Running Up That Hill

Welcome to Version 2.0!  A music blog, where I explore the relationship between an original song and another artist’s cover version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp43OdtAAkM

Kate’s Bush’s 1985 hit “Running up That Hill” is pure emotion, pushed to the surface. From the lush sounding synth; filling  the space beneath everything, to the heartbeat pulsing rhythm, to Bush’s harmonies and counter harmonies,  all woven together into a tapestry that’s dense and rich.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-mYX0qKkB8

Placebo’s 2003 version is a different beast. Surprisingly from a band, the cover is sparser. This track is obviously darker, but I think a lot of that comes from the empty space that the aforementioned synths are filling in on the original. This empty space around the other instruments makes Brian Moloko’s vocals sound, well… lonelier.

The most interesting thing for me, when looking at these two alongside each other, is the change of perspective. In Placebo’s performance, the need of the person on the other side is more serious. The deal of swapping places seems to have an urgency and perhaps an insincerity from the person who is offering the deal.  

Q magazine described the Placebo version as “sound[ing] more like a pact with the Devil" than the original "deal with God". I think that’s just an example of music journalists being enamored with the old Robert Johnson deal with the devil at the crossroads myth and finding any chance to stick it somewhere. To me, Placebo gives the song a more nihilistic feel. The “ tsk tsk” sound on the chorus seems to say a big no from God. The deal from God not being in parenthesis in the title (something Kate Bush had to fight with EMI to keep on the original) appears to support my theory.

Having said that, whilst researching the songs, I discovered that my own interpretation of the song is incorrect. Kate Bush’s lyrics often have a kind of Emily Dickenson vagueness to them, which often invites the listener to impose their own interpretation. In fact, I think that’s one of the many attractions of her work. I think all music lover’s project themselves into the song they are listening to. That’s where the “this was written for me” feeling comes from.

Kate Bush clarified the meaning of the lyrics in an interview:

I was trying to say that, really, a man and a woman can't understand each other because we are a man and a woman. And if we could actually swap each other's roles, if we could actually be in each other's place for a while, I think we'd both be very surprised! [Laughs] And I think it would lead to a greater understanding. And really the only way I could think it could be done was either... you know, I thought a deal with the devil, you know. And I thought, 'well, no, why not a deal with God!' You know, because in a way it's so much more powerful the whole idea of asking God to make a deal with you. You see, for me it is still called "Deal With God", that was its title. But we were told that if we kept this title that it would not be played in any of the religious countries, Italy wouldn't play it, France wouldn't play it, and Australia wouldn't play it! Ireland wouldn't play it, and that generally we might get it blacked purely because it had God in the title.

This meaning gives another twist to the Placebo version, as in a sense, the male band have “swapped places” giving a masculine point of view to the original. Overall, I think Placebo’s interpretation does everything a good version should do. It is faithful to the original whilst leaving the artist’s own stamp on it.

Next week, I’ll be looking at Eric Clapton’s version of J.J:.Cale’s Cocaine. Please feel free to ask for requests in the comments