"The Big Sky" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

. Released in April 1986, it was the fourth and final single to be released from her No. 1 album ''

Hounds of Love ''Hounds of Love'' is the fifth studio album by the English musician Kate Bush, released on 16 September 1985 by EMI Records. It was a commercial and artistic success and marked a return to the public eye for Bush after the relatively low sales ...

''. The single peaked at No. 37 and spent 5 weeks in the UK Singles Chart. The 7" single was released as the "special single mix", which includes a different intro and edited dubs before the final refrain. This version appears as a B-side on the 1994 CD single " The Red Shoes". The 12" single includes an extended version of "The Big Sky" called the "Meteorological mix". A limited edition 7" picture disc was also released. The song is about remembering some of the simple pleasures enjoyed as children that most no longer find the time for, such as spending the afternoon looking at the sky, watching the clouds take on shapes. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

is "Not This Time". The 12" single B-side includes an additional track, "The Morning Fog" from the ''

'' album. The music video was directed by Bush herself. In 1987, "The Big Sky" was nominated for Best Female Video at the

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals,

Fairlight CMI The Fairlight CMI (short for Computer Musical Instrument) is a digital synthesizer, music sampler, and digital audio workstation introduced in 1979 by Fairlight. — with links to some Fairlight history and photos It was based on a commerc ...

, piano *

Paddy Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

–

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (;()), also spelt didjeridu, among other variants, is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous Drone (music), drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgerido ...

Alan Murphy Alan Murphy (18 November 1953 – 19 October 1989) was an English rock session guitarist, best remembered for his collaborations with Kate Bush and Go West. In 1988, he joined the jazz-funk band Level 42 as a full-time band member, and played w ...

– guitar *

Martin Glover Martin Glover (born 27 December 1960), better known by his stage name Youth, is a British musician and record producer, best known as a founding member and bassist of the rock band Killing Joke. He is also a member of The Fireman (band), the Fir ...

– bass guitar * Charlie Morgan – drums, handclaps *

Del Palmer Derek Peter Palmer (3 November 1952 – 5 January 2024) was an English musician and sound engineer, best known for his work with Kate Bush, with whom he also had a long-term personal relationship from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. He releas ...

–

LinnDrum The LinnDrum, often erroneously referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Development The LinnDrum was designed by the American engineer Roger Linn. It was ...

programming, handclaps *

Morris Pert Morris David Brough Pert (8 September 1947 – 27 April 2010) was a Scottish composer, drummer/percussionist, and pianist who composed in the fields of both contemporary classical and jazz-rock music. His compositions include three symphonies, p ...

– percussion

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Sky, The Kate Bush songs 1985 songs 1986 singles Songs written by Kate Bush EMI Records singles