Cloudbusting

This article is about a song. For the device, see cloudbuster.

"Cloudbusting"
Single by Kate Bush
from the album Hounds of Love
B-side
Released14 October 1985 (1985-10-14)[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:06 (song)
  • 6:59 (video)
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Kate Bush
Producer(s)Kate Bush
Kate Bush singles chronology
"Running Up That Hill"
(1985) 		"Cloudbusting"
(1985) 		"Hounds of Love"
(1986)
Music video
"Cloudbusting" on YouTube
Audio sample

"Cloudbusting" is a song written, produced and performed by English singer Kate Bush.[4] It was released as a single in October 1985, and was the second single released from her fifth studio album Hounds of Love (1985). The single peaked at No. 20 and spent 8 weeks in the UK Singles Chart.[5]

Taking inspiration from the 1973 Peter Reich memoir A Book of Dreams,[6] which Bush read and found deeply moving,[7] the song is about the very close relationship between psychiatrist and philosopher Wilhelm Reich and his young son, Peter, told from the point of view of the mature Peter. It describes the boy's memories of his life with Reich on their family farm, called Orgonon, where the two spent time "cloudbusting", a rain-making process which involved using a machine designed and built by Reich – a machine called a cloudbuster – to point at the sky. The lyrics further describes the elder Reich's abrupt arrest and imprisonment, the pain of loss the young Peter felt, and his helplessness at being unable to protect his father.

In a retrospective review of the single, AllMusic journalist Amy Hanson praised the song for its "magnificence" and "hypnotic mantric effects". Hanson wrote: "Safety and danger are threaded through the song, via both a thoughtful lyric and a compulsive cello-driven melody.[8] Even more startling, but hardly surprising, is the ease with which Bush was able to capture the moment when a child first realizes that adults are fallible."[9]

In 2014, the song was performed live for the first time and was also chosen as the closing encore track in Bush's 2014 live residency, Before the Dawn.[10]

  1. ^ Smith, Robin (12 October 1985). "Index: Bush, Baby". Record Mirror. p. 6.
  2. ^ "Cloudbusting | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. New York: Vintage Books. p. 63. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  4. ^ "Cloudbusting". MUBI. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  5. ^ "CLOUDBUSTING". Official Charts. 26 October 1985. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  6. ^ Thomson, Graeme (26 August 2014). ""This girl is very, very tough..." The untold story of Kate Bush's Hounds Of Love". Uncut. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Gaffaweb - Kate Bush - DREAMING - A. The Albums - Hounds Of Love - The Songs - "Cloudbusting" Pt. 2". gaffa.org.
  8. ^ "Community Weblog". MeFi Music. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  9. ^ "Cloudbusting". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  10. ^ Young, Alex (26 August 2014). "Kate Bush's first concert in 35 years: setlist + photos". Retrieved 2 March 2024.