I remember it was that Wednesday
Oh when it rained and it rained
They traipsed mud all over the house
It took hours and hours to scrub it out
All over the hall carpet
I took my mop and bucket
And I cleaned and I cleaned

The kitchen floor
Until it sparkled
Then I took my laundry basket
And put the linen all in it
And everything I could fit in it
And all our dirty clothes that hadn't gone into the wash
And all your shirts and jeans and things
And put them in the new washing machine
Washing machine
Washing machine

I watched them go 'round and 'round
My blouse wrapping itself in your trousers
Oh the waves are going out
My skirt floating up around my waist
As I wade out into the surf
Oh and the waves are coming in
Oh and the waves are going out
Oh and you're standing right behind me
Little fish swim between my legs

Oh and the waves are coming in
Oh and the waves are going out
Oh and the waves are coming in
Out of the corner of my eye
I think I see you standing outside
But it's just your shirt
Hanging on the washing line
Waving its arm as the wind blows by
And it looks so alive
Nice and white
Just like its climbed right out
Of my washing machine
Washing machine
Washing machine

Slooshy sloshy slooshy sloshy
Get that dirty shirty clean
Slooshy sloshy slooshy sloshy
Make those cuffs and collars gleam
Everything clean and shiny

Washing machine
Washing machine
Washing machine

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Lyrics submitted by dallew, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Mrs. Bartolozzi Lyrics as written by Kate Bush

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Mrs. Bartolozzi song meanings

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Song Meaning
It's essentially a housewife doing the washing and fantasizing about making love. Bush herself said it was the filthiest thing she'd ever written. Similarities are obvious to "The Sensual World" as a stream-of-consciousness memory of a lovers' liaison. For me, the beauty of "Mrs. Bartolozzi" is the framing of this, er... activity... by the simple act of doing the washing - as if the function of housework itself was an element of lovemaking, imbued with all the sensuality of a steamy bedroom encounter. The repetitious piano motifs are hypnotic, undulating beneath the mundane lyrics and activating them, stimulating them, to a climax at "so alive", before falling away again to the gentle, repeated refrain "washing machine". It's pure poetry.

It's essentially a housewife doing the washing and fantasizing about making love. Bush herself said it was the filthiest thing she'd ever written. Similarities are obvious to "The Sensual World" as a stream-of-consciousness memory of a lovers' liaison. For me, the beauty of "Mrs. Bartolozzi" is the framing of this, er... activity... by the simple act of doing the washing - as if the function of housework itself was an element of lovemaking, imbued with all the sensuality of a steamy bedroom encounter. The repetitious piano motifs are hypnotic, undulating beneath the mundane lyrics and activating them, stimulating them, to a climax at "so alive", before falling away again to the gentle, repeated refrain "washing machine". It's pure poetry.

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FrankBon September 18, 2023 Link
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