Kate Bush's unique chord progression 

The way the lyrics say "I've come home" at the exact moment the song finally resolves with a perfect cadence after all this chromatic wandering is pure genius. Amazing to think that Kate was still a teenager when she came up with this unique and mature example of the art of songwriting.

She wrote that song at 18 in one evening, recorded it during the night and was ready to release it the next morning. And it's her most popular song ever. Mind blowing

Amazing work!! Now that you're on the subject of Kate Bush and modulation, I'd love to see a video on her song Babooshka which also has two completely unique chord progressions and uses parallel modulation using borrowed tonic! It also has 3-bar phrases!

Finally a video on Kate Bush! Please explore her discography. Her songs are so unusual and intricate, with so many different time signatures!

Kate Bush is a freaking genius, and not just the old stuff. Get the good headphones, put on her Sky of Honey suite from Aerial (start with Prelude), turn off the lights, lie down, and spend the next 45 minutes in sonic bliss.

I grew up in SE London - my brother had some friends who had a band. They were looking for a singer, and turned down this girl from Blackheath who auditioned. Six months later she was on TOTP singing this song. I remember when it came out, it was sensational - completely revolutionary and seen as such.

That first explanation of chromatic mediants reminded me of the “crawling spider” technique used by Mellotron players to compensate for the instrument’s mechanically limited sustain. It worked by moving from chord-to-chord one or two notes at a time, with the remaining note(s) tying over from one chord to the next and so on, “crawling” across the keyboard - creating lush harmonies as you go. King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King is a good example of this technique.

A masterpiece of a song, and a masterpiece of an analysis!

The move to the Ab and the delivery as she sings 'I hated you, I loved you too' is just perfect! It always makes me smile.

I must have heard this song a million times, but I've NEVER realised just how WEIRD it truly is. And yet, it works! One of the greatest songs ever written.

I must have listened to this song thousands of times, just like everyone else. I always sensed that it had a unique chord progression, but I never dwelled on it. What sets you apart and makes you superior to many musicians is this. Thank you endlessly.

Kate Bush AND David Bennett? I thought Christmas was last month!

That song has been always astonishing for me, not only due to the chords progression but to the bars 5/4 and 7/4 inserted in the chorus too. Never tired of listening to it. And the guitar solo as outro !!!(wich most of radio stations cut as soon as the voice is fading). That record is a gem.

An absolutely delightful analysis of Kate Bush… America did not carry Kate Bush albums when I first discovered her in 1978… I had to special order the albums from the UK. So many of her songs had unique chord progressions and fascinating melodies on top of the progression. Everything about Kate Bush is unique, and I am still a huge fan to this day.

I can’t believe you upload this just as I’m about to submit my case study on Kate Bush for uni! I’m so glad this strange beautiful song got the recognition it deserved when it released.

Absolutely one of my all-time favourite songs. I never tire of it and now, seeing the shifting key and time signatures, I'm not surprised why. The "you know it's me, Cathy" part and the short phrase after at the end of the bridge is goosebump-inducing every damn time!

I love it because, despite being a weird chord progression, it sounds so natural and can be liked by so many people. Plus her voice is so melodic and unique.

Genius. Her music moved me forty-five years ago and now even just hearing snatches of song and thinking with half of my brain about the chord progression it still catches me with a lump in my throat. What a magical talent

Smile turns to anger turns to hope to swoon to sadness to ... One of the most expressive songs ever created. Great look into the tonal relationships.

At last!!!! I’ve been waiting and waiting for you David, or Mr.Beato, or Mr. Huart or one of the many other wonderful music analysts to point out the brilliance of this chord progression! Play this chord progression to any serious pop-smith and tell them to write a number one hit song with it and they would look at as if you were mad! Ms. Bush is a genius! Both musically AND emotionally!

Kate herself has LOTS of unusual chord progressions. Check out Fullhouse, Moving, the Man with a Child in his Eyes, In search of Peter Pan…

Thank you for your analasys, and especially explaining about the uplift you feel when going from the chorus back to the verse. I will never forget when I first heard that as a very small boy, perhaps 4 or 5 years old; It was like magic, and it touched me in way I didn't understand, and I still don't, really.

As a kid in the 90s, I remember how difficult/expensive it was to get guitar tablature and music. There was a definite barrier there that lead to picking things out by ear or picking the brains of the early internet. Theses days, with channels like this, just an excellent time for new musicians - and old.

Kate BUsh is possibly the greatest and at the same time most underappreciated songwriter in history. A truly original talent.

Taylor Swift could definitely learn a lesson or two in songwriting from Kate Bush, especially regarding chord progressions!

It would be cool to hear an analyzes of George Harrisons' song "Beware of Darkness". It has a very unusual chord progression and switches keys in mysterious ways.

Thanks for covering this song. I've only recently got into Kate's music in a much deeper way and I'm currently reading an excellent biography. The music for Wuthering Heights immediately caught my ear, mainly for the timing but also the harmony. I don't think I'll ever understand how someone can be so talented at such an age. I've come to understand that she was surrounded by all manner of art as a young girl and I assume she just soaked all of this up. She is one of a kind.

It reminds me of a beautiful song, written and sung from the hidden top story, of a lunatic asylum. Pain, anguish, inconsolable love. Emilie Bronte distilled down into a three minute song. It is truly sublime.

A masterpiece!

This is so bizarre. I actually came to RU-vid just now to explore this song to see if there had been any videos looking into WH's composition. Then up pops your video as if by magic! There was a recent post on Facebook which made me curious to listen to Wuthering Heights again. Another brilliant and informative video David

Imagine if Kate Bush and Björk wrote a song together. 🦸‍♀️🦹‍♀️

I think it works so well precisely because it's somewhat unnerving. When we hit the chorus, it's just pure bliss.

A masterclass of songwriting and performance. And only 18. Other worldly.

Still hard to know she was 18 when she wrote, recorded and achieved this amazing composition. Thanks for the breakdown!

I honestly think Kate was one of the most unique writers of that pop era (not that I would consider her music "pop"). Her ability to evoke the emotion of the subject matter with her chord progressions is so exceptional. Love her.

I was wondering when you would talk about Kate Bush, the album the kick inside contains lots of very interesting chord progressions. I'm very glad you did it !

I can think of several chord progressions that go A, F, E. It's a slightly unusual move because you'd expect the A to be minor (or the F to be an F#). But you do hear that kind of modal mixture elsewhere. It's that C# that truly sets it apart. It's not a chord that you'd expect to complete the loop at all. It doesn't resolve and it doesn't create a natural turnaround back to the A.

Thank you! I've tried justifying my fascination with this song to people but without the music theory base knowledge, I just sounded like a lunatic repeating, "There's something going on there! I can't explain it!"

I have a good ear for music. But when I bought the record in 1978 and wanted to take out the chords, it was not easy. KB is undoubtedly a musical genius! Thank you for analyzing this song and greetings from Sweden!

This song mesmerized me when I first heard it. It was def. this chord progression, but also the way Kate's voice followed it. Still delivers a chill when I hear it.

She is so unusual and unique and beautiful in more ways than one. She doesn't care about music convention and this song sounds so spooky and beautiful at the same time. Love it.

I absolutely love Kate Bush. When I first heard the song when she released the album, I was awestruck! Thanks for the video. Informative as always.

I love the chromatic mediant flavour of the A -> F. A long time ago when I didn’t have a very broad conception of music I though that major scales and modes were lame and that all good songs were in harmonic minor but then I forced myself to *only* use major chords to the point of getting nondiatonic stuff. I came up with (transposed) Amaj Fmaj Abmaj Bbmaj as a chord loop and now I’m in love with it. It’s so whimsical and energetic

Thanks for analysing Wuthering Heights David. That’s an amazing progression! Great video!

Thank you David for the tip about Timbro. Great video, I understood the material clearly and found it helpful.

'Word on a Wing' by David Bowie is also really unusual.

Hadn’t heard this before, but I’m now officially obsessed. Thanks David, great video!

I truly don't know much music theory as I've always played by ear. I find it to be ht emost emotionally moving song ever. Not just for the lyrics but the chord feel demonstrates it better than any other I can think of. I remember the first time I banged it on and worked it out on keyboard and I've still to find anything else that matches this weird chord arrangement. It's truly sublime and I'll never understand how she can have written this when she was so young.

Lovely too have this classic tune delved into by you. Most of her music is a stand alone masterclass. Please do more of hers.

Loooove your analyses David! And the piano outros always inspire me too :) I’ve been eagerly waiting for someone to harmonically analyze Elliot Smith’s brilliant Figure 8 B-side “Colourbars”. That chord progression is so unconventionally chromatic and yet soo melodically copacetic. Improvising over the progression seems (for some reason) to consonantly accommodate any choice of notes, whether present in the current chord or not. Love that song. Would love to see you tackle any Elliott actually. I know that you began as a singer/ songwriter guitar dude so I’m sure you share my enthusiasm for his work. Your vids have helped me overcome a heretofore unconquerable musical plateau and continue to deepen and profoundly enrich my appreciation for all music. Keep up the great stuff 🤙

I love the outro solo, and how it dances around the tonic and never really rests there for long, right along with the chord progression underneath it.

Songwriting pianists tend to create more complex chord progressions than songwriting guitarists. Just beautiful and imaginative. I play guitar and this is just something I’ve noticed. Look at Elton John, another pianist and his songs have so many chords.

I have a strong feeling that such creative chord progressions can only be written at a young age, before you have been perverted by craftmanship.

I student of mine wanted to learn this song a few years back, had great fun teaching it, such an interesting chord progression. Great analysis as always! 👍

This was a really informative presentation. Thank you. My favourite part of Wuthering Heights is the bridge. Her vocal is so pleading and expression perfect. Kate Bush is such a unique artist.

Nirvana has a lot of interesting chord progressions. Would also be fun to see an analysis on Elton John's "The Ballad of Danny Bailey" , since it has such odd chord changes and also just a lot of different chords in general.

Bush is such a great example of just doing what the song needs, IMO. Some songs do surprising harmonic stuff like this, but others are very simple. Being complex or novel isn't the point, but she can go there when it serves the music. Such great taste on top of skills.

Kate used some wonderful chord progressions early in her career - the chords in "The Man With the Child in His Eyes" get me every time. A couple of other remarkable, possibly unique chord progressions are Genesis's "Mad Man Moon" and Split Enz's "Iris".

It’s amazing she wrote this at age 18. Her later work using the Fairlight CMI is also astonishing because she really dug down into the programming to get the sounds and instruments she wanted. Edit: totally a 180 from Kate Bush, but the band System of a Down uses a lot of interesting chord progressions and rhythms due to their influences from Armenian music.

David, you're a legend - thanks so much, I've been a massive fan of Kate Bush since this song, and you've broken it down beautifully, making it a lot less intimidating than I imagined. Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. Please keep doing the unusual chord progressions videos, as they are super helpful & inspiring for songwriters and musicians like myself. ❤❤❤

First off, this is a striking and memorable enough chord progression that as soon as I saw the chords in the thumbnail I knew exactly what we were doing. I mean, OK there was also a picture of Kate Bush next to it, but the chords would have been enough. I think another reason why the Ab chord actually sound stable/resolved is that the first two chords implicitly emphasize the A (as the common note) and the second two emphasize the G# in the same way, so you get this sort of minor second alternation creating tension in two bar units, but the Ab is enharmonically that same G# repeating, so it feels like the music has decided the issue at least temporarily. Also, it's honestly those Gb chords that hit the hardest. Every time. You hit that chorus and you just want to hold up a lighter and sing along. And the Gb "Cathy" after the bridge is a goosebump moment.

how kate bush approaches chord changes is with roman numerals but with a lot of key modulations. Some other songs are dead giveaways because she'll keep reusing the same roman numerals in different keys, making it very clear what shes doing. Also lots of substitutions. From what I've seen it's usually two changes in a key, a key change, two changes, a key change. You can use that formula and you'll end up with Kate Bush-esque progressions. For the first part its Maj-III to I in Fmajor and then in E major its I to maj-VI. That's how they're harmonically linked and you can hear if really clearly if you play some scale tones over them. In F major the E is a diminished Vii so it's subbed with a major chord as used to pivot to the new key. It also still uses that minor third movement to get to the C#, so it's sorta still got some diminished qualities.

I've been meaning to ask for a Kate Bush for a while now, this is a dream come true. Needless to say, I'd love to see even more. One of my top 3 musicians ever and trying to figure out her songs give me a headache. Great video as always

Thank you so much David, Kate Bush is such an amazing and inspirational artist, I can't get enough of her! It'd be fantastic to hear your analysis on Symphony in Blue, or Them Heavy People. Cheers! 🇨🇱

"Get Out Of My House" is my favorite Kate Bush song. Her art is first, music is just one of her mediums.

Great video! Was hoping you'd compose a song in this chord progression at the end.

I really love all your videos. I probably look forward to a new "DBP" video over anything else on my RU-vid subscriptions.. of any particular type, be it music, gaming, or anything else. I've learned so much from your channel too. Thank you! I'm a child of the 80s, but I had no idea how brilliant Kate Bush was, other than having that catchy "Running Up That Hill" song.

Do more videos on Kate Bush! Please

David, you never disappoint! Cheers

I've always deeply loved the sound of this song, the... I could never find a better word than "uniqueness" of it :p I understand better now why it sounded so simple and rich in the same moment, thank you ;)

Kate Bush is my favourite artist so it makes me very happy indeed to see such a great video about her. I think she's a genius.

David is one of the best music guru. How he deconstruct music to have reason artistically is so inspiring and worth knowledge. I am a big Kate Bush fan and to watch this video makes me appreciate her more. It will be interesting if David can talk about the beautifully weird chord progression behind A Sky of Honey

David, i knew this song was unusual, but you analysis now shows why!! Excellent !!

love the way you explain things. it's a technically sound, yet easy to follow lesson.

Where the key signature changes I hear that as D flat major (vi, V, IV, ii, I) rather than B flat minor (which would imply i, flat VII, flat VI, iv, II).

I'm a chemist not a musician at all but I do like learning about patterns and stuff and I got to say your videos make me very interested in music! Super informative super easy to understand and entertaining! thanks !

Im SO glad you did a video on this song. Ive wanted Charles Cornell to talk about Wuthering Heights ever since his video on Running Up That Hill (which is NOT interesting musically). Wuthering Heights shows more of Kate's love for cool chord changes.

Hi david! A video about Syd Barrett's solo compositions would be very cool!

if i could only listen to a couple of songs for the rest of my life this would be in the list.. just superb

Kate Bush in the title and I click. Happy to find out it’s David!

Your video popped up in my RU-vid feed and since then I've been visiting your older videos which explain musical composition concepts (scales, modes, chromatic mediants etc) so well! I was lucky enough to get tickets for the first show of Kate Bush's sell out 22 nights at London Hammersmith Apollo in 2014. A mesmerising show, although focussed on her masterpiece Ninth Wave suite (Hounds of Love) and later Aerial album. So, no Wuthering Heights played, or any other early stuff (nobody minded - it's her show, and her artistic choice). Her debut album has so many standout compositional parts - you should have a go at deconstructing 'Man with the Child in His Eyes', or the lovely piano-based closer 'Kick Inside'.

Hey David, as a kid I used to put on a side of vinyl and try to get each song down, at least the chord progression. When I put on Pat Benatar "Crimes of Passion" I was knocking them down until this one. I sounded like a kid in guitar center, lost. There used to be a saying if you were sitting in with a band, "When in doubt, go up a 4th" (in guitar-speak, A to D) that did NOT apply, lol. I assumed it was written for the movie by some theoried-up piano wiz and gave up. It's good to now find out it was due to the eccentricity of Kate Bush's writing and imaginative thinking. BTW, a challenge my friend and I used to do was "see how many snare hits you can play consecutively" on Yes' "Long Distance Runaround". My mother dented the 2nd floor radiator signalling us to stop playing air-drums on the 3rd floor flat at 1AM but it was great fun. After smoking some lamb's breath, getting 4 straight elevated you to "genius" level in our unofficial scoring.

Always loved that song, and always been fascinated by the progression. Thanks for the analysis.

I loved Kate Bush as a young lad, not knowing how complex and unusual her music was. Many years later there came her album Aerial. There it was! That same old mystery than in Cloudbusting, Breathing, Babooshka and all her other songs. Beautiful and unique.❤😂

Great video. Loved your analysis of the chromatic mediants. For the chorus, though, couldn't it be argued that it modulates to Db major and starts on the IV chord with the Ebm7 and Ab7 being a strong iim7 - V7 progression?

I absolutely LOVE this song, one of the best 'oddball' songs I've ever heard. Kate Bush doesn't follow musical convention; she makes her own rules as she goes along, and as a result distinguishes her material with an unmistakable aesthetic character. Wonderful things happen when an artist works that way.

This is what I love about music. Even when something doesn't follow "conventional rules", it can still sound great, and still be described by other "rules"

Kate is awesome. Love this tune. Great video! Wow what chord progressions!

Brillant analysis. Loved it. Does the song is modal too?

Thanks, David! Great work. Another song with an amazing unique chord progression: Neneh Cherry - Manchild

AMAMZING song and analysis! Thanks man

Great song, great video! Congrats!!!

Loved this. Thanks. Can you do more Kate Bush songs, please?

Dude, you are just the best! I always leave your vids inspired

This was extremely enlightening. Both to the application of what's actually going on in this song, as well as being made aware of this song even existing. Thank you for making this video, introducing me to a song that I can study.

I still remember listening to the song for the first time, and how melted my brain became. I, too, don't think I've ever heard a song with this progression in my entire life. Literally one of the most unique songs I have ever heard, and to think it was the very first single from the very first female to reach number 1 with a song she wrote when she was only eighteen is a testament to how brilliant this lady has always been. Thank you so much for this analysis!

I had never heard this song. And it's just great. Thank you for presenting it.

Great video and analysis of a great tune

Great vid and explanation as usual! I have a chord change suggestion that is extremely rare, so rare that I can't even think of a song that uses it, what about a minor to major chord change? There are lots of songs that have, for example, A to Am or E to Em in them, but can you think of any songs or music that do the opposite, go straight from Am to A or Gm to G, etc?

Part of the effect of that relatively "out" piano harmony is that it puts more emphasis on other aspects of the song, especially Kate Bush's sung part, since they have to supply more of the feeling of structure and resolution.