Cloudbusting

Dynamics

• Starts mf; rises to f (bar 65), returns to mf (bar 82), f again (bar 95)

• Starts mf; rises to f at bar 65, drops to mf at bar 82, returns to f at bar 95

• Military snare drum pattern drives the song's narrative — the quaver–semiquaver–semiquaver march figure at the chorus intensifies at bar 81 into quaver–five stroke rudiments, reflecting the song's themes of purpose and drive; this continues into the outro as the "men from the government" take the inventor away, creating counterpoint against the lead vocal (cf. Fat Les, Vindaloo — snare rudiments used similarly to convey a march-like spirit)

• Dominant feature of the accompaniment: a constant crotchet pulse (quaver chord + quaver rest) established by the strings at the opening — the first break in this strict pulse is a subtle added quaver in the sampled vocal (bar 12), followed by the more prominent march-like drum pattern at the chorus
  • Sudden halts to the pulse at "and forget" and "I won't forget" (bars 17 and 50) — structural disruption for expressive effect
  • Backbeat audible at bar 18
  • Steady reinforcing crotchet drum beats from bar 11
  • Syncopation e.g. Keyboard 2 (bars 69–70)
  • Offbeat sound effects at the close

• Recurring ♫♩ (quaver–quaver–crotchet) motif — first heard in bar 5 in the vocal melody, reused extensively throughout

• Scotch snap (bar 9)
  • Backbeat audible at bar 18
  • Steady crotchet drum beats reinforce the pulse from bar 11
  • Recurring ♫♩ (quaver–quaver–crotchet) motif first heard in bar 5 in the vocal melody, reused extensively throughout
  • Scotch snap at bar 9
  • Syncopation e.g. Keyboard 2 (bars 69–70)
  • Offbeat sound effects at the close
  • Sudden brief halts to the crotchet pulse at "and forget" and "I won't forget" (bars 17 and 50)
  • Contrasting longer note values in the violin countermelody at bar 34
  • Sustained semibreves in the lower parts (from bar 95) combined with a strong rhythmic figure in the upper strings

• Chorus hook: anticipatory syncopation and rapid repeated notes

• Frequent time signature changes — 5 within the first 12 bars; predominantly 4/4 in verses and chorus; bars of 6/4 extend phrases; bridge uses 3/2 for variety
  • Wider listening: a similar use of snare rudiments appears in Fat Les' Vindaloo to convey a march-like spirit

• Medium-fast tempo (♩= 112) with a strong sense of pulse throughout

• Lead vocal: longer note values at the opening, moving to speech-rhythm patterns with shorter durations

• Violin countermelody (bar 34): contrasting longer note values against the prevailing crotchet pulse

Texture

• Melody-dominated homophony throughout — homorhythmic string block chords accompany the lead vocal

• The prominent detached string sextet chords are reminiscent of the string quartet sonorities in the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby

• Crotchet string pulse broken only at the ends of bridge sections (for structural effect)

• Outro/coda: polyphonic interplay of three lines — lead vocals, Keyboard 2 instrumental line, and wordless backing vocals

• Military snare drum part throughout

• Additive layering — texture builds progressively:
  • Quaver figuration in the balalaika (bar 8)
  • Three-quaver pattern (bar 12)
  • String countermelody doubled in octaves (bar 34)
  • Treated vocal sample (bar 65)
  • More polyphonic feel in the chorus
  • From bar 95: three lowest string parts (reinforced by Keyboard 3) sustain semibreves while upper strings provide a distinctive rhythmic figure

Structure

• Total duration: ~5 minutes — extended for the genre

• No introduction; extended outro/coda — both atypical of mainstream pop at the time
  • The immediate opening throws the listener straight into the song (cf. All Star – Smash Mouth)
  • The long outro has an improvisatory feel; extended outros were rare in pop, being impractical live (cf. Layla – Eric Clapton, whose lengthy outro is frequently cut for radio)

• Verse – Bridge – Chorus – Verse 2 – Bridge 2 – Chorus – Instrumental – Chorus – Outro/Coda

• Moves directly from the instrumental to the final chorus, omitting a third verse — a common pop-structural device

Wider listening: Pink Floyd – 'Money' and Annie Lennox – 'Here Comes the Rain Again' are also ~5 minutes; extended durations were more common in prog rock and art pop than in mainstream pop

Melody

• Opens with a triadic shape (G#–B–E), but as the harmony is C#m7, the notes include an unprepared 7th — the effect is not that of a simple major triad

• Opening melodic shape (G#–B–E) is triadic but — against the underlying C#m7 harmony — the E functions as an unprepared major 7th, avoiding the effect of a simple major triad

• ⚠️ Note on "beginning on the dominant": the notes describe the opening C# as the dominant, but in C# Aeolian, C# is the tonic. If your source refers to this as the dominant, check whether it is comparing C# to a different tonal centre (e.g. F# minor, where C# is the dominant). I have left the analytical point below using "tonic" — please verify against your score/source.

• Melody opens on the tonic (C#) with leaps of 3rds, 4ths and 5ths, then narrows in range from bar 9

• Modal character — based primarily in C# Aeolian with some lines in B Mixolydian; gives a folk-infused quality (cf. Beatles, Eleanor Rigby)

• Lead vocal range: minor 10th (G#3–B5), mostly mid-range; predominantly syllabic with very occasional slurred pairs

• Chorus hook (first heard bar 21): rising 5th, rapid repeated notes, syncopated anticipation

• B–F#–E "vocal hook" recycled 5 times consecutively — semiquavers added to accommodate extra syllables

• Violin narrow-range figure (first heard bar 3) gradually expands — spans a 5th (B–F#) by bars 31–32

• Violin riff (bar 18): simple, stepwise, repetitive material — functions as a structural signal for each chorus entry

• Backing vocal figure in the outro/coda (from bar 111): opens with a minor 7th leap (C#–B), descends through G#, F# to D# — set to nonsense syllables ("ee-ay", "ee-oh") with many melismas

Instrumentation / Sonority

• No bass guitar or electric guitar — highly atypical for pop/rock; reflects Bush's classical influences

• String sextet — non-standard pop instrumentation; unable to be reproduced live:
  • Short staccato chords maintain the crotchet pulse (reminiscent of Eleanor Rigby)
  • Violin riff acts as a structural signpost for each chorus
  • Violin countermelody in Verse 2 (bar 34)

• Drums: standard kit replaced by military-style snare drums and toms — conveys purpose and drive (see Rhythm section for detail)

• Keyboard-triggered Fairlight CMI samples — innovative use of sampling technology for the early 1980s:
  • Treated vocal sample used as a backing ostinato in the bridge
  • Two sample tracks provide melody and chords for the instrumental section
  • Sampled voice sounds played in harmony, giving a choral effect above the strings
  • Steam engine sound effects cover the final chord — steam trains produce clouds of steam, creating a direct cognitive link to the song's cloud imagery
  • Wider listening: synthesised and sampled effects were unusual in the early 1980s but became a defining feature of the decade — a trend Bush helped pioneer
  • Whistle effects

Wider context: Synthesised and sampled effects were unusual in the early 1980s but became a defining feature of the decade — a trend Bush helped pioneer

• Balalaika: brief line performed by her brother Paddy Bush — adds a folk/Eastern European timbre

• Bush's lead vocal: range of a minor 10th (G#3–B5), mostly mid-range; syllabic setting

• Modal C# Aeolian minor — some melodic lines based on B Mixolydian

• Wordless backing singers: sing in counterpoint with the lead vocal during the outro/coda

• C# Aeolian (modal minor) — some melodic lines based on B Mixolydian

• No modulations throughout

Harmony

• Built on a constant rotation of three dissonant added-note chords: C#m7 – Badd9 – A6/9 — all three contain both B and C#, the two gravitational centres of the melody; the unresolved harmonic tension this creates is central to the song's character

• Verse and outro/coda sequence (stepwise, harmonically static/dreamy): C#m7 – Badd9 – A6/9 – Badd9
  • Badd9 (♭VII subtonic) functions as a substitute dominant, avoiding a functional perfect cadence

• Chorus and instrumental sequence: C#m7 – Badd9 – F#7sus4 – Badd9
  • A6/9 and F#7sus4 are enharmonically equivalent (share the same notes)

• Occasional chord substitutions: G#m(add4) or F#7(add4) (e.g. bar 32)

• Harmonic variations:
  • Bass movement from root down to the 4th (e.g. C# to G# at bar 18) — alternates root position and second inversion of the same 7th chord
  • Substitution of the expected A chord at bar 20 with F#7(add4) in the bass
  • Harmonic rhythm shift: at the opening, C#m7 and Badd9 each receive two beats, A6/9 four beats; from bar 95, all chords are allotted four beats — slowing harmonic movement as the song approaches its climax