"Running Up That Hill" - A Musical Analysis
Sometimes, you hear a song, and the sound just describes how you feel. When I first heard the song, "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, it felt as if how I was feeling emotionally at the time had been put into the form of music. The strong beat that starts at the beginning of the piece and continues all of the way through the piece makes the song feel as if you are working through or towards something. The C minor key of the piece puts a slightly sad overshadow over the piece. I was preparing to leave my hometown at the time while struggling to see eye-to-eye with someone I was close to, and the song really wrapped up how I felt in that moment.
The Comeback
"Running Up That Hill" was produced by singer and songwriter, Kate Bush. It was originally released on August 5th in 1985. The song reached the Top 40 of pop music charts in the U.K., United States, Ireland, and Australia after it was first released. "Running Up That Hill" then made the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in June of 2022. It regained popularity after it made a reappearance in the fourth season of Netflix's "Stranger Things." After the exposure it gained through "Stranger Things," "Running Up That Hill" became one of the most streamed songs on all streaming platforms in 2022. Kim Petras recorded and released her own version of the song, new versions of the piece began showing up all over TikTok - it began blowing up in popularity again.
The Drone
There is a constant synth pad drone that plays throughout the entire piece. Two notes, a C and E flat, are played and held together throughout the song. These sustained notes cue the listeners that the song is in the key of C minor. While the primary chords shift, the sustained notes rotates the sound from climax or tension to resolution.
The Drum Pattern
The drum is playing around a constant 108 beats per minute. For beats one and three, we have a kick drum; for beats two and four, we have a snare. We also have the toms in between playing a galloping beat. For the entire song, we have the same one-bar loop repeating. This repeatability creates a sense of predictability as the baseline of the piece. Throughout the outro choruses and the end of the bridge, the piece is accented by the tom that fills the sound.
The Melodic Intervals
Bush uses very unexpected leaps in her melody in "Running Up That Hill" that keeps the listener on their toes. There are very wide intervals especially within the chorus. The piece keeps the melody in C Aeolian mode using the notes from the C minor scale. The unique intervals in the melody of the song helps to keep the listener engaged as they can't always predict what note will be played next.
The Lyrics
In "Running Up That Hill" the lyrics paint the picture of a man and a woman in a relationship that don't understand each other. They wish that they could put each other in each other's places to understand their point of view. There is passion in the lyrics of Bush's piece that highlight the emotional drama that can be experienced when handling a rocky relationship. The solution is to "make a deal with God." This powerful imagery suggests that only God can help them reach a point where they understand each other. I feel that the lyrics of "Running Up That Hill" demonstrate something most of us feel. Wouldn't understanding things from another's perspective be much easier if we could view it through their eyes?
Sources
Battan C. 13 June 2022. "Running Up That Hill" with Kate Bush, Again. The New Yorker.
Hi Shelby,
ReplyDeleteI think my favorite part of the song is the beginning before she starts singing because there is a lot of mystery in the beat. Also, the fun “lightning strike” sound made with the electric guitar (example at minute 3:10) is another highlight for me. Have you heard "Wuthering Heights" by her? It's an odd song but definitely an expression of Kate. You did a much better job analyzing the music part of your song than I did. I learned something new about the song from your drone analysis. Even though the lyrics are mostly repeated throughout the entire song, the change in the drone you mentioned certainly has an effect. How would you explain her thought process behind developing this song? So much thought clearly went into emphasizing the same lyrics in different ways throughout the progression of the music but what else?
Hi Shelby,
ReplyDeleteDrin Gwinzii, (good day) I enjoy your song analysis. Running up that Hill, such a fitting song title for the lyrics. The techno beat keeps the song alive and makes you want to dance. The dynamics are up and down, making the song vibrant and portraying expression as well as a sad twist.
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ReplyDeleteThis song is so pretty. I loved this so much about this post, it was so informative. I have always been a big fan of this song and this was so enlightening. I like to close my eyes when I listen to this song to hear the drum beat and I appreciated the information about how it was made to sound like you were on a journey. I never noticed the drone in the background. I remember hearing it on stranger things and I thought it was nice; I didn't realize it had blown up so much afterward. Thank you for covering the song. I think ill appreciate it more in the future.
ReplyDeleteShelby thanks for sharing, this is such an amazing song! I recognized this song from a remix so it was really cool to hear the original sample. I agree with you that the synth vibe and melodic vocals definitely give this song an emotional feel. and the Drum pattern makes the beat super catchy.
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