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Post by Lori on Jul 30, 2003 23:17:58 GMT
I say good night-night I tuck him in tight But things are not right
What is this? An infant kiss That sends my body tingling?
I've never fallen for A little boy before No control
Just a kid and just at school Back home they'd call me dirty His little hand is on my heart He's got me where it hurts me Knock, knock. Who's there in this baby? You know how to work me
All my barriers are going It's starting to show Let go. Let go. Let go
I cannot sit and let Something happen I'll regret Ooh, he scares me!
There's a man behind those eyes I catch him when I'm bending
Ooh, how he frightens me When they whisper privately ("Don't Let Go!") Windy-wailey blows me
Words of caress on their lips That speak of adult love
I want to smack but I hold back I only want to touch
But I must stay and find a way To stop before it gets too much!
All my barriers are going It's starting to show Let go. Let go. Let go (Don't let go!)
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august
Reaching Out
Posts: 187
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Post by august on Jan 11, 2004 2:41:35 GMT
Definately one of Kate's most controversial songs. The subject reminds me of a news story a while back about a female teacher's affair with her young student who was about 13 or 14. She got pregnant by him and I believe she was sentenced to prison for lewd and lacivious behavior with a minor. It was very brave of Kate to use such a taboo subject in a song. Perhaps there are others that would say foolish?
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Post by Xanadu on Jan 30, 2004 20:38:11 GMT
It was very brave of Kate to use such a taboo subject in a song. Taboo doesn't begin to describe the inspirations for this song, which themselves have a long history of misinterpretation. Sexuality, repression, insanity, the supernatural, etc.... it's all here, in one of my all time favorite songs. And, NEO & Al, there is SO MUCH to this you'd find specifically interesting... how this all ties together so nicely! (for both your respective points about Kate) ;D I won't ramble on here, since there seems to have been some recent interest in the "short answer" to our "deeper understanding". But, I feel anything but a lengthy discussion would sell this short. Kate Bush is a complex and thoughtful person, and there would be many reasons I believe she'd be drawn to a certain subject.
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Post by Adey on Feb 1, 2004 4:15:01 GMT
There is definately more going on in this song than a casual inspection of the lyrics would suggest.
First of all, why write about this subject? I don't believe that KB was deliberately courting controversy at the risk of vilification and I also don't believe that EMI would allow her to include it on the album if it was only what it appeared to be on the surface. (At this stage in her career KB did not have the artistic control that she would later demand). No, theres something else.
I have analysed the lyrical content line by line, something I don't normally do as it can spoil the future enjoyment of a song. Another reason for caution is that detailed appraisal can sometimes indicate things that were just not intended by the writer.
It is not clear if the character (not necessarily Kate remember) is referring to her own child, or someone elses. I have proceeded on the basis that it is her own child, but it might not really matter. The first 7 lines could refer to a feeling of 'broodiness' a desire to have a child or another child of her own. "Sets my body tingling" might then refer to a maternal longing rather sexual excitement. However, the following lines I think don't support this. The character says "back home they'd call me dirty", this would not be the case if the cause of her physical response was anything other than sexual.
It is the next verse that gives us clues about what I think is going on here. "Ooh he scares me, there's a man behind those eyes, I catch him when I'm bending". This would have to mean that the child was either very precocious or that the character thought he was. No, I think the key to this is possession - or the delusion of possession.
Consider how the character stops referring to the child in the singular and starts to use the plural: "Ooh how HE frightens me, when THEY whisper privately" and later, "Words of caress on THEIR lips" At this stage I believe that the character is speaking of the 2 people in the child; the child himself and an adult personna. It is this personna who has so excited her, and not the child.
So who might this person be? I'm guessing that it is probably the child's father who has died sometime after conceiving the child with her. He would probably be a much missed lover and there may well be a degree of physical frustration for her, in her closeness to the fruit of their lovemaking and who probably shares his appearance and some of his mannerisms.
It is how the character feels herself respond to the man in the child that really scares her and that is plainly obvious in the text. She is of course aware that the physical body in front of her is after all only a child.
We can of course speculate that there is actually no posssession of the child going on, but that the character (possibly still grieving) imagines that her lover is in there somewhere.
I might be completely wrong about all of this and that this is just a slightly sordid song. I can't however believe this of KB and that she would show such a lapse of taste. I am much happier with this song when I interpret it in this way.
As an aside, I wonder when KB wrote this and did she write the Wedding List before hand? Imagine that the character in that song had not actually committed suicide after killing the man who murdered Rudy, and had gone on to deliver Rudy's child. That would set up the scenario for The Infant Kiss perfectly!
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august
Reaching Out
Posts: 187
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Post by august on Feb 1, 2004 22:49:48 GMT
On Gaffaweb there is a section where Kate talks about the influences for her songs. On this particular song she says she was given the idea by the movie The Innocents. If you have seen this particular movie you'll know there is a boy who has been possessed by the spirit of a servant in it. So the idea of two people in one body turns out to be the correct assumption.
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Post by Adey on Feb 1, 2004 23:24:10 GMT
Thanks August, that helps. Not the childs father then. Oh well, we got the concept if not the details!
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Post by Adey on Feb 2, 2004 2:28:09 GMT
Mind you of course, KB will have put her own slant on the story so perhaps it could be the child's Father after all! Perhaps we have taken this interpretation as far as it can go without actually having the writer comment.
Please anyone, post their own ideas on this. Your theory might be closer than mine..
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Post by Lori on Feb 2, 2004 15:10:26 GMT
Mind you of course, KB will have put her own slant on the story so perhaps it could be the child's Father after all! After hearing this song I automatically got the impression that it was a babysitter: "Back home they'd call me dirty"
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Post by Xanadu on Mar 27, 2004 1:36:23 GMT
Due to our recent voting on Eat the Music: Storyteller - “Nobody but me, till now, has ever heard. It’s quite too horrible. It’s beyond everything. Nothing at all that I know touches it.” “For sheer terror?” I remember asking. “For dreadful... dreadfulness! For general uncanny ugliness and horror and pain.” “Well then,” I said, “just sit right down and begin.” “Who was it she was in love with?” “The story will tell,” I took upon myself to reply. “The story won't tell, not in any literal, vulgar way.” “She was young, untried, nervous: it was a vision of serious duties and little company, of really great loneliness.” “Yes, but that’s just the beauty of her passion.” “While I stood in the passage I had my eyes on her brother’s door, which was but ten steps off and which, indescribably, produced in me a renewal of the strange impulse that I had lately spoke of as my temptation.” - The Governess Intriguing?
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Post by Adey on Mar 27, 2004 2:28:18 GMT
Yes Xan, very much so. I have wondered if you would ever post your insight on this..
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Post by strabley on Mar 27, 2004 9:27:29 GMT
The intrigue of love beyond the grave---seemed to be a theme with Kate. (think of The Kick Inside, The Wedding List, Moments of Pleasure, you could even argue Wuthering Heights if you dug deep enough into Bronte's intention...) and now he comes out in this child. Thanks Zan for your comments here, much relished added info!
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Post by Xanadu on Mar 27, 2004 20:21:35 GMT
Thanks so much for your interest and support Adey and Sheila. It may be slow to come, but I'll work on this. Yes Xan, very much so. I have wondered if you would ever post your insight on this.. It's quite hard to convey all my thoughts about this song. It may not be my favorite KB song ever, but it may be close, due to how close I feel to it. I think may have mentioned my affection for classic film, and some studying of literature (particularly late 19th Century/Early 20th Century British and American) . This story has woven through my life for the last 15 years, strangely touching major interests along the way. "Sends my body tingling..." I wrote a thesis about this story a while ago. I continue to read, write, and collect literary criticisms for my own enjoyment (sounds boring doesn't it?). I apply this to everything I enjoy, and posting here (Deeper Understanding) is a fun outlet in that way. I had heard The Infant Kiss a few times after obtaining NFE. One day, the thought occured to me that she was expressing a feeling/story I had experienced before. I thought "That's too obscure for a pop song, but the resemblance certainly is uncanny." You can imagine my surprise, when through my KB readings, I was right. It's the equivalent to having read/researched/loved Book of Dreams by Peter Reich in the 70's, then hearing Cloudbusting years later, and thinking "this feels like that story, but it could never be." So exciting! The intrigue of love beyond the grave---seemed to be a theme with Kate. (think of The Kick Inside, The Wedding List, Moments of Pleasure, you could even argue Wuthering Heights if you dug deep enough into Bronte's intention...) and now he comes out in this child. Thanks Zan for your comments here, much relished added info! Definitely Sheila. This one touches on so many themes for Kate: Victorian/Romanticism, sexual repression, supernatural, feminine sexuality, social mores...etc. The story is so exquisitely written, haunting and complex, Kate must have been so compelled to write a song about it, much like WH. She was the only artist ever brave enough to actually put forth in an interpretation close to the original subversive subject matter. “Then your manuscript-?”“Is in an old, faded ink, and in the most beautiful hand. A woman’s.”“To do it in any way was an act of violence, for what did it consist of but the obtrusion of the idea of grossness and guilt on a small helpless creature who had been for me a revelation of the possibilities of beautiful intercourse."I added a bit above, it seems I was interrupted and only typed "late American literature", which probably seemed vague . I fixed it. (Note to self: be sure to proof read posts when rambling on and getting carried away! )
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Post by Xanadu on Mar 27, 2004 22:25:09 GMT
It is the next verse that gives us clues about what I think is going on here. "Ooh he scares me, there's a man behind those eyes, I catch him when I'm bending". This would have to mean that the child was either very precocious or that the character thought he was. No, I think the key to this is possession - or the delusion of possession. "Ooh how HE frightens me, when THEY whisper privately" and later, "Words of caress on THEIR lips" At this stage I believe that the character is speaking of the 2 people in the child; the child himself and an adult personna. It is this personna who has so excited her, and not the child. So who might this person be? It is how the character feels herself respond to the man in the child that really scares her and that is plainly obvious in the text. She is of course aware that the physical body in front of her is after all only a child. We can of course speculate that there is actually no posssession of the child going on I might be completely wrong about all of this and that this is just a slightly sordid song. I can't however believe this of KB and that she would show such a lapse of taste. I am much happier with this song when I interpret it in this way. You're spot on here Adey, believe your interpretation, especially what I have quoted here. The song is really far from intentionally sordid. Think about a slow descent into madness, brought about by loneliness and isolation. The longing for attention, sexually and otherwise. Jealousy and resentment. What could a woman, virtually alone in a huge estate, conjure, then begin to believe her visions? To what point would she take her madness? Kate lingers on the verge of decision, a precarious state that she regularly explores. This is more about inner turmoil and loss of control. Has anyone seen The Others with Nicole Kidman? This sets a nice stage for this action. I think the story may also have been an inspiration for that film.
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Post by Adey on Mar 27, 2004 22:41:33 GMT
Has anyone seen The Others with Nicole Kidman? This sets a nice stage for this action. I think the story may also have been an inspiration for that film. I missed it I'm afraid - looking out for it on DVD, even if just to rent. I am fascinated by your developing vision of the Infant Kiss beginnings.
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Post by turtlefriedrice on Apr 11, 2005 0:15:23 GMT
Has anyone seen The Others with Nicole Kidman? This sets a nice stage for this action. I think the story may also have been an inspiration for that film. what about Birth with Nicole Kidman. i think its VERY similar.
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