Song written by Kate Bush. Originally released on her fourth album The Dreaming.
Cover versions
‘All The Love’ was covered by Theo Bleckmann.
Kate about ‘All The Love’
Although we are often surrounded by people and friends, we are all ultimately alone, and I feel sure everyone feels lonely at some time in their life. I wanted to write about feeling alone, and how having to hide emotions away or being too scared to show love can lead to being lonely as well. There are just some times when you can’t cope and you just don’t feel you can talk to anyone. I go and find a bathroom, a toilet or an empty room just to sit and let it out and try to put it all together in my mind. Then I go back and face it all again.
I think it’s sad how we forget to tell people we love that we do love them. Often we think about these things when it’s too late or when an extreme situation forces us to show those little things we’re normally too shy or too lazy to reveal. One of the ideas for the song sparked when I came home from the studio late one night. I was using an answering machine to take the day’s messages and it had been going wrong a lot, gradually growing worse with time. It would speed people’s voices up beyond recognition, and I just used to hope they would ring back again one day at normal speed.
This particular night, I started to play back the tape, and the machine had neatly edited half a dozen messages together to leave “Goodbye”, “See you!”, “Cheers”, “See you soon” .. It was a strange thing to sit and listen to your friends ringing up apparently just to say goodbye. I had several cassettes of peoples’ messages all ending with authentic farewells, and by copying them onto 1/4” tape and re-arranging the order, we managed to synchronize the ‘callers’ with the last verse of the song.
There are still quite a few of my friends who have not heard the album or who have not recognised themselves and are still wondering how they managed to appear in the album credits when they didn’t even set foot into the studio. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982)
Lyrics
The first time I died
Was in the arms of good friends of mine.
They kiss me with tears.
They hadn’t been near me for years.
Say, why do it now
When I won’t be around, I’m going out?
“We needed you
To love us too.
We wait for your move.”
Only tragedy allows the release
Of love and grief never normally seen.
I didn’t want to let them see me weep,
I didn’t want to let them see me weak,
But I know I have shown
That I stand at the gates alone.
“We needed you
To love us too.
We wait for your move.”
All the love, all the love,
All the love we should have given.
All the love, all the love,
All the love you could have given.
All the love, all the love,
All the love…
The next time I dedicate
My life’s work to the friends I make
I give them what they want to hear
They think I’m up to something weird
And up rears the head of fear in me
So now when they ring
I get my machine to let them in
“We needed you
To love me too.
We wait for your move.”
All the love, all the love,
All the love you should have given.
All the love, all the love,
All the love we could have given.
All the love, all the love,
All the love…
“Take care, tootle-ooh.”
“Bye-bye.”
“Bye for now, love”
“Bye!”
“Later”
“Bye-ee!”
“Cheerio”
“Bye!”
“Bye-bye”
“Bye”
“See ya”
“Bye-ee!”
“Bye”
“Bye”
“Cheers.”
“See ya, love”
“Bye!”
“Goodbye.”
“I’ll see ya soon”
“Goodnight”
“We needed you
To love us too.
We wait for your move.”
Credits
Drums, percussion: Stuart Elliott
Bass: Del Palmer
Piano, Fairlight: Kate Bush
Choirboy: Richard Thornton