The Man with the Child in His Eyes

"The Man with the Child in His Eyes" is a song by Kate Bush. It is the fifth track on her debut album The Kick Inside and was released as her second single, on the EMI label, in 1978.

"The Man with the Child in His Eyes"
Single by Kate Bush
from the album The Kick Inside
B-side"Moving"
Released26 May 1978 (1978-05-26)
RecordedJune 1975 (1975-06), AIR Studios, London
GenreProgressive pop[1]
Length2:42 (Single mix)
2:40 (LP mix)
LabelEMI
Songwriter(s)Kate Bush
Producer(s)Andrew Powell, David Gilmour
Kate Bush singles chronology
"Moving"
(1978)		 "The Man with the Child in His Eyes"
(1978)		 "Hammer Horror"
(1978)
Music video
"The Man with the Child in His Eyes" on YouTube
Audio sample
"The Man with the Child in His Eyes"
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Overview

Bush wrote the song when she was 13 and recorded it at the age of 16. It was recorded at AIR Studios, London, in June 1975 under the guidance of David Gilmour.[2] She has said that recording with a large orchestra at that age terrified her.[3] The song was Bush's second chart single in the United Kingdom where it reached number six in the summer of 1978. In the United States the single was released in December of the same year. It became her first single to reach the Billboard pop singles chart, peaking at number 85 early in 1979.[4] Bush performed this song in her one appearance on Saturday Night Live, singing on a piano being played by Paul Shaffer.

The single version slightly differs from the album version. On the single, the song opens with the phrase “he’s here!” echoing, an effect added after the album was released.[3]

According to the sheet music published in Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, the song is set in the time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 88 beats per minute. It is written in the key of E minor.[5]

In 2010, former radio and television presenter Steve Blacknell, Bush's first boyfriend, offered the original hand-written lyrics for the song for sale through music memorabilia website 991.com. The lyrics were written "in hot pink felt tip, complete with Kate Bush's own little pink circles in place of dots over the "I"'s."[6]

Bush herself has never stated who she wrote the song about, but Backnell has stated that a person close to Bush had told him the song was written about him. It had long been assumed it was about Gilmour.[7]

The song received the Ivor Novello Award for "Outstanding British Lyric" in 1979.[8]

Track listing

7" single (EMI 2806) (UK)

  1. "The Man with the Child in His Eyes" – 2:42
  2. "Moving" – 3:06

Chart performance
Chart (1978) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[9] 6
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 22
Dutch Top 40[11] 27
Dutch Single Top 100 23
Irish Singles Chart[12] 3
New Zealand Singles Chart 36
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 85

References
  1. Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (2000), Night Moves: Pop Music in the Late '70s, St. Martin's Press, p. 67, ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3
  2. The Kick Inside sleeve notes
  3. "Kate Bush in Her Own Words - The Man with the Child in His Eyes". Gaffaweb. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  4. "allmusic – Kate Bush – Billboard singles". Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  5. "The Man With The Child In His Eyes: Digital Sheet music". Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
  6. Sicha, Choire (23 September 2010). "Kate Bush's Handwriting: Girly, Pink, Awesome – The Awl". theawl.com. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  7. "So kate carly and paul who were you really singing about" https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/so-kate-carly-and-paul-who-were-you-really-singing-about-26689374.html
  8. Kate Bush at the BBC (Television production). BBC Four. 22 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  9. "The Official Charts Company - Kate Bush - Man With The Child In His Eyes". Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 50. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 31, 1978". Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  12. "irishcharts.ie search results". Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  13. "Kate Bush Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
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