Ne t'enfuis pas (Patreon)

Ne t'enfuis pas

With thanks to Sam Maleski, the Queen of France. 

Bridging the gap between The Dreaming and Hounds of Love, Kate Bush gifted Canada and France with an exclusive single, “Ne t’enfuis pas.” A composition of Bush’s translated into French by her sister-in-law actress Vivienne Chandler and a person credited as “Patrick Jeaneau” (possibly a misspelling of engineer Patrick Jauneaud), “Ne t’enfuis pas” falls into place with Bush’s other hymns of futile longing and anthropomorphic inhumanity. Following a steady drumbeat, Bush stalks the object of her desire: “I am coming like a cat/through the night so black,” “if the great eyes of my god were not watching me/I would steal you away.” Bargaining with God, longing for what a person who can’t be had, Bush is already laying the groundwork for the immediate future.

While “Ne t’enfuis pas” captivates sonically and lyrically, Bush’s French as usual wavers between accuracy and bizarre crappiness. When she sings “comme une plume,” she nails the vowels, but she also bafflingly makes a “ch” sound. Chandler and “Jeaneau” contribute some French wordplay, with “je te volerais,” “I would steal you,” also translating to “I would fly you away.” A thoughtful if clumsy exercise in some of Bush’s ubiquitous themes, “Ne t’enfuis pas” should be eyed as indicative of Bush’s immediate future.

(Bush/Jeaneau/Chandler). Recorded 1982. Bush — vocals, Fairlight, producer. Palmer — bass, programming. Hardiman — engineer. Issued July ‘83 in France and Canada.