The Dreaming (song)

{{short description|1982 song by Kate Bush}}

{{About|the Kate Bush song|other songs with similar titles|Dreaming (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2012}}

{{Infobox song

| name = The Dreaming

| cover = KateBushTheDreamingSingle.png

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Kate Bush

| album = The Dreaming

| B-side = Dreamtime

| released = {{Start date|1982|7|26|df=yes}}

| recorded = 1981

| studio =

| genre = * Art rock

• worldbeat

| length = 4:09 (single version)
4:43 (album version)

| label = EMI

| writer = Kate Bush

| producer = Kate Bush

| prev_title = Sat in Your Lap

| prev_year = 1981

| next_title = There Goes a Tenner

| next_year = 1982

| misc = {{External music video|type=single|header=Music video|1={{YouTube|M2Wa0LdCsvM|"The Dreaming"}}}}

}}

"The Dreaming" is the title song from Kate Bush's fourth studio album The Dreaming and was released as a single on 26 July 1982. "The Dreaming" peaked at No. 48 and spent 3 weeks in the UK Singles Chart.{{Cite web |date=1982-08-07 |title=THE DREAMING |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/kate-bush-the-dreaming/ |access-date=2024-10-09 |website=Official Charts |language=en}}

The song is about the destruction of Aboriginal Australians' traditional lands by white Australians in their quest for weapons-grade uranium. Bird impersonator Percy Edwards provided sheep noises.[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00htwx7 Percy Edwards Showdown BBC4 4 march, 2009]

The title is based on The Dreaming, a concept in Aboriginal mythology. The original title for the track was "The Abo Song", which unwittingly made use of a racial slur; promotional 7-inch copies were circulated before being recalled.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Kate-Bush-Abo-Song/release/6919933|title=Kate Bush - Abo Song|date=24 June 1982 |publisher=Discogs|access-date=2016-06-10}} A 12-inch single was also mooted but ultimately rejected by EMI for "not being commercially viable".

An alternative version of "The Dreaming", entitled "Dreamtime", was used as the UK single B-side. It is usually referred to as an instrumental version of "The Dreaming": while the track omits the sung lead vocals, it retains most of the backing vocals. "Dreamtime" contains both an extended intro and outro.

The cover art is by Del Palmer, Bush's partner at the time and sometime bass player. It features a depiction of the Wandjina, a sky spirit in Western Australian traditions.