Oh to Be in Love by Kate Bush Lyrics Meaning – The Enigmatic Romance and Its Eternal Echo
Lyrics
I find it hard to place my face
Ow did I come to be here anyway?
It’s terribly vague, what’s gone before
I could have been anyone
You could have been anyone’s dream
Why did you have to choose our moment?
Why did you have to make me feel that?
Why did you make it so unreal?
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
All the colors look brighter now
Everything they say seems to sound new
Slipping into tomorrow too quick
Yesterday always too good to forget
Stop the swing of the pendulum
Let us through!
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
Oh to be in love
And never get out again
Delving into the mystic and ethereal world of Kate Bush’s ‘Oh to Be in Love’ is akin to stepping into a dreamscape where love lingers beyond the bounds of time. Her dulcet tones mixed with the hauntingly beautiful melody create a tapestry of emotions that speak to the universal desire to be consumed by love. This track, an under-celebrated gem from her debut album ‘The Kick Inside’, is ripe with interpretive richness and the yearning to capture love’s elusive essence.
Bush, known for her evocative storytelling and distinct vocal inflections, weaves a tale that seems as much about the bitter-sweetness of yearning as it is about the love itself. It is a track that offers layers of meaning beneath the surface simplicity of its chorus. The ethereal quality of her voice transports the listener into a world of hypnotic contemplation of what it truly means to be in love.
Unraveling the Webs of Memory and Desire
When Kate Bush sings of finding it difficult ‘to place my face’, she invokes the sense of disorientation that often accompanies the reflections on past romance. It’s a lyrical musing on identity and its transient nature within the sphere of love. The question ‘Ow did I come to be here, anyway?’ isn’t just a query for one’s physical presence but a deeper search for emotional grounding.
This idea of temporal dislocation aligns with love’s disarming ability to detach us from the linear progression of time. It’s as though through the act of loving, we are perpetually shifting along an internal floor, struggling to anchor our experience in the chronology of life’s events. Bush explores this phenomenon with a poetic grace that suggests a wondering amazement at love’s power.
Identity Interchange: The Alchemy of Meeting in Love
The existential pondering Bush embarks upon when she confesses ‘I could have been anyone’ amps up the stakes of the romantic encounter. To be in love is to undergo a transformation—a shapeshifting where one’s essence could have mingled with the ether and become anyone else’s dream. There’s an unspoken magic in being chosen, in being the one, and the song reflects upon this serendipitous moment with a combination of awe and philosophical curiosity.
Bush doesn’t trivialize this encounter. Instead, she raises it to the level of alchemical change, where two individuals meet not just in physical space but in the dreamscape of possibilities. The idea that love can alter who we are, elevating us into someone’s aspiration is packed with lush imagery and profound implications.
Deciphering the Cryptic Wistfulness: The Song’s Hidden Meaning
At the heart of ‘Oh to Be in Love’ lies a hidden meaning—a reflection on the unreality of love. When Bush queries, ‘Why did you make it so unreal?’ it’s not the lament of disappointment but the marvel of love’s surreal quality. Love, in her poetic sense, appears too profound, too vivid to belong to the mundane world, thus questioning the true abode of such a feeling.
This sense that love transgresses the boundaries of what we accept as real aligns with the sensation of being so deeply in love that one never wants to ‘get out again’. It’s as if the experience creates its own world, a dimension where lovers exist in a perpetual embrace, untouched by the ravages of reality.
A Love That Transcends Time: The Memorable Lines
With ‘Yesterday always too good to forget. Stop the swing of the pendulum, let us through!’, Bush captures the desire to freeze time—to halt the relentless march forward that threatens to dilute the intensity of passion. It is a plea for time to cease its swing, to allow lovers to exist in a perpetual today that never wanes. The vibrancy of the present moment in love longs for immortality, battling against the eventual fading into memory.
The repetition of ‘And never get out again’ is not only a memorable hook of the song but a mantra for eternal sentiment. It’s the epitome of longing for permanence within the fleeting nature of our experiences, particularly in love where emotions run deep and the fear of loss looms.
Sonic Landscapes That Speak to the Soul
It’s not just Bush’s lyrics that convey the complexity and depth of romantic entanglement; her music itself provides a sonic undercurrent that elevates the emotion of the words. The lush arrangements and Bush’s otherworldly voice create an auditory setting that complements the song’s theme, transforming her poetic musings into an experience that vibrates through the very core of the listener.
The track’s ability to encapsulate the opera of emotions contained within the concept of eternal love is testament to Bush’s artistry. ‘Oh to Be in Love’ stands as an ode to the transcendental nature of human emotion, to the eternal dream of love that refuses to fade into oblivion, reverberating through the generations with the same heartfelt intensity.
