Sting in the Ear: Running up that hill

Last week I talked about Kate Bush, and actually it all started with an urge to ear and share the different versions of the music Running up that Hill. 
Oddly, I was cooking and the music came to my mind, and as I started to sing I though about sharing it.

Kate Bush

Kate Bush

Official music video for the single "Running Up That Hill" written and produced by British singer Kate Bush. The song was the first single from Kate's 1985 album Hounds of Love and released in the UK on 5 August 1985. "Running Up That Hill" entered the UK chart at number 9 and eventually peaked at number 3. The single also reached the top 30 in the United States.

Originally the song was titled A Deal with God, but representatives at EMI were hesitant to release the song as titled due to possible negative reception due its use of the word God.
Bush changed the title; however, the album version of the song is listed as "Running Up that Hill (A Deal with God)". The executives of EMI initially wanted to release another song, (Cloudbusting,) as the lead single from the album. Bush successfully convinced them to release Running Up that Hill first, citing that it was the first song to be written for the album, and felt that it better represented the broader feel for Hounds of Love.

« I was trying to say that, really, a man and a woman, can't understand each other because we are a man and a woman. And if we could actually swap each other's roles, if we could actually be in each other's place for a while, I think we'd both be very surprised! [Laughs] And I think it would lead to a greater understanding. And really the only way I could think it could be done was either... you know, I thought a deal with the devil, you know. And I thought, 'well, no, why not a deal with God!' You know, because in a way it's so much more powerful the whole idea of asking God to make a deal with you. You see, for me it is still called "Deal With God", that was its title. But we were told that if we kept this title that it would not be played in any of the religious countries, Italy wouldn't play it, France wouldn't play it, and Australia wouldn't play it! Ireland wouldn't play it, and that generally we might get it blacked purely because it had God in the title.» [Radio 1 Classic Albums interview with Richard Skinner aired January 26, 1992]

Kate Bush sings with David Gilmour

Cover version by Placebo (original music video)

 

Cover Version by Within Temptation

Links
Kate Bush
Placebo
Wikipedia Running up that hill
Within Temptation