The lyrics in this particular song could in many ways be interpreted in more ways than one. My personal interpretation is that of one of a person who is drifting alone at sea after a potential sunken ship and is waiting for some sort of rescue. I get this idea due to the “oh I’ll wake up to any sound of engines” almost like she hasn’t lost hope and that anytime she hears or sees a ship she will call out hoping they will find her. And although the lyrics are quite dramatic the piece itself is in many ways like a lullaby. The lullaby feel in my opinion is also due to the use of the lyrics “let me be weak, let me sleep and dream of sheep”. Although some people may interpret the way the lyrics move to the person who may be stuck out at sea as drifting in and out of consciousness before they eventually losing consciousness completely.
Some of the instruments Kate uses are unique to this particular song as they are not something which is common of a typical pop music piece. These instruments include the Irish Bouzouki (An adaption of the Greek Bouzouki) which is a guitar like instrument with metal strings. These strings are played with a plectrum and the instrument produces a sharp metallic sound. She also makes use of an Irish Whistle as well as use of a radio shipping forecast. If you listen to the piece Kate also makes use of word painting in the final words “deeper and deeper” where the vocal melody line itself descends lower.
The basic structure of this piece is typical of a pop balla. Beginning with Verse 1 – Refrain – Bridge – Verse 2 – Refrain – Bridge – Outro/Coda. However it does not have an introduction. This may have been due to the fact it is one of the shorter songs on her ‘Hounds of Love’ Album.
The piece is a typical slow ballad and from looking at the score it is in 80bpm. The piece is in 4/4 metre but when looking at the score in bar 51 it changes to 5/4 for the bar. This is something which could be seen as being done for dramatic effect. As this is where in my opinion the climax of the piece happens. However there are also points in the piece which the metre changes to 2/4 for example bar 32. This in my opinion is to help extend some of the more exciting phrases in the piece before it moves back to 4/4. Syncopation is also a common occurrence in this piece. This could be to make the piece have more of an interesting melody to listen to. One common thing to notice is the idea that the vocal material very often starts after the first beat of the bar. This could be because it is quite a slow piece so by starting after the first beat of the bar it allows the piece to be driven forward by the rest of the instruments in the piece as the piece is quite a slow tempo. The piece also makes use of triplets however this is only in bar 51 in the lead vocal. However throughout the rest of the piece quavers and semiquavers as well as dotted rhythms are common.
Kate Bush was known for her interesting melodies which are again common in this piece of music. The reason she was so well known for them is due to their unpredictability and how the melodies although not equal in length can sound in fact improvised. As well as being known for repetition. In ‘And dream of sheep’ many elements used ultimately give the piece its interesting nature in my opinion. In the refrain which appears at bars 8-14 as well as bars 27-35 Kate makes use of minor thirds which happen to move between B and G sharp. This happens in both of the refrains. She may have done this as it’s the lead up to the main bridge which is to the words “let me be weak, let me sleep and dream of sheep”. This part of the song also falls by step back to the original starting note.
The texture in this piece isn’t something which Kate really focuses on however there are some elements of it which are important to note. Although the piece focuses mainly on the vocals as appose to everything else it still plays a more active role during the verses as well as using arpeggios and occasionally doubling the vocal line. This may be to make the vocals sound stronger. Whereas in the refrain and chorus you can see the piano playing a much simpler part where it often uses block chords. I believe this has been done to make the vocals which are the pain focus in the piece even more noticed and important as they are ultimately in my opinion the part that tells the story.
Kate Bush uses a mainly diatonic functional harmony in her pieces this is because Kate was self taught. The harmony used in this piece of music is one of the more interesting elements of the piece. From looking at the piece it starts with a C sharp minor 7 which then moves to F sharp minor which could be seen as a modal sequence. From looking at the score Kate also makes use of a typical pop chord progression I-II-V-I which is in E major and it happens to appear over a tonic bass pedal.
The tonality of this piece is very much dependant on what part of the song you are listening to. In the verses which are bars 1-7 and bar 20-26 the key of C sharp minor. It then in the Refrain and Bridge moves to E major which happens to b the relative major of the piece
To conclude I believe that through the techniques Kate Bush uses she is able to very much take the style of pop music and the genre in general and make it her own. This is through her using her own techniques