Babooshka

[Lori]

She wanted to test her husband
She knew exactly what to do
A pseudonym to fool him
She couldn't have made a worse move.

She sent him scented letters
And he received them with a strange delight
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears
And how she was before the years flew by
And how she was when she was beautiful
She signed the letter

All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!

She wanted to take it further
So she arranged a place to go
To see if he
Would fall for her incognito
And when he laid eyes on her
He got the feeling they had met before
Uncanny how she
Reminds him of his little lady
Capacity to give him all he needs
Just like his wife before she freezed on him
Just like his wife when she was beautiful
He shouted out

I'm all yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!

[brillo69]

She wanted to test her husband.
She knew exactly what to do:
A pseudonym to fool him.
She couldn't have made a worse move.

She sent him scented letters,
And he received them with a strange delight.
Just like his wife
But how she was before the tears,
And how she was before the years flew by,
And how she was when she was beautiful.
She signed the letter

"All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!"

She wanted to take it further,
So she arranged a place to go,
To see if he
Would fall for her incognito.
And when he laid eyes on her,
He got the feeling they had met before.
Uncanny how she
Reminds him of his little lady,
Capacity to give him all he needs,
Just like his wife before she freezed on him,
Just like his wife when she was beautiful.
He shouted out, "I'm

All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!
All yours,
Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!"

[stev0]

OK, my question about this song:

Why did Kate use the grammar she did? "She couldn't have made a worst move"? "Just like his wife before she freezed on him?"

This is one of my favorite Kate songs, but I still cringe at those lines (yeah, I'm a language pedant).

[Al Truest]

stev0 said:

OK, my question about this song:

Why did Kate use the grammar she did? "She couldn't have made a worst move"? "Just like his wife before she freezed on him?"

This is one of my favorite Kate songs, but I still cringe at those lines (yeah, I'm a language pedant).

This irks me just a bit too. However, not all that much. Is she saying 'worse' or 'worst' for example - or 'choice' or 'move' It could be a mixing error (I doubt) or just hyperbole. I am much more put off by Snoop Dog's coined words such as 'frizzizle' e.g. (I think) And by your own admission - a pedant can be unimaginative and confined by the minutia of boundaries. Kate, conversely, has unbridled imagination you may parenthetically agree. Also 'freezed' may convey the 'frigid' connotation she was trying to impart as 'in the moment' as opposed to just in the past.

[stev0]

I'm always amazed when there's a line in a rap song with NO grammatical errors.

Actually, I love it when people play with language. I mean "I can not get any satisfaction" would NOT do.

However, getting back to Babooska: I'm still wondering why Kate chose what she did. It couldn't be scansion - "worse" and "worst", "freezed" and "froze" have the same syllables! The former two even sound alike, so it couldn't have been that.

[Kevin2]

I'm new here and am enjoying looking at the posts. Since Babooshka is the song that introduced me to Kate's music and since I've also wondered about the language used throughout the album I'll jump in here.

stev0 said:

OK, my question about this song:

Why did Kate use the grammar she did? "She couldn't have made a worst move"? "Just like his wife before she freezed on him?"

This is one of my favorite Kate songs, but I still cringe at those lines (yeah, I'm a language pedant).

I question the usage of worse in the Babooshka demo, "correct" as the word is, due to my not seeing any negative consequence resulting from Babooshka's actions.

Does the song seem more comedy or tragedy? A "couldn't have made a worse move" line ~ aii yaii ~ should prepare the listener for a situation more sinister than consenting cosplay sex. How does the song end - with a bang or a whimper? I don't see an ending that is worthy of a worst move - she couldn't have made a "worst" move once she had decided to test her husband because he wasn't looking for anyone other than his wife; she had corrected already, in an idiotic manner, her worst move - that of inactivity.

My second thought is that the NfE beat is too jaunty for tragedy.

Does "Never for Ever" mean anything to anybody? If not, is Never Forever then some declaration in the vein of Wow?

[Al Truest]

Welcome Kevan. 'Glad to see you jump right in. Your points are well made. I will comment further when I have time. But looking forward to more of your input.

[stev0]

Your post, Kevan, begs an excellent question: What happens RIGHT AFTER the song?

I'd say The Wife dramatically whips off her Babooshka wig, The Husband looks on, horrified, knowing it's too late to stop this train wreck. Of course, she tells him to sod off, and they divorce and become broken, bitter people. Kate's not into happy endings (especially in this album), and I don't see why this should be an exception.

[Sheila]

"Yes I like pina coladas, and getting caught in the rain..."
Song with similar topic----MUCH different outcome!

You know, I never even noticed "worst" or even "freezed" until it was pointed out (I think originally by Sto) on this board. It just seemed to fit so naturally into the song I guess I never noticed the grammatical errors.

[Kevin2]

stev0 said:

Your post, Kevan, begs an excellent question: What happens RIGHT AFTER the song?

I'd say The Wife dramatically whips off her Babooshka wig, The Husband looks on, horrified, knowing it's too late to stop this train wreck. Of course, she tells him to sod off, and they divorce and become broken, bitter people. Kate's not into happy endings (especially in this album), and I don't see why this should be an exception.

Yes, and now that you mention it, I can see how the pessimistic ending can be anticipated - it had never occurred to me before and that disappoints me.

In my version however...

The husband realizes from the beginning who it is behind the not-quite-so-mysterious letters. Babs has never struck me as being a particularly clever person.

I view the song as concerning itself with the wife's acts of betrayal, past and present, rather than with the husband's. I think it is the wife who is the one horrified at song's end as she realizes how blind she has been. She finally realizes that her husband's motivation, as is mentioned in both verses, is his desire for her.

It's a happy ending, true... and that's why 'worse' was changed to 'worst'

Edit: And though I do believe the song makes more sense, in an odd way, with 'worst' rather than 'worse' I am really joking in that last line - I mean, Breathing includes the line "But you and me knew that life itself is breathing..."

I also vaguely recall there being a similar "slip" on one of the songs on The Dreaming. I wonder if she worded her songs to encourage discussions like this one.

[Sheila]

kevan said:

My second thought is that the NfE beat is too jaunty for tragedy.

Huh? Really? Somebody dies at the end of half of the songs! I truly believe Babooshka ends in divorce. People don't change too quick if at all, and she will most likely remain, or at least quickly go back, to being "freezed".

[Kevin2]

sheila said:

Huh? Really? Somebody dies at the end of half of the songs!

heh yes well... we all find humour where we can!

I truly believe Babooshka ends in divorce. People don't change too quick if at all, and she will most likely remain, or at least quickly go back, to being "freezed".

Well ok... and I do think I'm in the minority here by seeing the song end with a loving rather than legal bang. It's certainly a debatable point though, how frequently people are open to change; and it's debatable too that Kate ever has had a clue. I really don't see this as being what she was getting at with the song. I think it would have been nearly the worse of topics.

She wanted to test her husband.
She knew exactly what to do:
A pseudonym to fool him.
She couldn't have made a worse(worst) move.

I can't figure out why it is then that she couldn't have made a "worse" move.

[tannis]

IMHO... ‘Babooshka’ is a song of love and hate. Her husband fan has, one suspects, lovingly stood by her for years, weathering her moodswing tears, her frigid temperament, her Histrionic personality disorder and her shark-eyed psychosis... If ‘BaBUSHka’ calmed down, she would know this! She knows him exactly! Just like she knows exactly the type of woman he would fall for (someone just like herself all those years ago!). Yes, if only she calmed down! … But she is self-destructing on jealous delusions, mid-life boredom, idle fantasy, etc. etc… She can’t be nice with him. Instead, she recklessly uses her ‘insight’ to test his fidelity, scheming the perfect trap! … “Exactly! A pseudonym to fool him!” … She wants him to fail the test. Why? I doubt she could answer that. Maybe she just ‘wants out’, to let the weirdness out… But she is too reckless to consider impact… She wants drama… She couldn't have made a worst move… (re: the '..st' sound ...the emphasis it carries... a 'worst' move means this song has got to end tragically!)

The husband is excited by the scented letters. But they only arouse in him feelings and longings for his wife all those years ago! He is bewitched by her charm all over! ...

The wife is similarly seduced and aroused by ‘BaBUSHka’… So she wants to take her own trap further… The alter ego works on them both like a Circean drug… The wife both is and is not ‘Babooshka’… (So is the husband ever tempted to commit a real infidelity?) …

The denouement? … He is left with confused longing for 'what she is not' (i.e. Babooshka), and he is only too aware of 'what she has been/become' (the wife who has 'freezed' on him... no sign of thawing in the emphasis!) … And the hard-won lesson ('worst move') fills her with a shattering fury, a shattering lucidity, and a shattering betrayal...

The song is a tragic reflection on the breakdown of communication, the loss of freedom and the foolish consequences & conclusions of a distorted sense of reality.

"All lies, Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!"

BaBushka reminds me of Dangerous Liaisons (1988; from the novel 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' by Choderlos de Laclos).


EDIT:
- 'Babushka' is the Russian word meaning "grandmother," or more generally (but quite informally) "old lady." In recent years, the term has also come to indicate a strong, outspoken or opinionated woman of any age (wiki).
- As in TD ('The Pull of the Bush'), "Babooshka" can be regarded as a play on Kate's name.

[Barry SR Gowing]

tannis said:

The wife is similarly seduced and aroused by ‘BaBUSHka’… So she wants to take her own trap further… The alter ego works on them both like a Circean drug… The wife both is and is not ‘Babooshka’… (So is the husband ever tempted to commit a real infidelity?) …

Kate is so sympathetic to the husband that it's difficult to know what she intends. Of course, no infidelity would be involved since Babooshka really is his wife, but does he know that? Does he mean to commit infidelity - does he (or Kate) think that he deserves to? Bear in mind that he thinks he's found a soulmate (just like his wife used to be), not a one-night stand...

It is very unusual to encounter a song where a woman takes the "man's side" in a matter of potential infidelity.

The song is clearly set up to be a tragedy, and the sound of breaking glass at the end of the song is clearly meant to symbolise illusions shattering; his illusions mainly. Does the shattering sound also mean that their marriage is over? Probably, but it's up to them:

Maybe she enjoyed playing Babooshka so much that she will, in time, come to realise what a good thing she and her husband had.

Of course, I imagine her initial reaction is to throw things at him - "plates in a restaurant" was Kate's description. The question is what happens after that when she calms down ... and maybe has a nice chat with her mum and/or best friend?

Of course, maybe she is too far gone with her schemes and her neuroses. Maybe they were doomed to fail. Maybe he will be as hurt by her 'betrayal' (lying and pretending to be another woman) as she is by his 'betrayal' (making arrangements to meet with 'another woman').

On a personal note, I particularly like Kate's reading of the line:

Capacity to give him all he needs

Although that does make me wonder: his 'needs' were being fullfilled (by her) when they were younger, but what about hers? Is he somewhat to blame for what she became when she grew older?

--Paul--

[tannis]

Babooshka is like an agent provocateur engaging in a sting operation, or a Morality Play telling of Man Vs Lust. Her spidery power to "take it further" suggests that she is doing all the weaving. But there is obviously a weakness, a willing, a longing on his part, like he is keen for the ride. He is the 'typical' male fly caught in the black widow web of feminine guile! A fatal attraction!

She wanted to take it further
So she arranged a place to go
To see if he
Would fall for her incognito...

The "All yours Babooshka, Babooshka, Babooshka-ya-ya!" suggests that he does fall for her incognito. Her 'capacity to give him all he needs' overwhelms his cognitions. He does not solve the riddle of uncanny familiarity, and the alter ego Sphinx wins!

However, the crashing, backfiring finale suggests the wife is furious that her cunning plan was so successful and revelatory! And as you say Paul, I suspect that both parties are injured by glaring feelings of (self-)betrayal.

Apr 7, 2008 1:16:24 GMT Barry SR Gowing said:

Although that does make me wonder: his 'needs' were being fullfilled (by her) when they were younger, but what about hers? Is he somewhat to blame for what she became when she grew older?

And yes, maybe it was he who stopped paying attention to the relationship and to her needs years ago - the romance and the passion. And maybe his 'frigidity' drove her passions to distraction! ...

The Babooshka (1980) video costume makes me think of Boudica, the warrior queen of the Iceni people of Norfolk who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire, or the Amazons. The Amazons were a mythical ancient nation of all-female warriors. In some versions of the myth, no men were permitted to have sexual encounters or reside in Amazon country; but once a year, in order to prevent their race from dying out, they visited the Gargareans, a neighbouring tribe. The male children who were the result of these visits were either put to death, sent back to their fathers or exposed in the wilderness to fend for themselves; the females were kept and brought up by their mothers, and trained in agricultural pursuits, hunting, and the art of war. In the Iliad, the Amazons were referred to as Antianeira ("those who fight like men"). In popular culture, the Amazons are seen frequently in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess.

The Ephesian Artemis was a divinity totally distinct from the Greek goddess of the same name. She seems to have been the personification of the fructifying and all-nourishing powers of nature. It is an opinion almost universally adopted, that she was an ancient Asiatic divinity whose worship the Greeks found established in Ionia, when they settled there, and that, for some resemblance they discovered, they applied to her the name of Artemis. As soon as this identity of the Asiatic goddess with the Greek Artemis was recognised, other features, also originally peculiar to the Greek Artemis, were transferred to her; and thus she is called a daughter of Leto, who gave birth to her in the neighbourhood of Ephesus. Her original character is sufficiently clear from the fact, that her priests were eunuchs, and that her image in the magnificent temple of Ephesus represented her with many breasts (polumastos). The whole figure of the goddess resembled a mummy: her head was surmounted with a mural crown (corona muralis), and the lower part of her body, which ended in a point, like a pyramid upside down, was covered with figures of mystical animals. The symbol of this divinity was a bee, and her high priest bore the name of king (essên). Her worship was said to have been established at Ephesus by the Amazons.