Army Dreamers

‘Army Dreamers’ is a song written by Kate Bush. The song is about the effects of war and about a mother who grieves for her young adult son, who was killed on military manoeuvres. Saddened by his unnecessary death, she wrestles with her guilt over what she could have done to prevent it. The song was originally released on the album Never For Ever , and as a single soon thereafter. The song was blacklisted during the Gulf War in 1991 – joining a list of 67 songs simultaneously banned from BBC airplay, including ABBA (‘Under Attack’), Bee Gees (‘Staying Alive’), Queen (‘Another One Bites The Dust’) and Status Quo (‘In The Army Now’). There are two versions of ‘Army Dreamers’: the album version (which fades out) and the single version (which has a ‘cold’ ending). The music video opens on a closeup of Kate Bush, dressed in dark green camouflage, holding a child. She blinks in synchronisation with the song’s sampled gun cocks. The camera pulls out and shows that Bush has a white-haired child on her lap. The child walks off and returns in military combat uniform. Bush and several soldiers (one of whom has “KT8” or “KTB” stencilled on the butt of his rifle: “KTB” was a monogram used by Bush early in her career) make their way through woodland, amid explosions. As the song progresses, Bush reaches out for the child soldier, but he disappears. Finally, one of the soldiers is blown up. ‘Army Dreamers’ is about a grieving mother who through the death of her soldier boy, questions her motherhood. It’s the first song I’ve ever written in the studio. It’s not specifically about Ireland, it’s just putting the case of a mother in these circumstances, how incredibly sad it is for her. How she feels she should have been able to prevent it. If she’d bought him a guitar when he asked for one. Colin Irwin, ‘Paranoia And Passion Of The Kate Inside’. Melody Maker (UK), 10 October 1980 Derek Jewell, ‘How To Write Songs And Influence People’. Sunday Times (UK), 5 October 1980 The Irish accent was important because the treatment of the song is very traditional, and the Irish would always use their songs to tell stories, it’s the traditional way. There’s something about an Irish accent that’s very vulnerable, very poetic, and so by singing it in an Irish accent it comes across in a different way. But the song was meant to cover areas like Germany, especially with the kids that get killed in manoeuvres, not even in action. It doesn’t get brought out much, but it happens a lot. I’m not slagging off the Army, it’s just so sad that there are kids who have no O-levels and nothing to do but become soldiers, and it’s not really what they want. That’s what frightens me. Our little army boy Is coming home from B.F.P.O. I’ve a bunch of purple flowers To decorate a mammy’s hero. Give the kid the pick of pips, And give him all your stripes and ribbons. Now he’s sitting in his hole, He might as well have buttons and bows. “What could he do? Should have been a father” But he never even made it to his twenties What a waste Army dreamers. Ooh, what a waste of Army dreamers Ooh, what a waste of all that Army dreamers Army dreamers Army dreamers ooh… Army Dreamers . Wikipedia, retrieved 11 October 2014 Thomas Leatham, ‘From Blondie to Lulu: The songs the BBC banned during the Gulf War ‘. Far Out, 1 September 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2024.