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Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” Lyrics Meaning

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Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) Lyrics Meaning

The meaning of the lyrics for ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ by Kate Bush is finding God to ask for societal roles swapped to communicate misunderstanding. As Stranger Things incorporated the song on the 27th of May, 2022 in Season 4, Episode 4, the popularity of the song has revived. The song describes the character named Max from Stranger Things perfectly.

‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ by Kate Bush means running towards an imaginary hill endlessly to find God so she can ask for societal roles swapped.

Introduction: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) Lyrics

The lyrics of ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ by Kate Bush communicate the misunderstanding between people. In the song, she talks about swapping the roles of misunderstood people so that they can see the world from each other’s eyes. People usually get stuck in their thoughts and they cannot come to terms with the other person. The song tries to fight this human behavior.

And if I only could

I’d make a deal with God

And I’d get him to swap our places

Be running up that road

Lyrics to ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ by Kate Bush

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) Lyrics Meaning

Let’s analyze the meaning of the lyrics behind the song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God’ by Kate Bush line by line in detail.

“Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” is the first single from Kate Bush’s LP Hounds of Love. The release date of the song is the 5th of August, 1985.

[Verse 1]

Kate Bush, in the first verse, talks about wanting to make a secret deal with God. While getting closer to God, she feels safer than ever. She doesn’t feel hurt by her life experiences. Then, she asks the persona in the song if they want to experience what she is experiencing. She then asserts that nothing hurts her as she is closer to God.

[Pre-Chorus/ Bridge]

In the pre-chorus section, Kate Bush mentions that the role swapping is just either between her and her listener or between a male and a female. For the LGBTQ community, it’s between them and society. In the bridge section, the singer says the exchange of roles is exciting so both of them can see the world from each other’s eyes.

[Chorus/ Outro]

The chorus section exposes that making a deal with God is just a fantasy Kate Bush has in her lyrics. “running up that hill” is a continuation of the idiom “put yourself in their shoes”, meaning to visualize yourself in someone else’s situation. “I’d get him to swap our places” means she would like to trade roles of men and women. However, this song was also adopted as a queer anthem.

The LGBTQ community can relate to swapping places because they feel like the real world doesn’t understand them. Some of them wish to swap places so that society could understand better about them. Recently, the song has been garnering a lot of attention as the intense remix of the song was played in the background of Stranger Things. They play the remix in Season 4, Episode 4.

[Verse 2]

In the second verse, Kate Bush speaks in a similar tone to that of the first verse. As she believes in God, she says that she cannot be hurt easily. Only if a party can listen to and understand the other party, this conflict of miscommunication can be addressed and communicated. But since everyone wants power and control, the problem between oppressors and oppressed will continue to exist.

Conclusion: Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) Meaning

The meaning of the song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ by Kate Bush is her asking to swap roles of people to see the world from each other’s eyes. It’s about the separation and the closeness. We’re so close, yet so far apart. She sings to understand the differences between people.

What do you think is the meaning behind the lyrics of the song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush? Let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter @laviasco.

Running Up That Hill Stranger Things (Spoiler Warning)

The lyrics to 1985’s Kate Bush song ‘Running Up That Hill’ were revived with a meaning to literally run from danger by the popular Netflix Original Show, Stranger Things. On the 27th of May, 2022, as the song’s remix was included in the sci-fi horror Netflix series in the 4th Episode of the 4th Season, the original song has been earning millions in royalty and is garnering a lot of attention on the internet. When the character named Max Mayfield narrowly flees from death where she is running to save her life and a passionate remix of the Kate Bush song plays in the scene:

What movie is the song Running Up That Hill in?

Recently, Running Up That Hill is garnering a lot of attention after Netflix Original Stranger Things used the song in its series. Besides that, the song has been in movies such as ‘The Vampire Diaries’, ‘GLOW’, ‘How to Get Away With Murder’, ‘Warehouse 13’, ‘Pose’, ‘Bones’, ‘Big Little Lies’, ‘The O. C.’, and ‘It’s a Sin’.

Who originally wrote Running Up That Hill?

Originally, Kate Bush wrote the lyrics to the song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’. The song was released on the 5th of August, 1985.

Read the meaning behind the lyrics of the song ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ by Kate Bush line by line on Genius in detail.

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Laviasco is an entertainment website run by a single person, the Admin himself, Mr. Suraj Marahatta, from research to blogging to website maintenance. Here, I have been providing the meaning of the lyrics of the songs little by little since 2019. My goal is to provide authentic sources for the facts and stay up-to-date.

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