The Sensual World (song)


"The Sensual World" is a song by the English singer Kate Bush. It was the title track and first single from her album of the same name, released in September 1989. The single entered and peaked at no.12 in the UK single charts. The song was later re-recorded using only words taken from Molly Bloom's soliloquy from James Joyce's Ulysses, as Bush had originally intended whilst recording The Sensual World album. This version, re-titled "Flower of the Mountain" appears on the 2011 album Director's Cut.
The B-side to the original single was "Walk Straight Down the Middle", a bonus track on the CD and cassette editions of The Sensual World'' album. The 12-inch vinyl release of the single had a double-grooved A-side so that either the song or an instrumental version of the song would be played depending on where the needle was placed.

Writing and inspiration

The song is inspired by Molly Bloom stepping out of the black and white, two-dimensional pages of James Joyce's Ulysses into the real world, and is immediately struck by the sensuality of it all. It was originally supposed to be Molly Bloom's speech set to music, but Bush could not secure the rights from the Joyce estate, so she altered it. In 2011, the Joyce estate granted license to the material, and Bush rerecorded the song as "Flower of the Mountain", released on 2011's Director's Cut.
Musically, one of the main hooks in the chorus of "The Sensual World" was inspired by a traditional Macedonian piece of music called "Nevestinsko Oro", or "Bride's Dance". As in the traditional version, the melody is played on uilleann pipes, in this case by Irish musician Davy Spillane.

Music video

The video, which features Bush dancing through an enchanted forest in a medieval dress, was co-directed by The Comic Strip co-creator Peter Richardson and Bush herself.

Use in film

The song, particularly the chorus section, features prominently several times in Atom Egoyan's film Felicia's Journey, highlighting the main character's sense of isolation and loss as she leaves Ireland and her estranged father for England.

Track listing

All songs were written by Kate Bush.

Charts