music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Babooshka" is a song by English singer Kate Bush, taken from her third studio album Never for Ever (1980). Released as a single in June 1980, it spent 10 weeks in the UK chart, peaking at number five.[1] It was an even bigger hit in Australia, where it peaked at number two (for three weeks) and was the 20th best-selling single of the year.[2] A rock song, "Babooshka" is about a woman who sends love letters to her husband under the titular pen name. The song makes notable use of Fairlight CMI digital synthesizer.

"Babooshka"
Single by Kate Bush
from the album Never for Ever
B-side	"Ran Tan Waltz"
Released	27 June 1980
Recorded	January–June 1980
Genre	Rock
Length	3:26
Label	EMI
Songwriter(s)	Kate Bush
Producer(s)	Kate Bush Jon Kelly
Kate Bush singles chronology
"Breathing" (1980) "Babooshka" (1980) "Army Dreamers" (1980)
Music video
"Babooshka" on YouTube
Audio sample
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Background and composition

Kate Bush recorded "Babooshka" between January and June 1980, during the recording sessions of Never for Ever.[3] It was described as a rock song.[4] The track features John Giblin on bass and marks the significance of fretless bass sounds as instrumental "male" partners through Bush's music in the early eighties. The song ends with a sample of glass breaking, one of the earliest examples of a sample created with the newly available Fairlight CMI digital synthesizer.[5]

According to an interview Bush gave to the Australian TV series Countdown in 1980, the song chronicles a wife's desire to test her husband's loyalty. To do so, she takes on the pen name of Babooshka and sends notes to her husband in the guise of a younger woman—something which she fears is the opposite of how her husband currently sees her[6] (hence the barbed lines "Just like his wife before she 'freezed' on him/Just like his wife when she was beautiful".)[7] Bush said that's "something I didn't realise at the time",[6] when she learnt that бaбушка (babushka) is the Russian word for "grandmother" (although the stress in Russian falls on the first syllable, not the second).

The trap is set when, in her bitterness and paranoia, Babooshka arranges to meet her husband, who is attracted to the character who reminds him of his wife in earlier times. She thereby ruins the relationship due to her paranoia.[6] Bush cited the English folk song "Sovay", in which a woman dresses as a highwayman and accosts her lover in order to test his devotion, as an inspiration for the story of Babooshka.[8] "I'm sure I heard about it on some TV series years ago, when I was a kid," Bush remarked of the song's story. "You know, these period things that the BBC do. I think it's an extraordinary thing for someone to do... That's why I found it fascinating."[9]

Music video

The music video depicts Bush beside a double bass (contrabass) that symbolises the husband, wearing a black bodysuit and a veil in her role as the embittered wife.[6] This changes into an extravagant, mythlike, and rather revealing "Russian" costume as her alter-ego, Babooshka. An illustration by Chris Achilleos for the cover of the 1978 book Raven – Swordsmistress of Chaos was the basis for the costume.[10][11][12]

The B-side contains her song "Ran Tan Waltz", her second non-album B-side. This song is performed as a tragicomedy, where Bush portrays a man bemoaning his bad luck in life being married to a wayward mother. This song uses the word "dick" in the first verse as dysphemism for a penis.[13] Bush has stated that she does not typically use such harsh language or write such sexually explicit material, but that she considered the song "good naughty fun".

Reception

"Babooshka" became Bush's second top five hit in the UK and was certified silver for sales of over 250,000 by the BPI.[14]

In 2021, the song experienced a resurgence in popularity due to the app TikTok, giving American audiences exposure to Bush.[15]

Track listing

Personnel

• Kate Bush – vocals; piano; Fairlight CMI; Yamaha CS-80
• Paddy Bush – balalaika; backing vocals
• Garry Hurst – backing vocals
• Alan Murphy – electric guitar
• Brian Bath – electric guitar
• John Giblin – electric bass
• Max Middleton – Fender Rhodes piano
• Stuart Elliott – drums; tambourine

Charts

Chart (1980–2014)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[16]	2
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[17]	25
France (IFOP)[18]	4
Ireland (IRMA)[19]	5
Israel (IBA)[20]	5
Italy (Musica e Dischi)[21]	6
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22]	15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23]	24
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24]	8
Norway (VG-lista)[25]	4
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[26]	12
UK Singles (OCC)[27]	5
West Germany (Official German Charts)[28]	14
France (SNEP)[29]	186

Chart (2022)	Peak position
UK Singles Downloads (OCC)[30]	67

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[31]	Silver	250,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

External links

• AllMusic review of "Babooshka"
• "Babooshka" at Discogs (list of releases)

На других языках

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- [en] Babooshka (song)

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[ru] Babooshka

«Babooshka» (с англ. — «Бабу́шка») — песня из альбома британской певицы и композитора Кейт Буш Never for Ever (1980). Выпущена на сингле 5 июля 1980 года. Достигла пятого места в британском хит-параде (всего провела в нём десять недель), второго — в австралийском хит-параде и восьмого — в хит-параде Новой Зеландии. Входит в сборники The Whole Story, Moments of Pleasure – The Best Works 1978–1993.

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