Outside gets inside, Through her skin,
I've been out before
But this time it's much safer in.
Last night, in the sky,
Such a bright light.
My radar send me danger
But my instincts tell me to
Keep Breathing
CHORUS
Breathing
Breathing, my mother in,
Breathing, my beloved in,
Breathing, Breathing her nicotine, Breathing
Breathing, the fall out-in, out-in, out-in, out-in, out-in.
We've lost our chance, we're the first and last,
After the blast,
Chips of Plutonium are twinkling in every lung.
I love my beloved,
All and everywhere,
Only the fools blew it,
You and me knew life itself is Breathing.
CHORUS
What are we going to do without
Ooh, please, let me breathe,
Quick, breathe in deep,
Leave us something to breathe,
Ooh, Life is -
Breathing.
I've been out before
But this time it's much safer in.
Last night, in the sky,
Such a bright light.
My radar send me danger
But my instincts tell me to
Keep Breathing
Breathing
Breathing, my mother in,
Breathing, my beloved in,
Breathing, Breathing her nicotine, Breathing
Breathing, the fall out-in, out-in, out-in, out-in, out-in.
After the blast,
Chips of Plutonium are twinkling in every lung.
I love my beloved,
All and everywhere,
Only the fools blew it,
You and me knew life itself is Breathing.
Ooh, please, let me breathe,
Quick, breathe in deep,
Leave us something to breathe,
Ooh, Life is -
Breathing.
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I actually spoke to Kate Bush about this song. She was doing a rare signing at the Virgin Megastore in London and she signed my copy of this song.
Breathing is written from the perspective of a baby in the womb waiting to be born into a polluted world.
I specifically asked her about the line "I've been out before, but this time it's much safer in", and whether this implied the baby was conceived in a test tube. While she liked this suggestion, she said that she was actually referring to reincarnation and the baby's recollection of a previous life.
So there. Glad to clear that up!
I think this is about the total reliant relationship an unborn baby has with it's mother AND the relationship we all have with those in power. The backdrop is nuclear war and having such a bomb go off. Instead of dying immediately - the pregnant woman here is in the fallout zone and it is the radiation that will eventually (probably fairlly quickly) kill her.
The woman has no choice but to breathe in the deadly air and thus she will kill herself and her baby. The baby is totally reliant on her. Similarly those in power are the mother to the rest of us. We are, in effect the baby, who are totally reliant on them for our survival. And like the mother - they have unwittingly killed us - their baby. We can presume that no democratic country would purposefully kill it's population - but can assume it could get caught up in a nuclear war which they were partially responsible for and thus sealing the fate of it's people.
However Kate sees herself (the Mother), her baby and us - as being different from those in power. They - and the ones who they are fighting the nuclear way - are the fools. She begs for clean air and sanity but it's too late. The powers have caused Mutually Assured Destruction upon themselves. Therefore their people and themselves will die - along with the mother and unborn child.
Instead they should realised that we all - us and our percieved enemies breathe and rely on the same air. Similarly this could be updated to climate change. If you only think about yourself and not think about the bigger picture or the damage your actions will cause - then you may bring about your own destruction.
I agree with GaffaUK but it seems you have all left out one vital word.
I agree with GaffaUK but it seems you have all left out one vital word.
Nicotine.
Nicotine.
I think she is also referring to the fact that mothers pregnant all over the world neglect their babies welfare and continue to smoke during pregnancy and after birth, thus doing the same to a baby in a local term, as a nuclear explosion would world wide, not only of a personal loss, but a world wide loss.
I think she is also referring to the fact that mothers pregnant all over the world neglect their babies welfare and continue to smoke during pregnancy and after birth, thus doing the same to a baby in a local term, as a nuclear explosion would world wide, not only of a personal loss, but a world wide loss.
i think this song is about a mother and her child hiding in a bomb shelter, thats what most of the lines indicates. Its a very sad song i think..As if you know they're both gonna die and u feel what they feel in the last moments of their lives. It had a strong effect on me. But the picture rikku got , about a baby in its mothers womb is also interesting..this is what i love about kates songs. They often let u get your own ideas
I think that this song can be related to a lot of things, whatever you want it to mean, like every song. However, if you want to look at the basics it's obviously about nuclear war and bombs. Kate Bush is saying that people quite often seem to forget that to live you need to breathe, and you cannot breathe without air. Also, people like you, me, her and her beloved know that all you need to do is breathe, but we are not the ones in control. Sounds obvious, but. :)
it's interesting to turn up the volume when it goes quiet in the middle, listen to what the guy is saying. All about the after effects of atomic warfare. clever
I think this song is about a baby in its mother's womb - 'outside gets inside through her skin' & 'breathing my mother in'. It paints a truly tragic picture of a baby that doesn't want to be born because of a nuclear explosion outside. Also, the 'only the fools blew it, you and me knew life itself is breathing' refers to the fact that its often children and recent mothers/pregant women who see life in its most simplest form - surviving and breathing. Either way, its a fantastic song and one of the first of Kate's I ever heard.