美国国家公共电台 NPR--1985 hit 'Running Up That Hill' sprints up the charts, thanks to 'Stranger Things'

1985 hit 'Running Up That Hill' sprints¹ up the charts, thanks to 'Stranger Things'

Transcript²

English singer-songwriter Kate Bush just broke into the Billboard³ Top 10 for the first time — with a song she released four decades ago.

"Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)" peaked in the No. 30 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 when it came out in 1985. It's now having a major renaissance⁴ thanks to Stranger Things, the 1980s-based sci-fi hit whose fourth season premiered on Netflix late last month.

The song appears multiple times throughout the show, as it's a favorite — and major focus in the plotline of — the character Max (played by Sadie Sink). And it caught on quickly, topping the iTunes chart within two days and posting an 8,700% increase in global streams over the course of one weekend.

By last Tuesday, the song had reached the Top 10 in 34 countries — including the U.S., Germany, Norway and New Zealand — and the No. 2 spot in nearly a dozen of them, including the U.K., Canada, Australia and Saudi Arabia. This week, it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at No. 8., making it Bush's first U.S. Top 10 single.

Bush — whose catalog includes hits like "Wuthering Heights" and "Cloudbusting" and is also getting a streaming boost — said in a statement on her website that young fans of the show have given the song "a whole new lease of life," adding, "I love it too!"

"Because of this, Running Up That Hill is charting around the world and has entered the UK chart at No. 8," she wrote over the weekend. "It's all really exciting! Thanks very much to everyone who has supported the song. I wait with bated breath for the rest of the series in July."

Bush does not typically allow for her music to be used in other media, Variety reports, but signed off after reviewing script pages and footage to learn exactly how the song would be used. She also happens to be a big fan of the show, it added.

And the feeling appears to be mutual⁶. Winona Ryder, who stars in the series, told USA Today that she had long campaigned for the show to feature music by Bush, whom she called "a hero of mine."

"I've been obsessed⁷ with her since I was a little girl," she said. "I've also for the last seven years been dropping hints on set wearing my Kate Bush T-shirts."

It's rare for older songs to burst back into the Top 10 years later, Variety explains, adding that it's believed a non-Christmas catalog tune⁵ has not reached this level in its original recorded form since Queen's '"Bohemian Rhapsody" hit No. 2 in 1992 (after being featured in Wayne's World). Even the resurgence⁸ of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" in 2020 — thanks to a juice-drinking, skateboarding Idaho potato worker — only reached the No. 12 spot.

And "Running Up That Hill" doesn't appear to be losing steam.

As of Tuesday, it's the second most-played song globally on Spotify and Apple News, according to The Guardian⁹. And German songwriter Kim Petras recently dropped an electro-pop version of the song (one of many covers released over the decades) in honor of Pride Month.

Nora Felder, the music supervisor¹⁰ for Stranger Things, told Variety that the next generation's embrace of the song proves how timeless it is.

"I believe that if it was written and recorded today, it would fit right in and not be considered a 'dated' sound in any way," she added.

And today's fans certainly seem to be finding meaning in the song some 37 years later — even if they're listening to it on their cell phones instead of a Walkman.

1 sprints   

n.短距离的全速奔跑( sprint的名词复数 )v.短距离疾跑( sprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You can run sprints only so long before you're out of breath. 你死命地跑，只能跑那么一段时间，到了喘不上气的时候，只好停下来。 来自辞典例句
• The cheetah finds the open grasslands ideal footing for its lightning-quick sprints. 非洲猎豹把开阔的草原作为它们闪电猎食的理想处所。 来自互联网

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

4 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

5 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

6 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

7 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

8 resurgence   

n.再起，复活，再现

参考例句：

• A resurgence of his grief swept over Nim.悲痛又涌上了尼姆的心头。
• Police say drugs traffickers are behind the resurgence of violence.警方说毒贩是暴力活动重新抬头的罪魁祸首。

9 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

10 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。