Song · Kate Bush
“This Woman's Work” by Kate Bush
From the album The Sensual World (1989)
“This Woman's Work” by Kate Bush appears on 10 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1989 on the album The Sensual World. Its best result is #159 on the WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,799 alternative song of all time.
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Kate Bush wrote "This Woman's Work" to order, and it's hard to picture a commission handled with more nerve. John Hughes needed music for the climax of his film She's Having a Baby, where Kevin Bacon's Jake learns that Kristy, his wife (Elizabeth McGovern), and the baby she is carrying are both at risk. The scene was already shot, so Bush fitted her words to the pictures and sang from Jake's side, stuck waiting for news.
It's a song about childbirth turning into a sudden, frightening emergency, and it holds nothing back. It appeared on the film's 1988 soundtrack before EMI made it the second single from The Sensual World, her sixth album, in November 1989, when it reached number 25 in Britain. Bush produced it herself, Del Palmer recorded it and Kevin Killen mixed it.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 224 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 1999 | 536 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) | 1002 |
| 2004 | 673 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) | 885 |
| 2014 | 817 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2018 | 856 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2021 | 626 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2023 | 703 | WYEP | WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 | 1229 |
| 2026 | 159 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
| 2026 | 780 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
| 2026 | 477 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
Also listed as: This Woman'S Work.
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