Running Up That Hill

In the 1980s, the song 'Running Up That Hill' was released by Kate Bush. Now, roughly forty years later, the same song has made a comeback due to the show 'Stranger Things' and the amazing storytelling that takes place within the series.

When Kate Bush's song featured during Season 4 as one of the heroines' in the show fights against the embodied of her depression while subtly underlining the suicidal thoughts related to the struggle she is facing within Season 4. This song is the manifestation of her fight to survive.

I'm a fan of 'Stranger Things,' and the show is one most people I know enjoy a great deal. The characters are relatable. The plot is interesting, and the way it's played proved to be satisfying. It's a show I like, and I've rewatched several seasons more than I care to count.

The moment 'Stranger Things' used music as a way to overcome the dark aspects of life, such as trauma or guilt or depression, was 'it' for me. Music is a coping factor I use outside of food and chocolate, the one thing I repeatedly fall back on because it helps me so much.

And the song, Running Up That Hill,' is one I've known for years.

My First Encounters With 'Running Up That Hill'

Within Temptation was one of my favorite bands as a teen, and many of their songs are still close to my heart. Nightwish and Evanescence are two other bands I enjoyed a lot, alongside Linkin Park, and I spent a lot of my time lost in my little world of make-believe as their songs flooded my ears. When my struggles with depression began, it was these bands I would fall back on because their songs helped me escape.

'Running Up That Hill' was one song I had grown up with, but it wasn't Kate Bush I associated the song with. As a teen, I hadn't realized Within Temptation had sung a cover of the song, but it was one I enjoyed. It wasn't until later that I eventually came across Placebo's version of the same song.

Music is a way we all relate to the world, in one way or another. Even a person who cannot hear can feel the vibrations music sends off into the world. They experience sound through touch.

Now I can see the different ways the song is being understood. The ways different singers are putting their spin on it showed how people will relate to a song differently and will experience it in a different light.

Placebo's version of the song will always be one of my all-time favorites.

However, since watching 'Stranger Things,' I've been interested in taking a step back and seeing in what other ways the song has come to life. I have a large number of bands I listen to, many of which have given their spin to the song that I have that I love.

One I just recently came across was by Loveless.

I'm not a song critic. I love this song, it's raw, and I might be a bit in love with the lyrical video. It's easier for me to understand a song if I can see the lyrics as it's being sung. It's easier for me to grasp, for the words to sink in and for my understanding to begin.

The thought that someone would trade places with someone they love resonates deeply within me. Sometimes people do things they can't take back. That cannot be undone. In those moments, we wish to take their place. To lessen the burdens.

To ease the weight our loved ones carry on their shoulders.

Beyond the covers listed above, Rain Paris, The Fox and the Hound, and Jonathan Young/Caleb Hyles all created covers of the song I find to be personal masterpieces. Each of the covers has its own flair, its own flavor.

All are delightful to hear.

Below, I've listed them in order. Take a moment to listen to them, even if only sampling a few minutes of each. See how the way the singer expresses the song, and how their view of it is slightly different than the others.

I've known this song for years, but now there are dozens of covers of the song. I haven't found one I don't like, as of yet. Some don't speak to me like the ones I've listed in this article that are good in their own right. They're amazing songs, the emotions behind them clear and lovely.

I've listened to the three songs above more times than I care to admit, and I love each of them. They're delightful. Powerful. My mind tends to wander as they play, ideas for stories rising up as the music surges and the weight behind the words sinks in.

So, yes, I encourage everyone to listen. Even if only for a few minutes.

Listen, reflect, and embrace A Deal With God in all its versions.