Age and betrayal is something many people fear, but not many put their partners’ loyalty to the test. However, that is exactly what happened in Kate Bush’s “Babooshka.”
“Babooshka” is the eighth of 11 songs on Kate Bush’s album “Never for Ever.” The song tells the story of a married couple where the wife has lost the beauty she once had, and to see if her husband still loves her writes him letters.
The song immediately throws the listener in with the wife’s plan. The song says, “She wanted to test her husband/She knew exactly what to do/a pseudonym/ to fool him.” When the husband receives the letters, they remind him of his wife when she was beautiful.
Eventually she wanted to test if he would recognize her in person. When they meet, the husband feels like they had met before, and how she reminds him of his wife. The song says, “Just like his wife before she freezed on him/Just like his wife when she was beautiful/He shouted out/I’m all yours.”
The song ends with her husband saying he loves her again by yelling her name Babooshka. Her name is a double entendre. It is her name, and Babooshka means “grandmother” in Russian, which is what he thought of her.
Kate Bush became popular in 1978 with her song “Wuthering Heights” on the album “The Kick Inside.” Her art pop and rock combo attracts many different people.
Her popularity dropped in the ‘80s, and she became more of an underground artist until her song “Running Up That Hill” was played in the Netflix original “Stranger Things.” After the featuring, Kate Bush had a revival now being extremely popular with Gen Z.
“Never for Ever” was released on September 8, 1978. The album includes 11 songs and is 37 minutes long.
You can listen to “Babooshka” on Spotify and Apple Music.