Chords for Kate Bush & Stranger Things Just Made the Impossible Happen

So the other day I went into the living room and my wife and kids were sitting watching Stranger
Things, the [Bb] last episode.
And I don't ever watch Stranger Things.
I mean I've sat in on a couple
episodes or so but I don't [Db] really know the series.
But they are totally into it.
And this was the
final scene.
I'm not going to give away what was going on but [Ab] one of the things that I heard was
the Kate Bush song, Running Up That Hill.
_ _ _ [Bb] _ [C] _
That people have been talking about for weeks and
people have been asking me, Rick are you going to talk about the song?
Kate Bush is an incredible
artist [Gm] that I've been listening to since [Fm] 1978, since her first record.
She was discovered by
David Gilmour.
As a matter of fact, one of the [N] only live versions of this song is from 1987 with
her and David Gilmour.
That's really one of the few live performances.
Kate Bush did not perform
live for most of her career.
It's fascinating that this song has risen to the top of the charts.
Number one song in the UK.
Oldest person to ever have a number one song.
Kate Bush is 63 now.
If you
go back to her first record, The Kickin' Side, which came out in 1978, a quintessential 80s song.
It starts out with this beautiful [Cm] pad. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ The first thing that grabs you in the intro is just that
_ beautiful pad.
Just the notes C and E flat.
So lush and airy and sets up the whole mood for the song.
And then the drums come in.
_ [Ab] Really busy actually.
The chord progression that's going on here is
A flat major, [Eb] then B flat sus4 [Cm] sus2 to C minor.
The song is in C minor.
Then you have the synth
melody that comes in over these same three chords.
_ _ _ Right here. _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ Over the chord progression it goes
_ [Ab] _ to the third of the A flat chord, [Eb] then _ [Bb] the sus2 of the B flat chord, and then to the
[C] flat 7 to the root of the C minor [Gm] chord.
This descending minor [Abm] 7th interval jump from B flat [Bb] to C
_ [C]
happens either [Eb] with B flat [C] G C or just B flat C.
But that is [N] really a main hook in the song.
It's this really large kind of [Ab] unusual interval jump to have in a song.
There it is.
_ [F] _ _ [Cm] _ _
_ _ _ Before the
vocals come [Db] in on that second chord, the B flat chord, there's something specific about that that
gives the song its vibe.
So on the first [Ab] chord, the A flat chord, it's just A flat major.
But the second
chord, that [Cm] C and E flat [C] hold, and it becomes a B flat with the sus2 and sus4.
[N] In a second you'll
see why this chord is so important in the chorus.
This video is brought to you in part by my upcoming
live shows in Seattle and Los Angeles.
Click the link in the description to be part of a live
What Makes This Song Great and Ask Me Anything From The Audience.
Next, Kate enters with the first [Cm] verse. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [Ab] _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _
_ [Ab] _ [Bb] _ _ [Cm] Notice how [Gm] _ _
[Ab] _ _ [Bb] _ [E] the [Db] vocals just jump in almost off [Ab] rhythm with these 16th note upbeats.
_ _ [Bb] _
_ [Eb] _ _ [Gm] _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Bb]
[Cm] All those big intervals.
_ [Gm] _ [Ab] _ She [Bb] _
[Cm] _ _ _ [Gm] _ [Ab] goes from this really [Bb] fast moving melodic singing to this ethereal Kate Bush sound.
_ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _
_ [Cm] And [Ab] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ then_
_ _ _ [Bb] _
[Eb] _ The [N] chorus just jumps out right there.
Just kind of out of nowhere.
You're coming from this verse,
which is very rhythmic with a lot of offbeat accents, into this chorus that suddenly hits.
The song is about a man and woman switching positions so they get each other's perspective.
[Eb] And they've made a deal with God to do [N] this instead of making a deal with the devil.
It's
so clever. _ _ _ _
Just _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [Ab] _ beautiful imagery.
_ _ _ _ [Bb] _ [Cm] Right there.
There are two dissonances that happen right here in the chorus that make the song great.
Make you want to listen to it over and over.
At the end of the first line she says,
and if I [Ab] only could, and the note_
is on the note G.
And that's a major seventh of that A flat chord.
And then she says, I make a deal with [C] God.
That is the money note right there.
_ _ Hear _ that [Bb] dissonance?
_ _ [C] _ That dissonance, that D,
_ [Bb] is rubbing against the [Eb] sus4 of the B flat chord.
Because that B flat chord,
[Dbm] remember, is a sus4 [C] sus2. _ _
_ _ When she sings [Bb] that note, _ _
it gives you a sense of longing.
And this is [Ab] really what makes that chorus sound so beautiful. _ _ _
_ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _ Great lyrics. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Beautiful.
Beautiful. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ And it's just mood.
This is just all mood.
Beautiful.
[Ab] _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _
_ [Ab] _ _ [Cm] _ All those answered vocals.
[Ab] _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _
That's [Ab] a [Bb] great [Cm] line.
Oh. _ _ _
[Ab] _ _ [Bb] _ [Eb] _ _ _ Beautiful.
[Ab] So [Bb] she goes from the intense singing, doubled, harmonized,
and then she comes back with [Eb] the ethereal line. _ _ _
_ [Ab] _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _ _
[Ab] Then_
_ [Eb] _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Eb] _
[Ab] Brings it down.
_ _ _ [Cm] _ _
_ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _
[Ab] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Cm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[N] I mean, it's really jarring.
The lyrics are incredibly good.
The concept of the song,
the way that it works with the visuals of Stranger Things.
It just works with the scenes
that it's in.
I wish I could show you some of them.
I don't want to spoil it for anybody that
hasn't seen it yet, especially in the last episode.
I'm so happy to see people rediscover
Kate Bush, who's absolutely brilliant.
Absolutely a brilliant writer, lyricist, a visionary in that
she was producing her own music and doing her own thing, really before just about anybody.
She didn't go out and do live gigs.
She didn't do anything that you had to do to be famous back
then, except write great songs.
And that is a lesson right there that I think still applies
to today.
If you don't know this record, Hounds of Love, you should definitely check it out.
Go back and check out Kate Bush's entire catalog.
Love to know your [Ab] comments on this.
Thanks so much for watching.
_ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _ _
_ _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [N] _ _ _