Listen: Kate Bush – The Dreaming

31 March 2021 | James Porteous | Clipper Media

‘Bang!’ goes another kanga
On the bonnet of the van
“See the light ram through the gaps in the land”
Many an Aborigine’s mistaken for a tree
‘Til you near him on the motorway
And the tree begin to breathe
“See the light ram through the gaps in the land”

(“Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha”)

Coming in with the golden light
In the morning
Coming in with the golden light
Is the New Man
Coming in with the golden light
Is my dented van

Woomera

“Dree-ee-ee-ee-ee-
A-a-a-a-a-
M-m-m-m-m-
Ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-
I-i-i-i-i-
Me-me-me-me-me,”

“Dree-ee-ee-ee-ee-“
Woomera.
“A-a-a-a-a-
M-m-m-m-m-
Ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-
I-i-i-i-i-
Me-me-me-me-me

“Dree-ee-ee-ee-ee-
A-a-a-a-a-
M-m-m-m-m-
Ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-“

Watch here or below

The civilised keep alive
The territorial war
“See the light ram through the gaps in the land”
Erase the race that claim the place
And say we dig for ore
Or dangle devils in a bottle
And push them from the Pull of the Bush
“See the light ram through the gaps in the land”
You find them in the road
“See the light bounce off the rocks to the sand”
In the road

Coming in with the golden light
In the morning
Coming in with the golden light
With no warning
Coming in with the golden light
We bring in the rigging
Dig, dig, dig, dig away

“Dree-ee-ee-ee-ee-
A-a-a-a-a-
M-m-m-m-m-
Ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-
I-i-i-i-i-
Me-me-me-me-me,”

“Dree-ee-ee-ee-ee-
A-a-a-a-a-
M-m-m-m-m-
Ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-
I-i-i-i-i-“
Woomera
“Me-me-me-me-me”

Ma-ma-many an Aborigine’s mistaken for a tree
(“La, la, oo-ooh!”)
“See the light ram through the gaps in the land”
You near him on the motorway
And the tree begin to breathe
Erase the race that claim the place
And say we dig for ore
“See the light ram through the gaps in the land”
Dangle devils in a bottle
And push them from the Pull of the Bush
“See the sun set in the hand of the man”

“Bang!” goes another kanga
On the bonnet of the van
“See the light bounce off the rocks to the sand”
You find them in the road
“See the light ram through the gaps in the land”
In the road
“See the light”
(“Push ’em from the”)
Pull of the Bush
“See the light bounce off the rocks to the sand”
(“Push ’em from the”)
Pull of the Bush
“See the sun set in the hand of the man”

(“Oh, re mikayina!”*)

Credits

Drums: Stuart Elliott
Didgeridoo: Rolf Harris
Piano, Fairlight: Kate Bush
Animals: Percy Edwards
Bullroarer, Backing vocals: Paddy Bush
Crowd: Gosfield Goers

Kate about ‘The Dreaming’

We started with the drums, working to a basic Linn drum machine pattern, making them sound as tribal and deep as possible. This song had to try and convey the wide open bush, the Aborigines – it had to roll around in mud and dirt, try to become a part of the earth. “Earthy” was the word used most to explain the sounds.

There was a flood of imagery sitting waiting to be painted into the song. The Aborigines move away as the digging machines move in, mining for ore and plutonium. Their sacred grounds are destroyed and their beliefs in Dreamtime grow blurred through the influence of civilization and alcohol. Beautiful people from a most ancient race are found lying in the roads and gutters. Thank God the young Australians can see what’s happening.


The piano plays sparse chords, just to mark every few bars and the chord changes. With the help of one of Nick Launay’s magic sounds, the piano became wide and deep, effected to the point of becoming voices in a choir.

The wide open space is painted on the tape, and it’s time to paint the sound that connects the humans to the earth, the dijeridu. The dijeridu took the place of the bass guitar and formed a constant drone, a hypnotic sound that seems to travel in circles.


None of us had met Rolf (Harris) before and we were very excited at the idea of working with him. He arrived with his daughter, a friend and an armful of dijeridus. He is a very warm man, full of smiles and interesting stories. I explained the subject matter of the song and we sat down and listened to the basic track a couple of times to get the feel.

He picked up a dijeridu, placing one end of it right next to my ear and the other at his lips, and began to play.


I’ve never experienced a sound quite like it before. It was like a swarm of tiny velvet bees circling down the shaft of the dijeridu and dancing around in my ear. It made me laugh, but there was something very strange about it, something of an age a long, long time ago.


Women are never supposed to play a dijeridu, according to Aboriginal laws; in fact there is a dijeridu used for special ceremonies, and if this was ever looked upon by a woman before the ceremony could take place, she was taken away and killed, so it’s not surprising that the laws were rarely disobeyed. After the ceremony, the instrument became worthless, its purpose over. (

Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982

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