"Music Is The Best It's Ever Been" Sathnam Sanghera's Favourite Songs | Page 12 of 14 | The Quietus

Baker's Dozen

Artists discuss the 13 records that shaped their lives

11. Maxwell

I’ve probably thought about this song more than any other song in my life. This was written by Kate Bush for a scene in a film I have not seen, and is apparently about childbirth. But for me, it means something different. I came to it via Maxwell, and he’s got that really incredible soulful voice again, that falsetto which I love. For me, this song is about a son and his mother. I’m worried about saying this because it’s probably not what it’s about. But for me, it captures that feeling, if I capture the way I feel about my mum, and this kind of respect you have for the things that women go through, especially Indian women in my case. I think about my mum, I think about how so often the responsibilities in parenting are unequal, and how women hold families together, they hold society together. I think this is, for me, a man paying his respect to that. I don’t think there’s a word to describe that feeling, but this song fills that space.  It’s a stunning song. I will never get tired of this song.

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