Hounds of Love (song)

"Hounds of Love" is a song written, produced and performed by British singer Kate Bush. It is the title track and the third single released from her number one 1985 album Hounds of Love. The single was released on 24 February 1986, and reached number 18 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]

"Hounds of Love"
Single by Kate Bush
from the album Hounds of Love
B-side	"The Handsome Cabin Boy" "Jig of Life" "Burning Bridge" "My Lagan Love"
Released	24 February 1986
Recorded	1984
Genre	Art rock alternative rock baroque pop
Length	3:02
Label	EMI
Songwriter(s)	Kate Bush
Producer(s)	Kate Bush
Kate Bush singles chronology
"Cloudbusting" (1985) "Hounds of Love" (1986) "The Big Sky" (1986)
Music video
"Hounds of Love" on YouTube
Audio sample
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Overview

The song is about being afraid to fall in love; in the song this feeling is compared to being chased by a pack of hounds. The music video (directed by Bush herself) was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's film The 39 Steps and a Hitchcock lookalike also features in the video (a nod to the director's famous cameo appearances in his movies).

The versions worldwide differ slightly: the US single mix included an additional chorus just after the second chorus. The words "it's in the trees, it's coming!" heard at the beginning of the track are sampled from the British 1957 horror film Night of the Demon and are mouthed by an actor from the film, Reginald Beckwith,[2][3] who plays a medium channelling a character played by Maurice Denham, who provides the voice.[4][5]

In October 2004, Q magazine placed this song at No.21 in its list of the 50 greatest British songs of all-time.[6]

The song was performed live for the first time as part of the 2014 Before the Dawn residency, where the lyrics were slightly altered.

British band the Futureheads covered the song in 2005, scoring a UK top 10 hit with it. Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir also covered the song in 2010 in her album Larva.

Track listings

All songs written and composed by Kate Bush, except "The Handsome Cabin Boy," which is a traditional composition. Alternative Hounds of Love is not a remix, but a new version, with slightly different lyrics.

7-inch single (UK)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	3:05
2.	"The Handsome Cabin Boy"	3:10

7-inch single (US)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	3:01
2.	"Burning Bridge"	4:38

12-inch single (UK)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Alternative Hounds of Love"	3:44
2.	"Jig of Life"	4:06
3.	"The Handsome Cabin Boy"	3:10

12-inch single (US)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Alternative Hounds of Love"	3:44
2.	"Burning Bridge"	4:38
3.	"My Lagan Love"	2:31

Personnel

• Kate Bush – vocals, Fairlight CMI
• Stuart Elliott – drums
• Charlie Morgan – drums
• Jonathan Williams – cello

Chart performance

Chart (1986)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart[1]	18
German Singles Chart[7]	68
Irish Singles Chart[8]	12
Poland (LP3)[9]	18
Canadian Singles Chart[10]	84

The Futureheads version

"Hounds of Love"
Single by the Futureheads
from the album The Futureheads
B-side	"Man Made (A Mistake)" "Decent Days and Nights"
Released	21 February 2005
Recorded	2004
Genre	Indie rock
Length	3:05
Label	679 Recordings
Songwriter(s)	Kate Bush
Producer(s)	Paul Epworth
The Futureheads singles chronology
"Meantime" (2004) "Hounds of Love" (2005) "Area" (2005)

"Hounds of Love" was recorded in 2004 by the English post-punk band the Futureheads for their self titled debut album, and was released as a single in 2005. The single peaked at number eight on the UK charts in its first week[11] and was named Best Single of 2005 by NME.[12] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 89 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".[13]

Track listings

7-inch vinyl single

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	Kate Bush	3:05

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Man Made (A Mistake)"	The Futureheads	2:37

CD single No. 1

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	Kate Bush	3:05
2.	"Hounds of Love" (Phones' Wolves at the Door Remix)	Kate Bush	5:18

CD single No. 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Hounds of Love"	Kate Bush	3:05
2.	"Decent Days and Nights" (acoustic)	The Futureheads	2:39
3.	"Hounds of Love" (Mystery Jets' Pirate Invasion mix)	Kate Bush	4:24
4.	"Man Made (A Mistake)"	The Futureheads	5:13
5.	"Hounds of Love" (music video (data track))	Kate Bush

Weekly charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart[11]	8
Irish Singles Chart[8]	26

Year-end charts

Chart (2005)	Position
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14]	200

References

1. "The Official Charts Company - Kate Bush - Hounds of Love". Retrieved 8 February 2009.
2. Cozzoli, John M. "Movie Review: Night of the Demon (1957) It's Coming for You!". Zombos' Closet. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
3. "It's in the Trees". YouTube. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
4. "Classic Albums, The Hounds of Love - Kate Bush, Kate Bush talks about her album 'Hounds of Love'". BBC Radio 6 Music. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
5. "Kate Bush quotations at Gaffaweb". Retrieved 8 February 2009.
6. "Rocklist.net...Q magazine Recordings of the Year". www.rocklistmusic.co.uk.
7. "charts-surfer.de search results". Retrieved 8 February 2009.
8. "irishcharts.ie search results". Archived from the original on 1 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2009.
9. "HOUNDS OF LOVE – Kate Bush" (in Polish). LP3. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. "The Official Charts Company - The Futureheads - Hounds of Love". Retrieved 8 February 2009.
12. "Albums And Tracks Of The Year 2005". NME. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
13. "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". NME. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
14. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2005" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 4 September 2018.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics