FEATURE:
I Won’t Let You Do It
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush on 14th September, 1982 at a record signing at Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street in London for her album, The Dreaming/PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Still/Getty Images
Kate Bush’s Night of the Swallow
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I have sort of looked at…
Night of the Swallow when I discussed the decision to release There Goes a Tenner, and Suspended in Gaffa from The Dreaming. The former was the third to single from the album. It was released as a seven-inch single in the U.K. and Ireland only – in Europe and Australia, Suspended in Gaffa was released as the single. I think that the latter track is strong and more chart-worthy, so I asked why the decision was made to release There Goes a Tenner as a single in the U.K. Because of the Irish themes and sounds of Night of the Swallow, it was released as a single in Ireland in late-1983 - making it the fifth and final release from The Dreaming. When the single was released, around one-thousand copies were made with a picture sleeve; the seven-inch vinyl was pressed in England and the sleeve was produced in Ireland. It was a single that did not do well. I really love Night of the Swallow, and not only is it one of the best tracks from The Dreaming, I think the song is one of Bush’s very finest. Its B-side, Houdini, is my favourite Kate Bush song – and that might have made for a more successful single. Night of the Swallow was the first of two (the other being Sat in Your Lap) to be recorded for the album.
It was mostly recorded at Abbey Road Studios in spring 1981 over several sessions. The Irish musicians section was recorded in Ireland; Bush worked there with them overnight. I know Bush has a lot of love for the song and spoke fondly about it and the musicians (including Liam O'Flynn – uilleann pipes, penny whistle, Seán Keane – fiddle, and Dónal Lunny – bouzouki). I have seen Night of the Swallow appear high in lists of Bush’s best songs. I am surprised that the singles from The Dreaming did not do that well. Maybe people were not transitioning to the sound of Kate Bush embracing new directions and sounds. She was evolving as an artist and producer; it must have come as quite a shock for many people. Before wrapping up, I want to bring in an article from the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia, where we discover more about the song’s lyrical content. Bush herself explains the origins of Night of the Swallow:
“The lyrics concern a smuggler planning his next clandestine journey, Bush takes on the role of his lover, who begs him not to go ('I won't let you do it. If you go, I'll let the law know'). The song ends with the smuggler speaking in defiance ('Would you break even my wings, like a swallow. Let me, let me go').
“Unfortunately a lot of men do begin to feel very trapped in their relationships and I think, in some situations, it is because the female is so scared, perhaps of her insecurity, that she needs to hang onto him completely. In this song she wants to control him and because he wants to do something that she doesn't want him to she feels that he is going away. It's almost on a parallel with the mother and son relationship where there is the same female feeling of not wanting the young child to move away from the nest. Of course, from the guys point of view, because she doesn't want him to go, the urge to go is even stronger. For him, it's not so much a job as a challenge; a chance to do something risky and exciting. But although that woman's very much a stereotype I think she still exists today. (Paul Simper, 'Dreamtime Is Over'. Melody Maker (UK), 16 October 1982)
Ever since I heard my first Irish pipe music it has been under my skin, and every time I hear the pipes, it's like someone tossing a stone in my emotional well, sending ripples down my spine. I've wanted to work with Irish music for years, but my writing has never really given me the opportunity of doing so until now. As soon as the song was written, I felt that a ceilidh band would be perfect for the choruses. The verses are about a lady who's trying to keep her man from accepting what seems to be an illegal job. He is a pilot and has been hired to fly some people into another country. No questions are to be asked, and she gets a bad feeling from the situation. But for him, the challenge is almost more exciting than the job itself, and he wants to fly away. As the fiddles, pipes and whistles start up in the choruses, he is explaining how it will be all right. He'll hide the plane high up in the clouds on a night with no moon, and he'll swoop over the water like a swallow.
Bill Whelan is the keyboard player with Planxty, and ever since Jay played me an album of theirs I have been a fan. I rang Bill and he tuned into the idea of the arrangement straight away. We sent him a cassette, and a few days later he phoned the studio and said, "Would you like to hear the arrangement I've written?"
I said I'd love to, but how?
"Well, Liam is with me now, and we could play it over the phone."
I thought how wonderful he was, and I heard him put down the phone and walk away. The cassette player started up. As the chorus began, so did this beautiful music - through the wonder of telephones it was coming live from Ireland, and it was very moving. We arranged that I would travel to Ireland with Jay and the multi-track tape, and that we would record in Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin. As the choruses began to grow, the evening drew on and the glasses of Guiness, slowly dropping in level, became like sand glasses to tell the passing of time. We missed our plane and worked through the night. By eight o'clock the next morning we were driving to the airport to return to London. I had a very precious tape tucked under my arm, and just as we were stepping onto the plane, I looked up int the sky and there were three swallows diving and chasing the flies. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982)”.
I really love Night of the Swallow, and I think it boasts one of Bush’s best vocals and compositions. Through The Dreaming, I think Bush hit a peak when it came to lyrics. So many songs on the album take you into their own world. Night of the Swallow boasts some incredible lines. My favourite lines are so evocative and unusual: "With a hired plane/And no names mentioned/Tonight's the night of the flight/Before you know/I'll be over the water/Like a swallow/There's no risk/I'll whisk them up in no moonlight/And though pigs can fly/They'll never find us/Posing as the night/And I'm home before the morning”. If there was ever to be another ‘best of’ Kate Bush album, I definitely think Night of the Swallow should feature! It is a fabulous song that was sort of overlooked as a single and, as many people do not dig into The Dreaming like they do Hounds of Love, I think a lot of the songs are under-appreciated. Night of the Swallow is a beautiful and powerful track that…
LINGERS long in the mind.