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Jessica Armstrong

Professor Rebecca Morean

English 1201.503

11 June 2020

This Women’s Work

“I know you've got a little life in you left. I know you've got a lot of strength left” (Bush and

Maxwell). The words many people have thought when they are faced with the panicked

moments of the life or death of someone they love. “This Woman’s Work” by Kate Bush and

later redid by Maxwell share a common theme of losing someone you love; however, Bush’s

version is geared towards women and families, while Maxwell’s take leaves the appeal to a more

versatile audience. These are the lyrics from a song about how scary it is when you might lose

someone and all the regrets of things you didn’t do or say. There are two versions of the song

and music video. In one rendition you have the story of childbirth with the possibilities of

mother and baby dying and in the other you have a heartbreaking love story about a man

struggling to get over the loss of his lover. Bush’s 1989 original focuses on the possibility of

death during childbirth, but with a happy ending and Maxwell’s 2002 version is a more modern

video about the loss of a lover relating it to almost anyone, but with a sadder end.

The story being told in Kate Bush’s version is about facing the possibility of death for mom

and baby during childbirth. The song was originally written for the film, “She’s Having a

Baby,” 1988. Bush wrote the song specifically from a man’s viewpoint to go along with the

story being told in the movie. The characters in the video are Kate Bush playing the wife, her

husband, and the nurse at the hospital. The music video starts with Bush playing the piano in a
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dark room with the spotlight on her. Next, you see a worried man walking around the hospital

waiting room. Then, a series of flashbacks that show his wife collapsed when they were eating

dinner. He carries her to the car, they race to the hospital, and his wife is wheeled away on the

stretcher at the hospital as he runs after her. While he waits, he is in fear and starts to imagine

his wife happy like when they kissed in the rain. He even imagines the nurse coming out to tell

him his wife died. The real nurse comes out and snaps him back to reality as she calmly tells

him his wife and baby are okay. The video ends with Bush in the dark room, spotlight on her, at

the piano, closing the keyboard.

The original song and video relate to women or families and has an eighties artsy pop vibe.

This is shown through the story in the video of the man frantically waiting for his wife in

emergency childbirth and in the production and vibe of the video. The main claim of Kate

Bush’s music video is that having a baby can be scary and potentially fatal for the mother and

baby depending on the circumstances. The reason for the claim is a dramatic story to get an

emotional response from the viewer. It can also inform people how scary and dangerous

childbirth can be, but I don’t think this was the intent. Another reason for the claim is the song

was made for a movie, so they had to tell a story to match it. The video was from the eighties

which is clear when you see the hairstyles, nurse uniforms, and overall mood. Thankfully, the

story ends happily with mom and baby surviving.

The story being told in Maxwell’s rendition of the song is about coming to grips with the loss

of someone you love and how devastating that can be. This version appeared in the movie, Love

and Basketball. The characters in the video are Maxwell, his lover that died, and the two women

in the diner. The music video starts with images of Maxwell and his lover in black and white.

One picture reveals to us that his lover died. Next, Maxwell sees the ghost of his lover in the
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street and he tries to walk to her. He then falls through the street into what looks like a watery

grave as if he was drowning from grief. He swims across the street and pulls himself up from the

sidewalk and looks up to the clouds. He sees the face of his lover. She is everywhere. Next,

you see Maxwell sitting in a diner thinking of his lover. Two women are sitting next to him and

you see flashes of the loss and heartbreak both experienced in different ways. The video ends

with Maxwell walking outside the diner but appearing still “underwater” as he sings the words,

“make it go away.”

In Maxwell’s version of the song, he relates the song and video to pretty much anyone that

has lost someone they love with a modern soul feeling. You can see this with the images of his

lost love and apparent heartache through a creative and figurative video. The main claim of the

music video is that losing someone you love can be painful and heartbreaking and sometimes

harder for some more than others to get through. It is a fact that it is difficult to lose a loved one.

Sometimes the reasons we lose people are unexplainable, which can be hard. The reason for the

claim would be to connect with people that have lost someone through music. This video was

from 2002 and the broad topic of losing someone you love relates to everyone. The video is up

for some artistic interpretation and unfortunately leaves you sad at the end as if he can’t get over

his lost love.

The rhetorical appeal used to create the overarching message or claim of both videos is

pathos by creating emotional stories relatable to real life situations. Bush’s video is appealing to

pathos from the emotional story of a husband and wife about to have a baby and start a family

one moment and then mom and the baby fighting for their lives during labor the next. This

appeals especially to women, mothers, and fathers. Maxwell’s video clearly appeals to pathos
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with the emotional story of losing someone you love and how it can seem impossible to get over.

It appeals to anyone who has lost someone.

Kate Bush’s song has a musical style of Art Pop while Maxwell’s musical style is Soul and

R&B. This can matter when determining which type of audience might be interested in the song

or music video. The audience for Bush’s video would be anyone who has lost someone. More

specifically, people who also like the style of music that would be categorized as artsy, pop, or

dance. This song might also be more popular for people in their 40s or older since the song came

out in 1989. The audience for Maxwell’s video would also be anyone who has lost someone.

More specifically, people who also like a more soul, R&B, bluesy vibe. This song might also be

more popular for people between the ages of 20-40 since it came out in 2002, but I think this

version could be more easily liked by all ages.

Facing the possibility of losing someone you love or having them already gone can be

overwhelming and heartbreaking. Many people self-reflect in those moments and can be filled

with joy, guilt, or even regret. “All the things we should've said that I never said. All the things

we should have done that we never did. All the things we should have given but I didn't” (Bush

and Maxwell). Both songs get all those messages across. The biggest differences between them

is the music videos. One about childbirth and possible loss and the other about trying to cope

with someone already gone. With over a twenty-year difference in the release of both songs

their musical styles and intended audiences have a somewhat different vibe. Both Kate Bush and

Maxwell’s versions of “This Woman’s Work” show that love can be the most powerful feeling

in the world.
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Works Cited

Bush, Kate. This Woman’s Work. YouTube, 24 Nov. 2009, https://youtu.be/7TupvVpxY_U.

Accessed 11 June 2020.

Maxwell. This Woman’s Work. YouTube, 2 Oct. 2009, https://youtu.be/gkeCNeHcmXY.

Accessed 11 June 2020.