Running Up That Hill

"Running Up That Hill"
Song
B-side	"Under the Ivy"

"Running Up that Hill" is a song by the British singer/songwriter Kate Bush. It was the first single from her 1985 album Hounds of Love, released in the UK on 5 August 1985. It was her first 12" single. It was the most successful of Bush's 1980s releases, entering the UK chart at No. 9 and eventually peaking at No. 3, her second-highest single peak. The single also had an impact in the United States, providing Bush with her first chart hit there since 1978, where it reached the top 30, and featured prominently within the Dance Charts. Bush also performed the song with David Gilmour of Pink Floyd at the Secret Policeman's Third Ball.

The B-side of the 7" single contains Bush's song "Under the Ivy". The 12-inch single contains an extended remix and an instrumental version of "Running up that Hill", as well as "Under the Ivy".

Song information

Originally titled "A Deal with God", representatives at EMI were hesitant to release the song as titled due to possible negative reception due its use of the word "God." Bush relented and 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".

The song itself has often been misinterpreted. Bush herself has said,

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.

Music video

The music video featured Bush and dancer Michael Hervieu in a performance choreographed by Diane Grey. The pair are wearing grey Japanese hakamas. Bush wanted the dancing in "Running Up that Hill" to be more of a classical performance. She stated that dance in music videos was "being used quite trivially, it was being exploited: haphazard images, busy, lots of dances, without really the serious expression, and wonderful expression, that dance can give. So we felt how interesting it would be to make a very simple routine between two people, almost classic, and very simply filmed. So that's what we tried, really, to do a serious piece of dance.

The choreography draws upon contemporary dance with a repeated gesture suggestive of drawing a bow and arrow (the gesture was made literal on the image for the single in which Bush poses with a real bow and arrow), intercut with surreal sequences of Bush and Hervieu searching through crowds of masked strangers. At the climax of the song, Bush's partner withdraws from her and the two are then swept away from each other and down a long hall in opposite directions by an endless stream of anonymous figures wearing masks made from pictures of Bush and Hervieu's faces. MTV chose not to show this video (at the time of its original release) and instead used a live performance of the song recorded at a promotional appearance on the BBC TV show Wogan. According to Paddy Bush, "MTV weren't particularly interested in broadcasting videos that didn't have synchronized lip movements in them. They liked the idea of people singing songs."

Track listing

7" single (UK)

All tracks are written by Kate Bush

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Running Up that Hill"	4:58
2.	"Under the Ivy"	2:07

12" Maxi single (UK)

All tracks are written by Kate Bush

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Running Up that Hill (Extended Version)"	5:43
2.	"Under the Ivy"	2:07
3.	"Running Up that Hill (Instrumental)"	4:54

Charts

Chart (1985)	Peak position
French Singles Chart	1
Australia ARIA Singles Chart	6
Canadian Singles Chart	16
Dutch Single Top 100	6
French SNEP Singles Chart	24
German Media Control Singles Chart	3
Irish Singles Chart	4
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	26
UK Singles Chart	3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Chart	30
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	13
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales	21
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	34

Cover versions

Placebo version

"Running Up That Hill"
Song

Alternative rock band Placebo covered "Running Up that Hill", releasing it originally on the bonus disc of their 2003 album Sleeping with Ghosts, then featuring it on Covers and the US version of Meds in 2007. Placebo's take on the song is more downbeat than the original. It has been described by Q magazine as 'sound[ing] more like a pact with the Devil' than the original 'deal with God'. Their version of the song made an appearance on the debut episode of The Vampire Diaries, concluded an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation entitled "A la Cart", and was used on Bones, The O.C., and NCIS: Los Angeles. It was also used in the promotional video for the Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker rematch at Wrestlemania XXVI, and is featured in the trailer for the movie Daybreakers. It can be also heard in the movies From Paris with Love and The Heavy. A recording of Placebo's version which features Bush's vocals was used in promos for the History Channel's 2011 special, Gettysburg.

Released covers

US Dark Wave act Faith and the Muse covered the song on their 2001 compilation album Vera Causa, and frequently perform it live. In 2003, Symphonic metal act Within Temptation released the song as a separate single and filmed a music video. The song was also covered by Portuguese Gothic Metal band Icon & The Black Roses on their self-titled 2004 album. Oregon-based Chromatics covered the song on their 2007 album Night Drive, and Australian Idol winner Natalie Gauci performed it on the Top 2 Showdown night. Gauci later recorded a cover that appeared on her Winner's Journey album,released soon after her win on Australian Idol. In 2009, Fugees-collaborator John Forté released a version of the song which featured the original keyboard melody and chorus with rap verses. In 2009, Finnish a-cappella group Club for Five included the song on their album You're The Voice. British electronic musician LorD and Master released his version of "Running Up that Hill" as a mashup with Pet Shop Boys' cult track, "Paninaro" for his 2011 covers album, Discover.

Remixes

A dance remix by Levy 9 was released in the 90s, Trance and house music acts, such as Elastic Band and Armin Van Buuren have performed versions of the song. Australian electronic music trio Infusion remixed the song in 2003, and it was unofficially released on White label vinyl as "Kate Bush vs. Infusion - Running Up that Hill". Dutch rap act Flinke Namen, sampled the chorus for their song "Wolken (Clouds)". This piano and string laced version reached no. 1 on the Dutch (nl:FunX) charts, with a remix version being available for download on the internet. The Very Best remixed the song on their 2011 mixtape "Super Mom".

Other notable covers

"Running Up that Hill" has also been incorporated into other songs by artists in live performance. American singer-songwriter Tori Amos has sung verses of the song during her live tours, often working certain lines of the song into other songs - most notably on her 2005 solo tour in which she performed a mash up of "Running Up that Hill" with her own hit, "God." The postmodern cabaret duo Kiki & Herb, who performed the song throughout their career, used the song as the closing number in their 2004 farewell performance at Carnegie Hall. Other artists who've covered the song include Estonian pop singer Kerli, Danish bands Spleen United and The William Blakes, singer Jimmy Jørgensen, Irish group Ham Sandwich (the recording of which was given away free with the Irish Daily Mail), singer Patrick Wolf, pop act MPHO, Little Boots and Melnyk with Sara Berg.

On 15 October 2011 art rock musician Theo Bleckmann released an album of covers of Bush classics titled Hello Earth! - The Music of Kate Bush which includes his oft-performed in concert interpretation of "Running Up that Hill."