(Emily)

We're all alone on the stage tonight
We've been told we're not afraid of you
We know all our lines so well, uh-huh
We've said them so many times
Time and time again
Line and line again

Ooh, yeah, you're amazing!
We think you're incredible
You say we're fantastic
But still we don't head the bill

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Unbelievable!
Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Unbelievable!

When the actor reaches his death
You know it's not for real, he just holds his breath
But he always dives too soon, too fast to save himself

He'll never make the screen
He'll never make the Sweeney
Be that movie queen
He's too busy hitting the Vaseline

Ooh, yeah, you're amazing!
We think you are really cool
We'd give you a part, my love
But you'd have to play the fool

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Unbelievable!
Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! Unbelievable!

We're all alone on the stage tonight
We're all alone
On the stage
Tonight


Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery

Wow Lyrics as written by Kate Bush

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Wow song meanings
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13 Comments

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  • +5
    General Comment

    well, this song is actually about "art industry" in general, how fake everything is, and how little true souls there are in it in general. and this isn ot an "i think", it's what i've read/heard on some katey interview.

    carrotkinson June 19, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I'm not completely sure but i think this is about how hard it is to get into acting and be successful. The way the lyrics hint at some sort of performance suggest this sort of thing several times. It may also be an indication of how fickle fame can be and how insecure the business is.

    Licion October 13, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I disagree I think she sings this song as though its in a play just as a metaphor about a man who believes himself to be a great lover and highly successful. I think the chorus in this song is just humoring the man but the verses show what the song is really about.

    cheesezebraon July 31, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    i think it's about an actor who is a really good actor but is being delayed the parts he wants to play because he is gay i love the way that she sings it, along with the keyboards at the beginning sounds...almost scary, but it's a nice sound

    daferdatyon June 03, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    At the beginning of the song Kate whispers 'Emily'. To be entirely sure I don't have a clue what that means, but this song is basically my life. Starting with, 'We're all alone on the stage tonight' is me and my ex-boyfriend doing a play together. It quite literally did bring us together. Everything mentioned in this song all makes sense to me. And the creepier bit is that it says my name at the beginning. I will see what you guys think. Love Emily xx

    katebushemzon July 17, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I mostly agree what you guys are saying about the song being about a homosexual man who is incapable of getting the really macho roles - however, I think all the 'you're amazing' and 'you're wonderful' bits are sarcasm - Kate is taking the view of a director/producer, and the homosexual man is trying too hard to become the actor.

    'But he always dives too soon, too fast to save himself'; this line suggests to me that he practices things extensively ('We've said them so many times,') and just overall puts so much effort in, but never makes the part because of other reasons (his sexuality, etc).

    I only get this impression because I have known many gay men, and they generally always have a tendency to put so much effort in when they just might not be right for a certain part, especially in theatrical things, etc. I mean, this goes for everyone, too, so the song might not be based on sexuality but looks in general, or something.

    Sorry for the 'all-over-the-place' comment, multi-tasking =D cheers~

    makeshift jesuson December 01, 2007   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    couldn´t it be about how films ruined theatre? the first part is about some unexchangeable theater actor Emily (but really don´t know who is it), the second part seemes to me like an expression of how the theatre is always more recognizable fiction than the movie?

    peibl1on April 10, 2012   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    The homage is probably for Emily Brontë [1818-1848], the author of the novel Wuthering Heights that inspired young adolescent Kate Bush. It's a deeply moving love story that equals only in sadness Emily's life herself. Kate and Emily share the same birthday 30th July, 140 years appart.

    Concerning the song I too agree that it's a satire about how fake and overdone producers can be in the showbiz industry and how insecure it can make it for actors (gay or not :).

    pat255on October 09, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Firstly i do not think this song is specifically about gay artists in their profession but i do admit though her campness does make us think of them whether she is intending to parody a gay perpetrator or a gay victim//

    i think the song is specifically a satire on the negative feedback artists are subjected to from within the profession (directors, casting personnel etcc...) or outside it (the audience, the critics). She references them all in the lyrics.

    She is mocking the would-be know it alls and also the artists themselves for almost asking for it. I like the fact that she is portraying both sides of the story. She is saying yes i am an artist and i am subjected to the pretentious nonsense from the profession and the press/ public but she is also saying maybe we are pretentious ourselves and indulgent.

    the ending: 'we are all alone tonight' is a haunting mirror that we witness her holds up to herself: almost as a test to whether or not she is really being herself.

    This opens it up more as a question: who is worse?

    Makeitmeansomethingon February 07, 2015   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    WOW BOB WOW

    exobscuraon August 15, 2021   Link

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