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, ah-ha,
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,
CHORUS
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,
Wc'd give you a part my love,
But you'd have to play the fool.
CHORUS
WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, Unbelievable.
We've been told we're not afraid of you,
We know all our lines so well, ah-ha,
We've said them so many times,
Time and time again,
Line and line again.
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.
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 Sweeney",
Be that movie queen,
He's too busy hitting the vaseline.
We think you are really cool,
Wc'd give you a part my love,
But you'd have to play the fool.
WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, Unbelievable.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
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.
@carrotkins i agree that this is more addressed to art industry (gay or straight). It seems that being camp in the video has been taken too literally on this thread :(
@carrotkins i agree that this is more addressed to art industry (gay or straight). It seems that being camp in the video has been taken too literally on this thread :(
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
She whispers 'Emily' most likely in reference to her earlier single Wuthering Heights inspired by the novel of the same name written by Emily Bronte.
She whispers 'Emily' most likely in reference to her earlier single Wuthering Heights inspired by the novel of the same name written by Emily Bronte.
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.
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.
@cheesezebra i agree with you and think that her campness has been misinterpreted here. It is relevant to portray the narrator as a camp, it feeds into the tone of tragedy but i really think that she is making a two sided commentary on ALL artists versus their critics (see my posting)
@cheesezebra i agree with you and think that her campness has been misinterpreted here. It is relevant to portray the narrator as a camp, it feeds into the tone of tragedy but i really think that she is making a two sided commentary on ALL artists versus their critics (see my posting)
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
@daferdaty Not likely. Anyone acquainted with acting knows that the business is filled at every level with people who are gay. Such intolerance would havea very short shelf life in the business. There might be 1 or 2 individuals who have discriminated in a particular circumstance but to do so blatantly would be career suicide. Kate was still a teenager when she wrote this song and was probably not protesting the exclusion of gays from the theater. Though I suspect she was touching on gender roles and their being bent by some within the industry but I could be wrong...
@daferdaty Not likely. Anyone acquainted with acting knows that the business is filled at every level with people who are gay. Such intolerance would havea very short shelf life in the business. There might be 1 or 2 individuals who have discriminated in a particular circumstance but to do so blatantly would be career suicide. Kate was still a teenager when she wrote this song and was probably not protesting the exclusion of gays from the theater. Though I suspect she was touching on gender roles and their being bent by some within the industry but I could be wrong here too. She has not done a thesis on her meanings in this song.
@daferdaty YES The entertainment industry is very notorious for their homophobia
@daferdaty YES The entertainment industry is very notorious for their homophobia
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~
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?
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 :).
@pat255 Her real influence was the Manson Family
@pat255 Her real influence was the Manson Family
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?
@Makeitmeansomething utter nonsense
@Makeitmeansomething utter nonsense
WOW BOB WOW