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Post by Lori on Jul 14, 2003 22:08:22 GMT
Oh! England, my Lionheart I'm in your garden, fading fast in your arms The soldiers soften, the war is over The air raid shelters are blooming clover Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes My London Bridge in rain again
Oh! England, my Lionheart! Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames That old river poet that never, ever ends Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in And keep the tower from tumbling
Oh! England, my Lionheart Oh! England, my Lionheart Oh! England, my Lionheart I don't want to go
Oh! England, my Lionheart! Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge Give me one kiss in apple-blossom Give me one wish, and I'd be wassailing In the orchard, my English rose Or with my shepherd, who'll bring me home
Oh! England, my Lionheart Oh! England, my Lionheart Oh! England, my Lionheart I don't want to go
Oh! England, my Lionheart Oh! England, my Lionheart Oh! England, my Lionheart I don't want to go
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Post by Adey on Feb 23, 2004 13:11:43 GMT
I am not especially patriotic, but I adore this song and admire the skill in which Kate has handled the material and avoided jingoism.
The view of the dying airman back on his home soil for the last time. The rose tinted reminisences of an England already gone by, an England that he has to believe in. He has given his life for it after all.
There are shades here of the war poets, particularly the naive Rupert Brooke in " Grantham " and the much more cynical (honest) Wilfred Owen in " Dulce et Decorum Est (Pro patria Mori) " [It is fittng and sweet to die for one's own country]. Owen knew that this was a lie and you suspect that Kate does too, when she placed a figure of death (dying Airman) in the midst of this enchanting English romanticism.
Despite my nationality, the meaning of one line escaped me for years: " Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in, keep the tower from tumbling"
When I finally visited the Tower of London, I learned of the legend that the Tower would stand forever unless it was foresaken by the Ravens who lived there. I offer this for our non-british members, who might not be aware of the myth.
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RA
Reaching Out
Posts: 216
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Post by RA on Jan 20, 2005 13:26:49 GMT
Yes, a beautiful song worthy of being a national anthem.
Strangely I've recently rewatched some old Kate footage and had never fully appreciated that one of the reasons she is unique is that she sings with her own accent! Oh, England.......I dohnt wont to gooooh!
It's rare - take a listen to top of the pops if you can stomach it. There is a new singer called Lucie Silvas, but you'd think she was from across the pond. Very dull although she has a great voice, it's nothing new.
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Post by tannis on Dec 6, 2007 13:16:19 GMT
This song seems to evoke pre-war heroism… the stoicism… the patriotic fondness for one’s homeland… the gorgeous musical arrangement… It kinda reminds me of Rupert Brooke’s The Soldier… and suggests an heroic tale Achilles might have sung to his battle prize slave Briseis! I know it’s terribly English… But the Greeks were terribly Greek… Kate was born in Kent, and Kent is known as The Garden of England.('The soldiers soften, the war is over' - detumescent sexual poetry?) ('my funeral barge' - see 'The Kick Inside: Efteling Elaine' video treatment.)[purple] KT: "And to all of you out there - The Lionhearts - do what you will with me..."Oh England My Lionheart, I'm in your garden fading fast in your arms... The soldiers soften, the war is over... The air-raid shelters are blooming clover... Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes My London Bridge in rain again... Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park... You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames... Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in And keep the tower from tumbling... I don't want to...[/purple] Q: As someone who's written a very stirring song about England (Oh England My Lionheart), will you always be happiest here? KB: (Astonished) Do you like that one? That's one of the ones I meant. It makes me just want to die. There's just something about that time. It's such an old song. Ooh God, I haven't heard it for so long. Must have been on tour in 1979... Kate bush: Q magazine interview December 1993.www.paradiseplace.org.uk/Kate/Katep3.htmlHow did you pick the name of Lionheart for your latest album? KB: Well that was really from the title track called 'Oh England, My Lionheart'. And I just think it's a great word, it sorta means hero, and I think hero is a very clichéd word, so I thought Lionheart would be a bit different. "Personal Call" (1979)gaffa.org/reaching/ir79_pc.htmln.b. 'hero' is drug slang for heroin.www.noslang.com/drugs/dictionary/hYou read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames That old river poet that never, ever ends...You wouldn't make a good Lady Macbeth? KB: "Lady Macbeth? (Laughs) No. To tell you the truth, I'm not that intrigued by acting. If someone offered me something really interesting, especially someone I admired, I'd do it because I'd be crazy not to. But I'm no actress. I don't have the talent or the temperament." "Booze, Fags, Blokes And Me" (1993)gaffa.org/reaching/i93_q.html
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Post by Adey on Dec 6, 2007 13:55:52 GMT
Yes, Rupert Brookes absolutely.
And the tranquility and final peace of her English garden.. and the little mention of birds.. I think of Lionheart often when listening to the first few songs on Sky of Honey..
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Post by tannis on Mar 7, 2008 20:45:38 GMT
THE TOWEROur thumping hearts hold the ravens in And keep the tower from tumbling...Basic Card Symbols A tower on a rocky outcropping, a powerful bolt of lightning, one or two figures falling from the tower, sometimes waves crashing below. Basic Tarot Story As the Fool leaves the throne of the Goat God, he comes upon a Tower, fantastic, magnificent, and familiar. In fact, The Fool, himself, helped build this Tower back when the most important thing to him was making his mark on the world and proving himself better than other men. Inside the Tower, at the top, arrogant men still live, convinced of their rightness. Seeing the Tower again, the Fool feels as if lightning has just flashed across his mind; he thought he'd left that old self behind when he started on this spiritual journey. But he realizes now that he hasn't. He's been seeing himself, like the Tower, like the men inside, as alone and singular and superior, when in fact, he is no such thing. So captured is he by the shock of this insight, that he opens his mouth and releases a SHOUT! And to his astonishment and terror, as if the shout has taken form, a bolt of actual lightning slashes down from the heavens, striking the Tower and sending its residents leaping out into the waters below. In a moment, it is over. The Tower is rubble, only rocks remaining. Stunned and shaken to the core, the Fool experiences grief, profound fear and disbelief. But also, a strange clarity of vision, as if his inner eye has finally opened. He tore down his resistance to change and sacrifice (Hanged man), then broke free of his fear and preconceptions of death (Death); he dissolved his belief that opposites cannot be merged (Temperance) and shattered the chains of ambition and desire (The Devil). But here and now, he has done what was hardest: destroyed the lies he held about himself. What's left is the bare, absolute truth. On this he can rebuild his soul. Basic Tarot Meaning With Mars as its ruling planet, the Tower is a card about war, a war between the structures of lies and the lightning flash of truth. The Tower, as Wang points out, stands for "false concepts and institutions that we take for real." When the Querent gets this card, they can expect to be shaken up, to be blinded by a shocking revelation. It sometimes takes that to see a truth that one refuses to see. Or to bring down beliefs that are so well constructed. What's most important to remember is that the tearing down of this structure, however painful, makes room for something new to be built. Thirteen's Observations No card scares a Tarot reader like the Tower - or the person they're reading for if that person knows anything about Tarot cards. It is however one of the clearest cards when it comes to meaning. False structures, false institutions, false beliefs are going to come tumbling down, suddenly, violently and all at once. What's important to remember as a tarot reader is that the one you're reading for likely does not know that something is false. Not yet. To the contrary, they probably believe that their lover is being faithful, that their religious beliefs are true and right, that there are no problems in their family structure, that everything is fine at work...oh, and that they're fine. Just fine, really. Alas, they're about to get a very rude awakening. Shaken up, torn down, blown asunder. And all a reader can really do to soften the blow is assure the Querent that it is for the best. Nothing built on a lie, on falsehoods, can remain standing for long. Better to tear it all down and rebuild on the truth. It is not going to be pleasant or painless or easy, but it will be for the best. see more... on Tarot: www.aeclectic.net/tarot/basics/tower.shtmlon Ravens: katebush.proboards6.com/index.cgi?board=parttwo&action=display&n=1&thread=2452
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Post by tannis on Aug 30, 2008 9:00:04 GMT
"Oh! England, my Lionheart I'm in your garden, fading fast in your arms..."John Carder Bush: "Our lives were filled with the trappings of the Celtic Twilight, its poetry and its music."home.att.net/~james51453/preface.htmThe Celtic Twilight by W. B. Yeats
Time drops in decay Like a candle burnt out. And the mountains and woods Have their day, have their day; But, kindly old rout Of the fire-born moods, You pass not away.The Celtic Twilight (1893), a collection of supernatural writings by W. B. Yeats, based on his own researches and fieldwork in folklore. Most are stories collected in Co. Galway, often with Lady Gregory's help, together with Sligo material from Mary Battle. The second edition of 1902 was enlarged. The final poem, originally named ‘The Celtic Twilight’, gave its name to the volume and to a school of writing produced under Yeats's influence.
Celtic Twilight: William Butler Yeatswww.celtic-twilight.com/ireland/yeats/index.htmFor Oh England, My Lionheart, from which the album title is derived, Kate is expecting a barrage of criticism because of the blatant soppiness of the lyric. Kate's reasons for writing the song are simple enough. She had always liked Jerusalem, and thought that a contemporary song proclaiming the romantic beauty of England should be written. KT: "A lot of people could easily say that the song is sloppy. It's very classically done. It's only got acoustic instruments on it and it's done...almost madrigally, you know. I daresay a lot of people will think that it's just a load of old slush, but it's just an area that I think it's good to cover. Everything I do is very English, and I think that's one reason I've broken through to a lot of countries. The English vibe is very appealing." Melody Maker, "Enigma Variations", Nov. 1978gaffa.org/reaching/i78_mm.htmlAn Irish Airman Foresees His Death by William Butler YeatsI know that I shall meet my fate Somewhere among the clouds above; Those that I fight I do not hate, Those that I guard I do not love; My country is Kiltartan Cross, My countrymen Kiltartan's poor, No likely end could bring them loss Or leave them happier than before. Nor law, nor duty bade me fight, Nor public men, nor cheering crowds, A lonely impulse of delight Drove to this tumult in the clouds; I balanced all, brought all to mind, The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance with this life, this death.The airman in Yeats's poem is the Major Robert Gregory. He died 23 Jan 1918 in Italy at the age of 37, when an Italian pilot mistakenly shot him down. Major Gregory was the only son of Lady Augusta Gregory, an Irish aristocrat who was a strong supporter of the arts (especially Irish arts) and a very close friend of Yeats. Kiltartan, mentioned in lines 5 and 6 of the poem refers to the region that Lady Gregory lived in.The idiom "on a wing and a prayer", meaning being in a desperate situation and relying on hope to see you through, comes from a famous American World War Two patriotic song which tells the tale of a plane struggling home after a bombing raid:Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer What a show, what a fight Boys, we really hit our target for tonight How we sing as we limp through the air Look below, there’s our field over there Though there’s one motor gone We can still carry on Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer. This buoyant jazzy number came out at the end of 1942 and instantly became a huge hit on both sides of the Atlantic, so much so that the phrase almost immediately entered the language. And the 1942 song makes me think of KaTe's less buoyant patriotic 1978 Oh England My Lionheart... coming in on a wing and a prayeruk.youtube.com/watch?v=B69CquvLHgY
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Post by stufarq on Jun 23, 2009 21:25:59 GMT
Despite my nationality, the meaning of one line escaped me for years: " Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in, keep the tower from tumbling" When I finally visited the Tower of London, I learned of the legend that the Tower would stand forever unless it was foresaken by the Ravens who lived there. I offer this for our non-british members, who might not be aware of the myth. That's only part of it. The full legend is that, if all the ravens leave, not only the Tower but the monarchy and the entire kingdom will fall. Particularly pertinent during wartime and it's probably no coincidence that the legend is often misquoted as England being safe from invasion as long as there are ravens in the Tower. During WWII, most of the Tower's ravens died from shock during bombing raids and only one, named Grip, survived.
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Post by Adey on Jul 3, 2009 2:14:35 GMT
Thanks Stu.. Jeez it's worse than I thought! Better get down there and make sure those ravens are in good shape..
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Post by katebushcampaigner on Aug 19, 2011 16:00:03 GMT
Hi. I've popped in to let you know I've just launched a government e-petition calling for Oh England, My Lionheart to be the new English National Anthem. 100,000 signatures will be enough to get the matter debated in parliament. Therefore, if you're eligible, please sign it and tell other Kate Bush fans about it. The petition address can be found below. Thank you. epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/12159
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Post by Barry SR Gowing on Aug 20, 2011 10:26:23 GMT
I signed it! However, if you're not a UK citizen or resident I suspect you might not be counted (luckily I am a UK citizen as well as being an Australian citizen).
--Paul--
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Post by katebushcampaigner on Aug 20, 2011 18:03:37 GMT
Thanks, Barry/Paul.
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Post by Adey on Aug 21, 2011 1:08:02 GMT
Thanks for doing something to raise the profile of our favourite lady artiste, but I'll personally take a pass on the new national anthem petition thing.
I love the song too much to see footballers pretending to sing it at international matches..
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