lost our daughter nearly five years ago, we spent an agonizing three days in the hospital waiting to hear some kind of word while she was on life support. That’s exactly how I felt - experiencing anticipatory grief but not daring to express it, while holding on to some hope that all would be well. Kate’s lyrical brilliance and keen insight into the human experience really shines here.
I am so sorry for you great, great loss. Thank you for sharing and illustrating the importance of the message this song can behold, when you really take it in. ❤
She didn't die.
If you look closely at the end when the nurse walks in, she smiles and says "Everything's going to be alright".
Kate Bush is exceptional
The nurse is smiling right at the end. So (hopefully) his wife - presumably in childbirth - made it. But it's not clear.
Go back to her first album and you'll be amazed at how many great songs she has.
@kentmains7763 Even her previously unreleased home demos were great. She could have given us another '70s album at least.
I agree with the previous comment if you've only previously listened to RUTH, then you are missing out on a lot of great songs by Kate. Her discography is of the highest quality, even the non-single release album tracks are great quality.
Where you go from here is up to you, if you want to get an idea of how Kate evolved as an artist, you go back to the very beginning (and what a beginning it was) with "Wuthering Heights" Kate's original worldwide (apart from America) smash hit. What was a crazy is that it was her debut single.
Then you can continue onwards from there.
Or you could start in the mid 1980s at the time of the release of Kate's iconic "Hounds Of Love" album.
I will leave it you, to decide.
I hope that you will dive into Kate's discography, because I don't think that you will regret it.