How To Be Invisible

Can all of my favourite singer/songwriters please make collections of their lyrics like this one? I had no idea I wanted this until now, but reading this beautiful collection was such a joy, such an incredible reading experience, and I loved every second of it. Of course, as a life-long Kate Bush fan, I've always known she has a remarkable way with words, not just music; her imagination and imagery are all part of her charm. So, perhaps, the experience of reading lyrics written out in poetry form wouldn't quite work with some artists (in fact, thinking about it and without naming names, there are some that I love music-wise, but probably wouldn't seem so great if the focus was on their lyrics!), but with Kate it's amazing how well her words work on their own in this entirely different medium. Honestly, I would have never have purchased this book for myself; I had all the misgivings that David Mitchell (side note: I have no idea why I haven't read any of his novels yet, as he writes brilliantly) outlines in his terrific introduction to the collection:

A book of lyrics is a strange beast. Readers who know the songs become ‘bearers' as the brain belts out a speeded-up version of the familiar recording, while those readers unfamiliar with the lyrics are confronted by text presented in a poetry format, but which is avowedly not poetry. Poetry is a solo art form: most lyrics need to leave room for, and craft an affinity with, music - just as lines in a screenplay must be sparse enough to allow for an actor's interpretation. Even in instances where lyrics could pass for poetry to the unwary, lyrics on the page are still a boat in dry-dock, removed from the elements that buoy them and determine their velocity. (p.xi)

One more step to the top of the cityWhere just a couple of pigeons are livingUp on the angel's shouldersI don't know if I'm closer to Heaven butIt looks like Hell down thereThese streets have never beenPaved with goldWelcome to the loneliest city inThe world (p.6)

I should be crying but I just can't let it show / I should be hoping but I can't stop thinking

What could he do? / Should have been a father' / But he never even made it to his twenties / What a waste

We were working secretly for the militaryOur experiment in sound was nearly ready to beginWe only know in theory what we are doingMusic made for pleasure, music made to thrillIt was music we were making here untilThey told us all they wantedWas a sound that could kill someone from a distanceSo we go ahead and the meters are over in the redIt's a mistake in the making (p.64)

I've been doing it for years, my goal is moving nearIt says ‘Look, I'm over here', then it up and disappearSome say that knowledge is something sat in your lapSome say that knowledge is oh-oh-oh-ohI want to be a lawyer, I want to be a scholarBut I really can't be bothered, ooh justGimme it quick, gimme it, gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme (p.34)

are