Kite by Kate Bush Lyrics Meaning – Soaring Above the Everyday: Unpacking the Ethereal Message

Lyrics

(Come up and be a kite)

Beelzebub is aching in my belly-o
My feet are heavy and I’m rooted in my wellios
And I want to get away and go (I want to be, I want to be)
From all these mirror windows
I look at eye level, it isn’t good enough
And then I find it out, when I take a good look up
There’s a hole in the sky (there’s a whole) with a big eyeball (there’s a whole in the sky)
Calling me

Come up and be a kite
And fly a diamond night
A diamond kite, diamond kite
A diamond kite, diamond kite
Oh, what a diamond!

A diamond kite, on a diamond flight
Over the lights, under the moon
Over the lights, under the moon
Over the moon
Over the moon

Come up and be a kite

I feel a rush along my body like a bullet
I’m 2D, after a push and pull feeling
And I want to get (I want to be, I want to be) back to safe home
I love the homeland dome
I got no limbs, I’m like a feather on the wind
I’m not sure if I want to be up here at all
And I’d like to be (I’d like to be, I’d like to be) back on the ground
But I don’t know how to get down

Come up and be a kite
And fly a diamond night
A diamond kite, diamond kite
A diamond kite, diamond kite
Oh, what a diamond!

A diamond kite, on a diamond flight
Over the lights, under the moon
Over the lights, under the moon
Over the moon
Over the moon

Come up and be a kite
Come up and be a kite

Upon the gentle wings of Kate Bush’s ‘Kite’, listeners are invited to a realm where the mundane clashes with the mystical, the material greets the metaphorical. It’s a song that, at first glimpse, reads like an invitation to escapism—yet upon closer inspection, it unveils layers of nuanced emotion and philosophical yearning.

Drawing from the 1978 self-titled track from her debut album ‘The Kick Inside’, Bush presents an imagery-rich narrative that challenges perceptions of freedom, reality, and the human condition. The analysis ahead ventures beyond the surface, exploring the interwoven themes of liberation, identity, and transformation.

Beating the Beelzebub Blues: Kate Bush’s Battle Cry for Freedom

Kate Bush begins ‘Kite’ with a visceral grappling against an internal Beelzebub, symbolizing personal demons or oppressive forces. Coupled with the heaviness of her ‘rooted’ state, she captures a universal feeling of inertia that binds us to the familiar yet suffocating aspects of our lives.

The mention of ‘mirror windows’ suggests a confrontation with self-image, the struggle to break free from reflections imposed by society, or perhaps the mirrored barriers we create for ourselves. Thus, the song emerges as an anthem for those yearning to shatter the glass ceilings of their circumstances.

The Skyward Spiral: Ascending from the Earthly Plane

The lyrical arc of ‘Kite’ propels the protagonist on an upward trajectory, from ground-level dissatisfaction to celestial wonder. It’s as if Bush captures the instant of transcendence when one’s gaze shifts from the horizontal plane of existence to the vertical potential of what lies above and beyond.

In transcending these worldly limits, Bush’s character experiences a radical change of perspective—where a ‘hole in the sky’ with its ‘big eyeball’ may symbolize a gateway to higher consciousness or an omniscient observer inviting the awakening soul.

Diamonds in the Skyline: The Luminosity of Liberation

The repeated invocation of ‘a diamond kite’ is hypnotically poetic, ingraining the image of a brilliant, multifaceted object cutting through the night. Diamonds, symbols of resilience, reflect the ability to soar amid adversities, to find clarity and strength in the loftiest of dances.

Bush’s lyrical flight over moonlit landscapes conjures feelings of wonderment and awe but also of solitude. In her diamond kite, the subject floats alone, unanchored from the world, suggesting that with great freedom comes a certain isolation.

The Paradox of Desire: Tethered to the Ethereal Wind

The existential paradox that surfaces within ‘Kite’ is tangible—the speaker’s conflicting desires to both rise above and return to safety. Such lyrics touch upon the human predicament of simultaneously craving escapism and the comforts of familiarity and belonging.

Bush captures the angst of the modern individual, ‘like a feather on the wind,’ unmoored and vulnerable yet compelled by a primordial impulse to soar. Regardless of the allure of the heavens, there’s a pull towards the domestic ‘homeland dome’, a symbolic womb of security.

Descending into the Depths: The Hidden Meaning Behind ‘Come Up and Be a Kite’

In the recurring, ethereal refrain ‘Come up and be a kite,’ Bush issues an open invitation to the listener. It’s a call to action, to step outside one’s comfortable enclosure and embrace the unpredictable exhilaration of the skies—a suggestion that true liberation lies in confronting the unknown.

Yet the tacit question remains—how does one descend from such heights? Bush leaves us to ponder the gravity of our ascents, hinting that perhaps the story’s true meaning isn’t found in the act of flying but in the courage it takes to return from the stratosphere of our ambitions.