I’ve been listening to Kate Bush since I was sixteen years old (possibly the very best time to start listening to Kate Bush!) but I don’t think I’ve ever written about her in connection to scent.

Since June is the month of roses—my favorite perfume note and my “birth flower”!—I may post a few rose-related bits over the coming weeks.

Here are the lyrics and a link to Kate’s “Under the Ivy.” It was originally released as the B-side to “Running Up That Hill” (1985) and was included on the 1997 reissue of the 1985 album Hounds of Love. It conjures up the damp, shadowy setting of an English garden—complete with roses—on a rainy evening.

It wouldn’t take me long
To tell you how to find it 
To tell you where we’ll meet
This little girl inside me
Is retreating to her favourite place 

Go into the garden 
Go under the ivy 
Under the leaves 
Away from the party

Go right to the rose 
Go right to the white rose
(For me)

I sit here in the thunder 
The green on the grey 
I feel it all around me 
And it’s not easy for me
To give away a secret—it’s not safe

But go into the garden 
Go under the ivy
Under the leaves 
Away from the party

Go right to the rose 
Go right to the white rose
(For me)

I’ll be waiting for you

It wouldn’t take me long
To tell you how to find it…

You can listen to “Under the Ivy” here.

Image: cover of The Sensual World (1989)