FEATURE:
The Queen’s Speech
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005 for a promotional photo for Aerial/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton
Kate Bush’s Christmas Message, and Her Hopes for Peace and Joy in 2023
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THIS time of year…
PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
Kate Bush fans around the world get a treat in the form of a message from our favourite artist. True to form, queen Kate Bush has delivered a Christmas message. Like the past couple of years, it is full of thanks for those who give so much to us (in this case, nurses), and she signals hope for next year. A need for resolve and optimism. I often feel like this is the musical equivalent of the Queen’s speech. It is a beautiful and universal message that is typical of someone who is so concerned for others. So caring! Before continuing on, here is what Bush posted to her official website:
“Every year seems to fly by a little faster. They say this happens as you get older, but there’s no doubt that the speed of life is accelerating at a greater rate than ever.
I don’t think any of us have ever known a year like this one. Life became incredibly frightening in the pandemic, but just as we think it might be over soon, it seems to keep going. It’s a bombardment – the horrific war in Ukraine, the famines, the droughts, the floods… and we lost our Queen. Many of my friends were surprised at how upset they were at her death especially as we aren’t royalists, but I think her passing became a focus for grief, for unexpressed loss that so many people had felt during the pandemic.
It’s been a crazy, roller coaster year for me. I still reel from the success of RUTH, being the No 1 track of this summer. What an honour! It was really exciting to see it doing so well globally, but especially here in the UK and Australia; and also to see it making it all the way to No 3 in the US. It was such a great feeling to see so many of the younger generation enjoying the song. It seems that quite a lot of them thought I was a new artist! I love that!
IMAGE CREDIT: Kate Bush
Again, thank you so much to everyone who supported the track and made it a hit.
I wonder where on earth we’ll all be at the end of next year? I hope the war will end. I hope that the nurses will be in a position where they are appreciated – they should be cherished. Let’s all hope that next year will be better than this one. I keep thinking about hope and how it was the last to fly out of Pandora’s box. Sometimes it’s all that seems to glow in the dark times we find ourselves in right now.
I used a little robin in some of my Christmas gifts to friends this year. I felt that this humble little bird, which symbolises Christmas could also symbolise hope in the context of Emily Dickinson’s beautiful words: Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
I‘d like to think that this Christmas when joy is so hard to find, hope will perch in all our souls. Merry Christmas! All best wishes, Kate”.
I put this feature out pretty quickly, as I was not expecting the words she wrote in this post! There are some very typically Bush things. Of course, she gives her love to nurses and hopes they get paid fairly. She is worried about the invasion of Ukraine and hopes the people there are safe. Whereas many artists would not post a Christmas message or would lead with something about the music or their own success, Kate Bush does not do that!
Bush also thanked fans around the world for the success of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). The song was featured on Netflix’s Stranger Things. It got to number one in the U.K. and other nations – it originally hit number three here in 1985 -, and it is only Bush’s second-ever U.K. chart-topping song (after 1978’s Wuthering Heights). Nobody expected this to happen for Kate Bush at the start of the year. She was very involved in ensuring the song’s placement was to her satisfaction. Working with the show’s creators, The Duffer Brothers, Bush was very thankful to them and the show for introducing that song to a new generation. As she said, it is almost like she is a new artist! So many people who might not know about her work now have their eyes and minds opened to a legendary artist whose music is timeless and like nothing else! Bush reflected on the Queen’s death, and I think the fact Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) reached three in the U.S. excites her. After so many years, the country has embraced her like never before! My favourite part of the message is that she has put a little robin in the gifts for her family and friends. It does seem that birds are powerful and important to her (read her Christmas message from last year to see what I mean). Symbolic of something hopeful, peaceful and strength-giving, they have made their way into her work and messages for a while. From their use and role in 2005’s Aerial to the fact that, years ago, Bush was asked who her favourite singer was. Instead of naming an artist, she named a bird! It seems that their call and song not only influences her own music, but it goes deeper than that.
From their beauty and calm they give to people, Kate Bush has this deeper connection with birds. I might explore this more in a future feature. Here, in her Christmas message, it is the festive and humble robin that is at the centre. Her words here are beautiful and so true: “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul”. Those Emily Dickinson words are attached to a robin in this case. After such a retched year (we seem to say that every year now!), there are positives, perhaps, ahead. The end of the terror in Ukraine. Parity and equality for those striking right now. Maybe, who knows, a snap General Election and new government! In any case, there is resolve for betterment and togetherness. There is no explicit mention of new work from Bush herself, but the fact she is so in awe and thankful for all of the love that has been shown to her this year makes me think she is working on music! That feeling that she wishes for peace and hope in 2023 leads me to believe that she will also reflect this through music! Maybe I am reading too much into it, but I think it would be a shock if no music was released, as Bush seems to be in this position where her music has found a whole new generation. After Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) was propelled back up the charts and into the public consciousness, Bush is being discussed again and her work is being highlighted. An immortal talent whose music is always relevant, this year has been so important and wonderful for her! I can imagine Bush in her lovely house preparing Christmas presents, watching T.V. and surrounded by lights, a warm fire and a beautiful garden! Let’s hope that her thoughts turn to new music. If not, it is brilliant that she still communicates with fans and we get these lovely and emotional words. It leads me – on behalf of all Kate Bush fans around the world – to wish this icon and music goddess…
THE happiest Christmas and new year!