There Goes a Tenner
| "There Goes a Tenner" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Ne t'enfuis pas" |
"There Goes a Tenner" is a song by the British singer Kate Bush. It was released as a single on 2 November 1982, the third to be taken from her album The Dreaming. It was released only in the UK.
Background
"There Goes a Tenner" is often considered to be something of a "lost single", because when it was released it gained no interest from any radio stations or music television programmes (despite a music video being made). Due to the lack of media interest, the single did not sell well and became the only record by Bush not to chart in the UK. It was originally intended to be Bush's first 12-inch single, but plans to release a 12" were cancelled.
The song lyrics are about a (bungled) bank robbery as told by a fearful and paranoid perpetrator. As Bush stated;
"It's about amateur robbers who have only done small things, and this is quite a big robbery that they've been planning for months, and when it actually starts happening, they start freaking out. They're really scared, and they're so aware of the fact that something could go wrong that they're paranoid and want to go home."[1]
Towards the end of the song, the lyrics and tone take on a dream-like state, which is reflected in the video. A review in Record Mirror commented that despite the comic tone of the song, the end left a rather unnerving effect.[2] Bush sang it in what has been described as "a curious accent that seemed to veer from an aristocrat to an East End villain" (see mockney).[3]
The B-side, "Ne t'enfuis pas" ("Don't Run Away") is spelt incorrectly on the actual single as "Ne T'en Fui Pas", which does not mean anything in French.
References
- ^ Gaffaweb - Kate Bush in her own words
- ^ Record Mirror single review, November 1982
- ^ Lorne Murdoch (1985). "Kate Bush". Record Collector (December 1985, No. 76): p.22