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"If I only could, I'd be running up that hill.
If I only could, I'd be running up that hill."
It doesn't hurt me.
Do you want to feel how it feels?
Do you want to know that it doesn't hurt me?
Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?
You, it's you and me.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
If I only could, oh
You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware I'm tearing you asunder.
Ooh, there is thunder in our hearts.
Is there so much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?
You, it's you and me.
It's you and me won't be unhappy.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building,
Say, if I only could, oh...
You,
It's you and me,
It's you and me won't be unhappy.
"C'mon, baby, c'mon darling,
Let me steal this moment from you now.
C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling,
Let's exchange the experience, oh"
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.
If I only could
Be running up that hill
With no problems
"If I only could, I'd be running up that hill.
If I only could, I'd be running up that hill."
If I only could, I'd be running up that hill."
It doesn't hurt me.
Do you want to feel how it feels?
Do you want to know that it doesn't hurt me?
Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making?
You, it's you and me.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
If I only could, oh
You don't want to hurt me,
But see how deep the bullet lies.
Unaware I'm tearing you asunder.
Ooh, there is thunder in our hearts.
Is there so much hate for the ones we love?
Tell me, we both matter, don't we?
You, it's you and me.
It's you and me won't be unhappy.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building,
Say, if I only could, oh...
You,
It's you and me,
It's you and me won't be unhappy.
"C'mon, baby, c'mon darling,
Let me steal this moment from you now.
C'mon, angel, c'mon, c'mon, darling,
Let's exchange the experience, oh"
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.
And if I only could,
I'd make a deal with God,
And I'd get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
With no problems.
If I only could
Be running up that hill
With no problems
"If I only could, I'd be running up that hill.
If I only could, I'd be running up that hill."
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The conflicting feelings of love and hatred, begging a deity for help and resolution, the occasional glimpse of free movement, but ultimately returning to the source of abuse and conformity as it is comfortable and familiar.
Judging from the comments of Kate herself, my interpretation isn't entirely accurate. But I formed my opinion before reading Kate's reasoning behind her song. It's interesting how we pick up certain common themes (male/female etc) but often add our own twists (abuse, darkness, yearning for freedom etc). ;)
"The song itself has often been misinterpreted. Bush herself has said,
“I was trying to say that, really, a man and a woman, can't understand each other because we are a man and a woman. And if we could actually swap each other's roles, if we could actually be in each other's place for a while, I think we'd both be very surprised! [Laughs] And I think it would lead to a greater understanding. And really the only way I could think it could be done was either... you know, I thought a deal with the devil, you know. And I thought, 'well, no, why not a deal with God!' You know, because in a way it's so much more powerful the whole idea of asking God to make a deal with you. You see, for me it is still called "Deal With God", that was its title. But we were told that if we kept this title that it would not be played in any of the religious countries, Italy wouldn't play it, France wouldn't play it, and Australia wouldn't play it! Ireland wouldn't play it, and that generally we might get it blacked purely because it had God in the title.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/…
Although, I really like the theory that she is dead. That explains the first verse a lot.
My take on this has always been that the narrator (Kate/Will etc) desperately wants to help her/his lover through a difficuly time situation (the hill) and would gladly swap places with them to take their load. It's not about God- that's just an expression.
I assume that the writer is writing from a woman's point of view in a heterosexual relationship, so excuse me for me prejudice. I hear the song, myself, sung by a woman singing about a man and she expressed her thoughts about him and about their relationship.
She is singing to her man and she says that 'you don't want to hurt me', then she says 'but'. She changes the meaning of 'you don't want to hurt me'. She is saying that he has hurt her. She is saying that even if he might not want to hurt her, actually he has hurt her.
The pain is like a bullet wound. Sharp and deep. And like a bullet wound, it is really messy.
She is hurt, and in her pain she is hurting him as well. She is 'tearing [him] asunder' with her reaction to his behaviour. When she feels the hurt, she hurts him, but afterwards she is aware of what she has done.
So, she wants to say that everything is ok but telling him that 'it doesn't hurt me' and she is trying to convince him that it is going to be ok because of a 'deal' that she is making.
She is making the 'deal' because 'it's you and me'. She loves him. They are 'the ones who love', but there is 'thunder in [their] hearts'. That thunder is anger or 'hate'.
'Is there so much hate for the ones who love?
Tell me we both matter don't we?'
She wants him to reassure her that they are ok. It could be that she is trying to reassure him in order to hear that back. She wants him to say that too, the same way that some people say that they love someone in order to hear that back.
Now, their situation is difficult, but she is determined that they 'won't be unhappy'. She said before that she is making a deal, but she goes back on her words, maybe at a time of insecurity, and says 'if I only could'. She understands that she cannot make the deal that she wants. She cannot change things the way that she wants to change them. So, she hopes.
She wants 'to swap [their] places', maybe so that he knows what she is thinking and feeling. Maybe so that she knows what he is thinking and feeling. Actually, that doesn't quite fit with the 'running' theme. That's quite difficult to catch the exact meaning of, and may be only something that they can understand as a couple.
Maybe, she is just saying, if I were you, I'd do anything.
She says 'come on baby, come on darling'. It sounds like a come on. She wants to 'steal this moment', and it sounds as if she wants him to hold her tightly enough to make everything ok. But she maintains the theme of seeing the situation through the other's eyes in 'exchange the experience'. I think this means that she wants him to feel the pleasure that she is feeling when they make love.
It occurs to me that he is not with her at the time of the song. They have separated. She is too hurt (and maybe too proud) to run to him, but if she were him then she would run to the one that she loves, and she would make things good again, she would make sure that there would be 'no problems'. It sounds a little hypocritical. Kind of like a 'ok, you do this for me, even if I won't do it for you'. There could be a justification in that if he has hurt her. Why should she make the first move if he was the one that made the mistake?
She loves him, but they are hurting each other. She wants to be with him with no problems. That is her hope and her dream.