"It's in the trees!
It's coming!"

When I was a child:
Running in the night,
Afraid of what might be

Hiding in the dark,
Hiding in the street,
And of what was following me...

Now hounds of love are hunting.
I've always been a coward,
And I don't know what's good for me.

Here I go!
It's coming for me through the trees.
Help me, someone!
Help me, please!

Take my shoes off,
And throw them in the lake,
And I'll be
Two steps on the water.

I found a fox
Caught by dogs.
He let me take him in my hands.

His little heart,
It beats so fast,
And I'm ashamed of running away

From nothing real--
I just can't deal with this,
But I'm still afraid to be there,

Among your hounds of love,
And feel your arms surround me.
I've always been a coward,
And never know what's good for me.

Oh, here I go!
Don't let me go!
Hold me down!
It's coming for me through the trees.
Help me, darling,
Help me, please!

Take my shoes off
And throw them in the lake,
And I'll be
Two steps on the water.

I don't know what's good for me.
I don't know what's good for me.
I need your love love love love love, yeah!
Your love!

Take your shoes off
And throw them in the lake!

Do you know what I really need?
Do you know what I really need?
I need love love love love love, yeah!



Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery

Track duration: 03:03

"Hounds of Love" as written by Kate Bush

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Hounds of Love song meanings
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44 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:BTW I ended up on this site because I was enjoying Florence and the Machine's "Dog Days Are Over" for the millionth time and I suddenly realized how reminiscent it is of "Hounds of Love" both thematically and in its overall sound. Also, they're both about dogs. And the Flo+M video for "Dog Days" is very Kate.
    Flag writerlyon July 19, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Definitely the Kate version. It's all about that drumbeat whacking you across the head in the first few seconds and then continuing to spank you around throughout the whole song. Adds to the feeling of suddenness and disorientation that comes with falling in love and feeling ill-equipped to do the right thing. Not to be a hater (I love a good cover) but I went to Amazon and listened to a sample of the Futureheads version just now and I threw up a little in my mouth.
    Flag writerlyon July 19, 2011   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:I think this song is about her/a girl running away from hounds that are after her (perhaps Hounds of the Baskervilles-esque hounds.) Then she finds the fox that's also running from the hounds and decides to save it. She then takes her shoes off and throws them into the lake and goes through the water (two steps on the water,) to mask their scent, since water washes it away.

    The hounds are what's coming at her through the trees. I'm not buying all of these "clearly, it's a biblical reference to Jesus." comments. I think the song is actually more straightforward than people think it is.

    Also, I don't mind The Futureheads cover, but it's not better than the original by any means.
    Flag WolfieMusicon July 12, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The Futureheads' version is dreadful. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves.
    Flag zsson April 01, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The way Kate writes her song is simply amazing- not much of the text, but so complex and mutli-dimensional! Wow! Not many artist can do that. She's a poet, a well-skilled musician poet. And a dancer, too. She's a genious.

    And this song, especially the ALTERNATIVE version, is so touching- it's just how I feel now- once hurt, now scared of the good things...

    Love Kate and all the people who let her IN their eras, minds and hearts :)
    Flag UneverknOwithK8on February 24, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is so dear to me. It is musical and lyrical genius.
    Flag Gregg1989on August 31, 2010   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:On "The Red Shoes" album credits, KaTe thanks *Joseph Campbell*.

    KaTe says that when she was writing 'Hounds of Love' she came across a line about hounds and the whole idea of being chased by love as something terrifying. The imagery of being hunted by love made a marked impression on her.

    KaTe: "When I was writing the song I sorta started coming across this line about hounds and I thought "hounds of love" and the whole idea of being chasing by this love that actually gonna... when it get you it just going to rip you to pieces, [raises voice] you know, and have your guts all over the floor! So this very sort of... being hunted by love, I liked the imagery, I thought it was really good."
    Radio 1, Classic Albums interview: Hounds Of Love, aired January 26, 1992
    gaffa.org/reaching/…

    So could the inspiration for Hounds of Love have been Thompson's poem, "The Hound of Heaven"? Thompson's poem is quoted in *The Hero with a Thousand Faces* by Joseph Campbell, p.50.

    It's in the trees! It's coming! ... In the 1999 book Paradox, author Richard Patterson suggested that Francis Thompson was Jack the Ripper!
    Flagged Theresa_Gionoffrioon April 27, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:She takes her shoes off and throws them in the lake in order to throw off the hounds that are tracing her scent.

    She crosses the water to try and lose the hounds. Two steps implies a commital act. One step, you can still go back; this ties in with the "I've always been a coward/and never known what's good for me" line. She wants someone to make the decision for her.
    Flag hazbosson April 19, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:She's running in the dark..(she doesn't want it to happen,but she's blinded of whats happening)
    She can feel it coming throungh the trees (she can feel the love but can't see it)
    Someone help me, help me please (she doesn't want it to happen)
    She throws her shoes in the water (she doesn't want to run)
    Two steps in the water (she sinking deeper into the love)
    She found a fox, caught by dogs his little heart beet so fast (the fox ran away but got caught now it feels the pain, she relises it's a reflection of her)
    she feels ashamed and cant deal with it.
    The song then goes back to her feeling afraid of what's coming through the tree's
    In the end all she wants is love.


    .
    .
    This is a comparrason to love.. (Hounds of love) attacking something small and vunvrable... even though the
    Flagged MusicThornxon March 02, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For some strange reason this song here really reminds me more of a rape than of love... For some reason that's also beacause of the musicvideo with the authority governing the poor secretary.
    Flag lars123456789on December 19, 2009   Link

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