Houdini
Kate Bush Lyrics

I wait at the table,
She waits at the table with strangers in mourning, holding their hands, hoping for the person she is waiting for to arrive.

And hold hands with weeping strangers
The people she is with are sad and grieving, and she connects with them through holding hands.

Wait for you to join the group
She is waiting for someone to join her and the others.

The tambourine jingle-jangles
In the background of the song, a tambourine can be heard adding percussion to the music.

The medium roams and rambles
A medium walks around and speaks incoherently as they supposedly connect with the spirit world.

Not taken in, I break the circle
She is skeptical of the medium's abilities and chooses to disrupt the circle they have formed.

I want this man
She desires for the man from the previous line to leave.

To go away now
She wants him to leave immediately.

With a kiss
She imagines sharing a kiss with someone else.

I'd pass the key
She would give up something important to her in exchange for this kiss.

And feel your tongue
She imagines the feeling of a deep, passionate kiss with someone.

Teasing and receiving.
She thinks about the back-and-forth of giving and receiving pleasure in a romantic encounter.

With your spit
She is imagining the aftermath of the kiss where they have exchanged saliva.

Still on my lip
She imagines feeling the remnants of the kiss for a while after it ends.

You hit the water
A reference to Houdini who was famous for his escape acts that often involved water and dangerous situations.

Him and I in the room
She imagines herself and the person she desires being in a room together, watching Houdini perform his escape act.

To prove you are with us too
They want Houdini to succeed in his escape act to show that he is truly connected to them through the spirit world.

He's using code that only you and I know
Houdini is seemingly communicating with them in a way that only they understand, leading her to believe that his powers are real.

This is no trick of his
She is convinced that Houdini's performance is not a staged trick or illusion, but a true display of his abilities.

This is your magic
She believes that Houdini's incredible feats of escape are due to his supernatural abilities of magic.

I'd catch the cues
She is watching Houdini carefully during his performance, hoping to understand how he does it.

Watching you
She is specifically keeping an eye on Houdini as he performs his escape act.

Hoping you'd do something wrong
She is secretly hoping that Houdini will fail or make a mistake in his performance so that she can figure out how he does it.

Everybody thinks you'll never make it
The people around her doubt that Houdini will actually succeed in his escape act.

But every time you escape
Despite the skepticism, Houdini always manages to pull off his escape acts successfully.

'Rosabel believe,
A reference to a phrase that the group keeps repeating, urging each other to believe in the magic and supernatural powers surrounding them.

Not even eternity
Even the concept of infinity and endlessness cannot prevent Houdini from being able to escape, according to their beliefs.

Can hold Houdini!'
Houdini is seen as being nearly invincible and impossible to contain or restrain for long, making him a powerful figure in their eyes.

Through the glass
She imagines looking through a window or some other glass barrier, watching Houdini as he performs.

I'd watch you breathe
She is very intently observing Houdini during his escape act, even focusing on his breathing.

Bound and drowned
Houdini is apparently bound and submerged underwater, making his escape even more difficult and dangerous.

And paler than you've ever been
Houdini appears to be ashen and sickly in appearance, making his situation seem even more dire and dramatic.

With your life
Houdini's life is seemingly in grave danger during this escape act.

The only thing in my mind
The focus of her attention and thoughts is on Houdini and his escape act.

We pull you from the water
After Houdini successfully escapes from the water, they help him out of the tank or container he was in.

You ("Hou-di-ni")
Another repetition of Houdini's name, emphasizing his importance and power.

And I and Rosabel believe
She and the other individuals around her continue to hold a strong belief in the magic and supernatural abilities of Houdini.