Expert: John - 1/19/2010

Question
Hi i was wondering about what the message of the song "This Woman Work" is. could you help me?

Answer
Hi Alicia, A song originally composed for the soundtrack of the film She's Having A Baby,(A 1988 film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes, starring Kevin Bacon, for which Kate composed the song) and included on the 1989 album The Sensual World.
Here's what Kate said about it:
 What inspired you to write ``thiswoman'swork.''

   There's a film called _She'sHaving a Baby. And John Hughes, the director, rung up and said that he had a sequence in the film that he really wanted a song written to be with. And I'd only worked the once before on the Castaway film - where I'd really enjoyed that - so I was extremely tempted by the offer. And when he sent the piece of film that the song was going to be [??? Part of], I just thought it was wonderful, it was so moving, a very moving piece of film. And in a way, there was a sense that the whole film built up to this moment. And it was a very easy song to write. It was very quick. And just kind of came, like a lot of songs do. Even if you struggle for months, in the end, they just kind of go - BLAH! - You know. [Laughs]. So that was the first song that I wrote for The Sensual World album. In fact at the time we weren't even sure whether to put it on the album or not. And I must say that Del was very instrumental in saying that I should put it on the album, and I'm very glad I did. Because I had the most fantastic response - in some ways, maybe the greatest response - to this song. And I was really - I was absolutely thrilled, that you felt that way about it. (1990 Kate Bush Con)

   John Hughes, the American director, was doing a film called _She'sHaving a Baby - a great film, very nice and comic. And he had this scene which he wanted me to write a song for where it gets very heavy. The film's about this guy who gets married and he likes being a kid, really - very much up in the clouds - and she gets pregnant and they go into hospital, and she's rushed off becuase the baby's in the breach position.

   And suddenly there he is, just left in the waiting room by himself. It's probably the first time in his life he's had to grow up. (1989, Melody Maker)

                                   

--oOo--

   That was a really easy song to put together; all that was added to the piano was a bit of Fairlight, a bit of backing vocals, and a tiny amount of orchestra - about four or five bars. But the difference it makes is extraordinary. (1989, International Musician)

                                   

--oOo--

   I think this is the big problem with song-writing - it's this blank page. You can start anywhere. There's too much to choose from, and I think technology in studios is doing the same to people. There's so much to choose from, so much information, that you're not working within restrictions that actually help you to form a direction. I'm sure that for me, doing this, it was quick and easy because the song had to be about that. It couldn't be about anything else. I think that helps tremendously. (1989, International Musician)

                                   

--oOo--

   Really, the subject matter in the film laid down the grounds for what the song was about. It's the man waiting in a waiting room while his wife is in there having a baby, and there are complications. So it's the exploration of someone being left on their own in a big way, very suddenly. In this part of the film, the guy has to grow up, he's suddenly confronted with all these terrible things, that he could be a much better human being. It's moments like that that make you feel] these things.

And life's not all fun and games.

   No, and that you should really try and make the most of it when you can, and not when it's too late. (1989, KFNX)

                                   

--oOo--

   It's a light film, very a young guy whose wife gets pregnant, and everything remains light until they get to the hospital, and suddenly she's rushed away and he's left sitting there. You get the impression that this is the moment when he has to start growing up. Up until then he's been a kid, and very happily so. It's a lovely piece and in some ways it's an exploration of guilt, I guess. (1989, Music Express)

Hope this helps
John