Strange Phenomena

Album: The Kick Inside (1978)
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Songfacts®:

  • On this track from her debut album, Kate Bush sings about the strange phenomena that disguises itself as happenstance. "'Strange Phenomena' is about how coincidences cluster together," she told Music Talk in 1978. "We can all recall instances when we have been thinking about a particular person and then have met a mutual friend who - totally unprompted - will begin talking about that person. That's a very basic way of explaining what I mean, but these 'clusters of coincidence' occur all the time. We are surrounded by strange phenomena, but very few people are aware of it. Most take it as being part of everyday life."
  • Kate sings of "G" arriving after having a feeling he was on his way. She told her fan club "G" is actually a man she knows as Mr. G.
  • The lyrics "Om mani padme hum" were taken from a Buddhist mantra. At the time, Kate didn't know what it meant, but a fan club member discovered it is a form of adoration of the Buddha, and means, "Oh, the jewel in the lotus."
  • The opening verse unfolds during "the phase of the moon when people tune in," and claims, "Every girl knows about the punctual blues," leading The Guardian to interpret the tune as a "frank paean to menstruation."
  • This was released as a single only in Brazil, where it failed to chart.

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