FEATURE:
'Cause Somewhere There's a Place
Where We Belong…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush with Peter Gabriel at the BPI (BRIT) Awards at Grosvenor House, London on 9th February, 1987/PHOTO CREDIT: Duncan Raban/Getty Images
Why Kate Bush’s Vocal on Peter Gabriel’s Don’t Give Up Affects Me Hugely
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I was going to write this…
as a separate feature as something that has been playing on my mind. I will get to a very special duet in a minute. I was going to write a feature about feminism and whether I can be seen as a progressive and good feminist when, more and more, I am ashamed and angry at men. Ashamed of being associated with a gender that creates so much evil and abuse. Living in London, the difference between men and women is clear. Most of the noise, obnoxiousness, anger and awfulness that you encounter on a daily basis is by men. The extreme noise, anti-social behaviour, abuse, rudeness, sullenness, threat and general aggression is from men. With no male friends myself, I am always drawn to women and have a huge bias towards them. I gravitate towards women and always have much more affection and respect for them. I do not hate all men because I know there are some really kind and good ones! I am in a position where I dislike a large proportion of men and find my life is much more stressful and depressing because of them. I will never like or embrace my gender fully. I am hugely embarrassed and disgraced regularly by witnessing other men. Seeing on the news the abuse and violence they bring into the world. Even though it applies to a minority of men, it doesn’t excuse the fact that they are responsible for over 90% of all the crimes of sexual abuse and violence. My faith in human nature has been rocked by them. I don’t think I will ever recover in that sense. Rather than attack or call out men, instead I find myself much more invested in women and their rights. In embracing and celebrating them. Trying to be a more committed and conscientious feminist (and human being), I wonder whether my dislike of many other men makes my words and work insincere. My bias towards women means I feature fewer men on my blog.
I acknowledge that there are loads of great male artists but, more and more, controversy caused by male musicians makes me hesitant to embrace others in case they are disgraced and make the headlines for all of the wrong reason. I also find that the diversity and quality women are producing is vastly superior to that provided by men! It is an issue that I have to address but, day on day, I do think that I am losing faith in men and wondering whether the gender is going to be defined and dogged by controversy and bad. I find women much kinder and more compassionate people. More concerned with others and much more conscious of their feelings. Less aggressive. I have bee extremely depressed and tired because of other men. Affected each day by their behaviour. This may not seem to relate to music but, as Peter Gabriel’s Don’t Give Up is thirty-eight on 27th October (the same day Kate Bush released her single, Experiment IV), I wanted to write how it has impacted me. A single from Peter Gabriel’s 1986 album, So, I am focusing more on Kate Bush’s vocal. The song won an Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 1987. Originally, Dolly Parton was considered for the song but she turned it down. You cannot imagine anyone but Kate Bush adding this material, compassionate, reassuring and hugely affecting vocal. It is one of the most affecting vocal performances on any song. I will talk more about the video, in which Bush and Gabriel embrace for the entire song. Gabriel quite rightly was quoted as saying “There are worse ways of earning a living”. So many people would kill to have been in his place! Don’t Give Up has helped so many people through their struggles. In 2014, Elton John credited his sobriety to that song. Particularly these lines from Bush: "Rest your head. You worry too much. It's going to be all right. When times get rough you can fall back on us. Don't give up”.
The late Matthew Perry had the song played at his funeral last year as the track made a big impact on him. It was also referenced in signed copies of his autobiography Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, which was released a year before his death. He played that song because he felt that we should not give up. Because Bush’s delivers the title and gives this reassurance against Peter Gabriel’s hopelessness and on-the-edge-of-a-bridge solemness, I think that her vocal is more impactful and important. It is Peter Gabriel’s song and lyrics, and there is this richness and perfect chemistry between the two. Bush had previously contributed to a couple of Gabriel songs prior to Don’t Give Up. Gabriel appeared on Kate Bush’s Christmas special in 1979 and performed solo and with Bush (on a cover of Roy Harper’s Another Day). They were firm friends and inspired each other. Gabriel influenced Bush embracing the Fairlight CMI and technology. Both adapted and constructed their own studios to work on their masterpieces – Gabriel for So (1986) and Bush for Hounds of Love (1985). They had a lot in common. Although Gabriel has never appeared on a Kate Bush album, many consider Don’t Give Up to be a Kate Bush song. So commanding and unforgettable is her contribution. I will end by writing about why her vocal has an affect on me. Not the same way Elton John and Matthew Perry were moved by it. I am going to start off by looking at the song and what people made of it.
Reaching number nine in the U.K., it arrived in a year when Kate Bush was still putting out singles from Hounds of Love. The Big Sky came out earlier in the year. The single from 1986’s greatest hits, The Whole Story, arrived the same day as Don’t Give Up (27th October, 1986). Experiment IV reached twenty-three in the U.K. It was a fascinating year in terms of Hounds of Love, but also Bush working with others and also being involved with her greatest hits collection. Hearing the vast contrast between The Big Sky, Don’t Give Up and Experiment IV! Don’t Give Up has this life-saving power. There is no telling how many people it has saved from the abyss. Either from dying or succumbing to addiction. Speaking to the lonely, it resonated with me. Feeling isolated and lonely in a busy city. One that seems to be a lot colder and less kind than many others. Not feeling at home or safe. Feeling exhausted all the time. Let’s move to a feature from this year by American Songwriter. They give background to the heartfelt and extraordinary powerful duet between Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush:
“There are several stories about how Gabriel was inspired to write “Don’t Give Up.” His wife at the time claimed to have shown him a newspaper story about a young mother’s suicide, and that was the main impetus for the song. Gabriel also mentioned Depression-era photographs as inspiring the notion of overcoming adversity. Some also claim Gabriel was undergoing his own dark period when he wrote the song.
In any case, “Don’t Give Up,” like the rest of So, was brought to life with the help of producer Daniel Lanois. His job, in addition to helping Gabriel realize the sounds he was hearing in his head, was to keep him to task. The producer insisted on not inviting musicians into the project until Gabriel had banged the songs into shape and had written the bulk of the lyrics, a process which was the antithesis of how the artist had worked on previous albums.
Gabriel created the foundation of “Don’t Give Up” from a drum-machine pattern. Tony Levin added a bass line that helped to form an absorbing groove. The slightly exotic and deeply moody music stood in sharp contrast to the singles on So, and that variety goes a long way into explaining why the album is so captivating.
Choose Your Partner
Because Gabriel had already worked with British pop legend Bush on a few occasions prior to So, you might assume that he wrote “Don’t Give Up” with her in mind. (You might also assume that because she does such a mesmerizing job on the track.) But in an interview with The Quietus, he explained that he had originally imagined someone else singing:
“There’s an interesting story about this song. Because there was this reference point of American roots music in it when I first wrote it, it was suggested that Dolly Parton sing on it. But Dolly turned it down … and I’m glad she did because what Kate did on it is … brilliant. It’s an odd song, a number of people have written to me and said they didn’t commit suicide because they had that song on repeat or whatever, and obviously you don’t think about things like that when you’re writing them. But obviously a lot of the power of the song came from the way that Kate sings it.”
One can only wonder what it would have been like had Parton accepted the offer. But it can’t be denied that the chemistry between Gabriel and Bush helped push “Don’t Give Up” to a level most duets can’t hope to achieve.
What is the Meaning of “Don’t Give Up”?
Whatever may have inspired “Don’t Give Up,” it seems like the narrator of the song has been pushed to the hilt by circumstances (societal, financial) that are beyond his control. In this proud land we grew up strong, he begins. Contrast that with his current situation: No fight left or so it seems / I am a man whose dreams have all deserted.
In the second verse, he mentions that he didn’t think he’d be affected by the tumult all around him. He also hints at labor problems: For every job, so many men / So many men no one needs. His home, once his rock and foundation, no longer can provide any consolation: As daylight broke, I saw the earth / The trees had burned down to the ground.
Yet each time this guy seems to come to his lowest point, Bush’s voice bursts through his clouds with words of love and comfort. You can imagine her as his wife, or, considering the song takes on a gospel vibe, an angelic voice sent to show him his worth. There’s a place where we belong, she concludes. Even though she may not have been the initial choice, Kate Bush certainly belonged on “Don’t Give Up,” helping Peter Gabriel deliver one of his most inspirational messages”.
In 1986, Adam Sweeting of Melody Maker said of Don’t Give Up: “The stand-out track [of the album So] is ‘Don’t Give Up’… set against his sombre narrative comes Kate Bush’s imploring counterpoint, begging him to believe in himself the way his family and friends do. Her fragile anguished performance gives the piece almost unbearable emotional impact”. You can read more about the track here. Released on 27th October, 1986, I am a bit early to the anniversary. It is a truly fascinating song:
“Written by Peter Gabriel, the song was produced by Daniel Lanois and Peter and engineered by Kevin Killen and Lanois and features the guest vocals of Kate Bush. Bush had previously provided vocals for the tracks Games Without Frontiers and No Self Control on Peter’s third solo album.
The song was inspired by a Dorothea Lange photograph, but was also informed by the high levels of unemployment under the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher of the 1980s, as Peter told the NME at the time of the release of So:
“The catalyst for ‘Don’t Give Up’ was a photograph I saw by Dorothea Lange, inscribed ‘In This Proud Land’, which showed the dust-bowl conditions during the Great Depression in America. Without a climate of self-esteem it’s impossible to function”
The cover was designed by Peter Saville and Brett Wickens for Peter Saville Associates, with photography by Trevor Key.
The single first charted in the UK on 1 November 1986, peaked at 9 and stayed in the Top75 for 11 weeks. In the USA the single reached #72 on the Hot 100 on 25 April 1987 and stayed on the chart for six weeks”.
The final feature I want to bring in is this. Although Don’t Give Up is inspired by a real-life suicide and heart-breaking tragedy, its lyrics and sentiments are more universal. They apply as much to the world today and people’s loneliness as they did in 1986. For me and so many others, that perfect blend of Peter Gabriel’s lyrics and anguished vocals are perfectly embraced and complimented by Kate Bush’s sweetness, understanding and strength. The video is so powerful. Gabriel and Bush embracing and hanging on. Gabriel trying not to fall as Bush offers this rock and anchor. It is a simple concept but potent and memorable because it does not rely on multiple cuts and a busy set and storyline. The visualisation of this hug and closeness is what the song gives to so many people:
“Calling upon his friend and fellow musician Kate Bush to duet with him, the song took on a conversational tone--Gabriel singing the part of a down-trodden man who has lost his job, and is finding no reason to stay alive, and Bush singing the part of his wife/friend/someone who cares telling him it will be alright and there is still plenty to live for. The song wavers back and forth between sorrowful and uplifting with every verse as the two "converse" through song. It's such a sweet duet with so much emotion. Though Gabriel may not have been facing the struggles himself, it's clear from the way he sings the song that he could empathize with those who were, putting himself in the shoes of someone at their wit's end. Kate Bush's sweet, airy voice of reassurance is peaceful and radiates light and serenity in the midst of darkness.
The song was released with an equally sweet music video, which is essentially just six and a half minutes of an embrace between the two singers. Their body language is so genuine and sincere that some even questioned if they were secretly an item. Whether they were or weren't isn't that important, but I guarantee no other music video will make you crave closeness with a loved one more than this one.
For me, the song always takes on a bittersweet tone. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying this for anyone else who has listened to it during dark periods in their life: It can be hard to listen to. Not because it sounds bad, but when we feel depressed, we also feel numb. But the song forces us to acknowledge our sorrow and our feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness. And that's not something that's fun to do. However, once that emotional portal is open, we become more receptive to Kate Bush's sweet, and uplifting lyrics that perhaps echo things our loved ones have told us, but we took for granted:
"Don't give up
'Cause you have friends
Don't give up
You're not the only one
Don't give up
No reason to be ashamed
Don't give up
You still have us
Don't give up now
We're proud of who you are"
When in a place of self-doubt, we often ignore these phrases of comfort. But when hearing them in song, it somehow gets through to us better. And I think--no, I know--Gabriel realized that music had that power, and that's why he made the song.
Everyone has points in their personal lives when this song can be a helpful tool for them. But I think right now as we go through a global crisis that has left millions fighting to make ends meet, over-working, and overall just feeling like giving up--we need this song just as much now as we did then. And we are so lucky that we have it now”.
As I look ahead to the thirty-eighth anniversary of Don’t Give Up on 27th October, I can appreciate how it adapts through time. It had a distinct meaning and origin in 1986. Now, it can apply to an individual’s struggle or the genocide and horror we see in the world. Having to stay strong or believe that better will come. For me, it has a very personal relevance. I identify with the lyrics and do feel in a place where I am struggling and trying to find hope. It is Kate Bush’s vocal that gets to me most. Not just because it is Kate Bush and I have that bias! To me, her delivery and the emotion she puts into her lines is so moving. Trembling and warm, there is this audible and sonic hug that comes from her singing. I know that she didn’t get the vocal on the first take and had some doubts. Bush laid down her vocals in February 1986 at Peter Gabriel’s home studio in Ashcombe House. Gabriel had previously recorded his vocals, so she followed his vocal when performing her part. After this recording, Bush felt she had “messed it up” and so she returned later to sing it again. The fact Don’t Give Up has been covered been many times shows how meaningful it is. Bush made a surprise appearance at Earl’s Court, London to sing Don’t Give Up with Peter Gabriel on 28th June, 1987 (the second photo in this post sees her on stage with him).
The most affecting lines from Kate Bush are these: “Don’t give up now/We’re proud of who you are/Don’t give up/You know it’s never been easy/Don’t give up/‘Cause I believe there’s a place/There’s a place where we belong”. It is one of my favourite Kate Bush vocals. A soulfulness and tremulous quality I would love to have seen explored more. One can say you can draw a line between Don’t Give Up and Kate Bush’s vocals on The Sensual World’s title track from 1989. I am listening to this song a lot and concentrating on Bush’s vocal. As I am struggling with some things and really not feeling safe or connected to men around me in the city I live in, I need some reassurance. Feeling alone and tired, there have been some dark and stressful times recently. Bush’s delivery of Peter Gabriel’s words are giving me some comfort. Not in people but in the music and the messages through Don’t Give Up. It is this song that gives so much light and hope to so many. I love the video and keep watching it because it lifts me. Seeing them embracing sort of comes through the screen and has this very real tangibility and power. Nearly thirty-eight years after its release, Don’t Give Up is rescuing so many people from a dark place. It hits you like a sledgehammer. How many other songs…
HAVE that sort of affect?!