Hounds of Love Lyrics
Running in the night
Afraid of what might be
Hiding in the dark
Hiding in the street
And of what was following me
I've always been a coward
And I don't know what's good for me
It's coming for me through the trees
Help me someone help me please
Take my shoes off and throw them in the lake
And I'll be two steps on the water
He let me take him in my hands
His little heart, it beat so fast
And I'm ashamed of running away
From nothing real, I just can't deal with this
I'm still afraid to be there
And feel your arms surround me
I've always been a coward
And never know what's good for me
Don't let me go
Hold me down
It's coming for me through the trees
Help me darling, help me please
Take my shoes off and throw them in the lake
And I'll be two steps on the water
I don't know what's good for me
I need love, love, love, love, yeah
Your love
Take your shoes off and throw them in the lake
Do you know what I really need?
Do you know that I really need?
I need love, love, love, love
A superlative song dealing with awakening sexuality and the difficult transition from adolescence to adulthood.
A child uses game-playing to work through the fears of becoming adult… But the adjustment is never easy… and inevitably, the hounds of love come baying… This awakening sexuality harks back to her childhood fears…
The narrator wants to preserve her childlike innocence AND to overcome her fears... ‘Take my shoes off and throw them in the lake’ suggests a compromise between shedding and retaining innocence. ‘On the water’ is about preserving innocence (Jesus) AND overcoming fears (through faith, Peter overcame his fears and walked on water).
She is scared (sometimes terrified) of the transition… but she recognizes her fears as childish… The fox allowed her to take him in her hands because he sensed they were both terrified… But the fox had a very real reason for running scared (of the hounds)… She thus feels ashamed of being so afraid of what are only natural needs and desires.
The song also recognises the same fears and anxieties in her (adolescent) partner… He is also hounded by the hounds of love… He must also shed his innocence, have the faith to overcome his fears, and abandon himself to adulthood (‘take your shoes off…)…
Theresa, you just described ME. Wow!
Theresa, you just described ME. Wow!
She takes her shoes off and throws them in the lake in order to throw off the hounds that are tracing her scent.
She crosses the water to try and lose the hounds. Two steps implies a commital act. One step, you can still go back; this ties in with the "I've always been a coward/and never known what's good for me" line. She wants someone to make the decision for her.
Yeah, how do people miss this? Dogs lose the scent trail in water, that is common theme in movies, etc. Excellent!
Yeah, how do people miss this? Dogs lose the scent trail in water, that is common theme in movies, etc. Excellent!
Yeah, how do people miss this? Dogs lose the scent trail in water, that is common theme in movies, etc. Excellent!
Yeah, how do people miss this? Dogs lose the scent trail in water, that is common theme in movies, etc. Excellent!
Yeah, how do people miss this? Dogs lose the scent trail in water, that is common theme in movies, etc. Excellent!
Yeah, how do people miss this? Dogs lose the scent trail in water, that is common theme in movies, etc. Excellent!
This is not a Futureheads song, I agree. I have only heard the Futureheads cover and I think they do a fantastic job of it - but naturally they had great lyrics to build on. But still, it all makes sense - except for the lyric "take my shoes off and throw them in the lake and I will be two steps on the water" I mean, what the fuck does that mean? This song inspired me to research fox hunting and write a 60 page story on it.
The world of adult love is hurtling at her and she doesn't know how to deal. So she pleads for someone to take her shoes off and throw them in the lake, i.e. take her childish constraints and get rid of them, and she'll have the confidence to take a second step beyond the first step of interest. But this world she yearns for can be harsh and little foxes might get hurt. It has to do with praying for confidence and desiring the ease with which some seem to play this game of love.
The world of adult love is hurtling at her and she doesn't know how to deal. So she pleads for someone to take her shoes off and throw them in the lake, i.e. take her childish constraints and get rid of them, and she'll have the confidence to take a second step beyond the first step of interest. But this world she yearns for can be harsh and little foxes might get hurt. It has to do with praying for confidence and desiring the ease with which some seem to play this game of love.
The Futureheads version is okay, but c'mon nothing can beat Kate!
It's about being afraid to love, but she's going to try to... "I don't know what's good for me", "Help me someone help me please."
I like the line "Take my shoes off and throw them in the lake" - metaphor for letting herself go & be free & love..
Of course, the song is multi-layered. Other interpretations concern… The yearning for freedom from neurotic patterns… How our present fears/neuroses have their roots in childhood fears… And how unsuccessful resolutions (‘I’ve always been a coward’) make the cycle of adulthood commitments and challenges more trying & difficult to deal with (‘and I don't know what's good for me’). The young Kate Bush wanted to be a psychiatrist. Instead, she became a brilliant song-writer!
stinaribena, Hounds of Love borrows the words "It's in the trees! It's coming!" from the film, Night of the Demon (1957).
On "The Red Shoes" album credits, KaTe thanks Joseph Campbell.
KaTe says that when she was writing 'Hounds of Love' she came across a line about hounds and the whole idea of being chased by love as something terrifying. The imagery of being hunted by love made a marked impression on her.
KaTe: "When I was writing the song I sorta started coming across this line about hounds and I thought "hounds of love" and the whole idea of being chasing by this love that actually gonna... when it get you it just going to rip you to pieces, [raises voice] you know, and have your guts all over the floor! So this very sort of... being hunted by love, I liked the imagery, I thought it was really good." Radio 1, Classic Albums interview: Hounds Of Love, aired January 26, 1992 http://gaffa.org/reaching/ir85_r1.html
So could the inspiration for Hounds of Love have been Thompson's poem, "The Hound of Heaven"? Thompson's poem is quoted in The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, p.50.
It's in the trees! It's coming! ... In the 1999 book Paradox, author Richard Patterson suggested that Francis Thompson was Jack the Ripper!
the futureheads wrecked it, they suck and they suck. its about her being scared to love but she doesnt wanna be scared to love, she wants to love someone. the hounds of love are comin for her cause someone loves her. futureheads are an improvement my ass. they suck and blow at the same time.
The Futureheads version is a great cover. Original will always be best tho
It annoys me immensely when people claim that this is The Futurehead's songs. NO, it's not. They aren't talented enough to pen a tune like this. Fantastic song by Kate, mediocre song when done by The Futureheads.