Jig of Life Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Hello, old lady
I know your face well
I know it well, she says
"Ooh, na-na, n-na-na, na-na-na
I'll be sitting in your mirror
Now is the place where the crossroads meet
Will you look into the future?"
[Chorus]
"Never, never say goodbye
To my part of your life"
No, no, no, no-no
Oh, let me live
She said, "C'mon and let me live, girl"
She said, "C'mon and let me live, girl" (C'mon and let me live)
[Verse 2]
"This moment in time"
She said
"It doesn't belong to you"
She said
"It belongs to me
And to your little boy and to your little girl
And the one hand clapping
Where on your palm is my little line
When you're written in mine as an old memory?"
Ooh, na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-n—
Hello, old lady
I know your face well
I know it well, she says
"Ooh, na-na, n-na-na, na-na-na
I'll be sitting in your mirror
Now is the place where the crossroads meet
Will you look into the future?"
[Chorus]
"Never, never say goodbye
To my part of your life"
No, no, no, no-no
Oh, let me live
She said, "C'mon and let me live, girl"
She said, "C'mon and let me live, girl" (C'mon and let me live)
[Verse 2]
"This moment in time"
She said
"It doesn't belong to you"
She said
"It belongs to me
And to your little boy and to your little girl
And the one hand clapping
Where on your palm is my little line
When you're written in mine as an old memory?"
Ooh, na-na, na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na-n—
[Chorus]
"Never, never say goodbye
To my part of your life
Oh no, no, no, no, no
Oh, never, never, never, never, never let me go"
She said, "C'mon and let me live, girl" (C'mon and let me live)
She said, "C'mon and let me live, girl" (C'mon and let me live)
[Instrumental Break]
[Bridge: Kate Bush & John Carder Bush]
I put this moment here
I put this moment here
I put this moment
Over here
Over here
[Outro: John Carder Bush]
Can't you see where memories are kept bright?
Tripping on the water like a laughing girl
Time in her eyes is spawning past life
One with the ocean and the woman unfurled
Holding all the love that waits for you here
Catch us now, for I am your future
A kiss on the wind, and we'll make the land
Come over here to where When lingers
Waiting in this empty world
Waiting for Then, when the life spray cools
For now, does ride in on the curl of the wave
And you will dance with me in the sunlit pools
We are of the going water and the gone
We are of water in the holy land of water
And all that's to come runs in
With the thrust on the strand
"Never, never say goodbye
To my part of your life
Oh no, no, no, no, no
Oh, never, never, never, never, never let me go"
She said, "C'mon and let me live, girl" (C'mon and let me live)
She said, "C'mon and let me live, girl" (C'mon and let me live)
[Instrumental Break]
[Bridge: Kate Bush & John Carder Bush]
I put this moment here
I put this moment here
I put this moment
Over here
Over here
[Outro: John Carder Bush]
Can't you see where memories are kept bright?
Tripping on the water like a laughing girl
Time in her eyes is spawning past life
One with the ocean and the woman unfurled
Holding all the love that waits for you here
Catch us now, for I am your future
A kiss on the wind, and we'll make the land
Come over here to where When lingers
Waiting in this empty world
Waiting for Then, when the life spray cools
For now, does ride in on the curl of the wave
And you will dance with me in the sunlit pools
We are of the going water and the gone
We are of water in the holy land of water
And all that's to come runs in
With the thrust on the strand
About
Genius Annotation
“Jig of Life” is the tenth track on Kate Bush’s album Hounds of Love, and the fifth track of “The Ninth Wave”, a mini-concept album about a woman drowning in the aftermath of a shipwreck.
“Jig of Life” is the third in a series of three songs about the hallucinations experienced by the woman as she slowly freezes and runs out of oxygen. The three songs appear to follow a past, present, future pattern, with “Jig of Life” representing the future.
The drowning woman is confronted by her future self, who tries to convince her to fight for their shared life.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 3.The Big Sky
- 5.Cloudbusting
- 7.Under Ice
- 10.Jig of Life
- 11.Hello Earth
- 12.The Morning Fog
Credits
Producer
Writer
Remastering Engineer
Lyricist
Vocals
Keyboards
Bouzouki
Bodhrán Drum
Drums
Fiddle
Whistles
Spoken Word
Uilleann Pipes
Violins
Irish Musicians Arranger
Publisher
Engineer
Assistant Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Recorded At
Wickham Farm Home Studio
Release Date
September 16, 1985
Jig of Life Translations
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