Kate Bush’s RED SHOES

Kate Bush’s captivating song, reinterpreting the film that seduced so many little girls into becoming dancers…there is much written on the original Hans Christian Anderson tale…is it a tale of warning against feminine sexuality as this overwhelming force? The interpretation in the film is one which describes the shoes more as the overwhelmingly seductive force of success, and the lure of a career that can pull a young dancer into a relentlessly fast-paced existence that sacrifices all other things and people in its wake… perhaps Kate Bush is telling a different story…maybe its about her own story of success…or maybe its about remembering what it was to be a little girl dreaming of erotic love before it ever happened…wondering when the world would ever arrive to sweep one into its dream…and when the dream arrives, it is impossibly fast…it doesn’t let go…it swallows one…

Oh she move like the diva do
I said Id love to dance like you.
She said just take off my red shoes
Put them on and your dreamll come true
With no words, with no song
You can dance the dream with your body on
And this curve, is your smile
And this cross, is your heart
And this line, is your path

Oh its gonna be the way you always thought it would be
But its gonna be no illusion
Oh its gonna be the way you always dreamt about it
But its gonna be really happening to ya
Really happening to ya
Really happening to ya

Oh the minute I put them on
I knew I had done something wrong
All her gifts for the dance had gone
Its the red shoes, they cant stop dancing, dancing
And this curve, is your smile
And this cross, is your heart
And this line, is your path

Oh its gonna be the way you always thought it would be
But its gonna be no illusion
Oh its gonna be the way you always dreamt about it
But its gonna be really happening to ya

She gotta dance, she gotta dance
And she cant stop till them shoes come off
These shoes do, a kind of voodoo
Theyre gonna make her dance till her legs fall off

Feel your hair come tumbling down
Feel your feet start kissing the ground
Feel your arms are opening out
And see your eyes are lifted to god
With no words, with no song
Im gonna dance the dream
And make the dream come true
Im gonna dance the dream
And make the dream come true

She gotta dance, she gotta dance
And she cant stop till them shoes come off
These shoes do, a kind of voodoo
Theyre gonna make her dance till her legs fall off
Call a doctor, call a priest
Theyre gonna whip her up like a helicopter

Really happening to ya
Really happening to ya

~ by remainsofthedesi on October 6, 2007.