Depression Era Love Song? Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush SLAY this duet! ANALYSIS of "Don't Give Up"

I’ve heard this song a few times and I always thought it was beautiful. I’m 60 years old and was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s disease last year. I have been feeling quite hopeless. This time listening to it has made me weep. I don’t want to give up. I don’t.

Imagine hugging Kate Bush for six minutes while she is singing in your ear. Pure bliss!

For all the amazing vocals in this song, I'm going to speak up for its unsung hero - Tony Levin. His bass playing on this song, and on the whole album, is a true masterclass in playing all the right notes, with the right tone, in the right places.

This song always gets my water works going because it reminds me of when my wife and I lost our home due to my sickness, during the UK housing crash of 2007-2008. I also lost my carer and my wife had to give up work to look after me. This song reminds me so much of those dark, bleak days of feeling so ashamed for my failings. However, we got through it as a team, and still together today. I love her more than I could ever express.

I’m a six foot two metal head and this song makes me sob like a baby. It’s so damn beautiful

This song has been credited by many people for changing their minds about committing suicide (including Elton John, who said it saved him from drug overdose). Peter Gabriel was inspired to write this song after looking at pictures of families living in the "dust bowl" during the 1930's depression era, seeing the desperation and hopelessness in their eyes. He first asked Dolly Parton to sing the duet with him, but she declined. Gabriel then asked his good friend (and fellow musical genius) Kate Bush to do it. Producer Daniel Lanois said that when Kate came into the studio to record her part everyone there was awe-struck, that they all felt like an angel had come down from heaven to sing for them. Also, Peter Gabriel is one of my favorite artists, but in my opinion it's Kate Bush that really makes this song magical. You should really explore her music, there is just no one like her. A true innovator and pioneer for women in the music industry, she is incredibly influential and highly respected. Another note of trivia, bass extraordinaire Tony Levin was trying the find the right sound for his bass on this track, but just couldn't get the sound he wanted. He happened to have his baby girl's diaper bag with him in the studio, right before the recording, he stuffed a diaper under his bass strings and got that great muted sound that he had been looking for.

I consider this to be one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. It will still strike chords with future generations, as it's comforting message is truly timeless.

Long story... Senior year of HS 1987. Peter Gabriel's So was sent to me my my record club and I was not a fan of this type of music (metal head) so I was going to send it back. Instead, I opened it and popped the cassette into my car driving one day. I was having a really rough time - family stuff and worried about my future. This record became one of my top 5 albums of all time. This song, in particular, saved my life. For nearly 40 years, I have been suggesting this song to anyone going through a tough time. I became a huge fan of Kate Bush as a result. Thank you so much for reviewing it. It should have been a huge hit.

Watching your reaction, I had to go sit in my car for a while so nobody at work could see the tears in my eyes. As a husband and father, living through a time wherein skill and hard work are rarely enough to give your family the life you crave for them, this song gets me every time. Your reaction added to that. My wife is twice the person I am! She moved to the UK from Prague to be with me. I couldn't imagine someone committing more of themself to jobs lesser people might consider beneath them. She's been here 14 years now and we have two beautiful children. I just wish those in power would stop their destruction of working families.

As a young man in the 90s suffering depression, this song was such a solace. Music has always been the best balm for my rage, self-hatred, and depression.

It's not "day to night..." - what happens in the background is an eclipse. We go from the light to a very dark place; but by holding on to one another, we emerge back into the light. This song is such a powerful statement, made even more so by the power of its performers. The over-simplicity of the treatment for the video was equally so. I first heard this song as just another song on Gabriel's new album "So" - and it came through my speakers right after "Sledgehammer." I stoped listening to the rest of the album and just repeated that song so many times. Kate and Peter's voices played off each other so well - the visualization I found when closing my eyes was quite vivid. I don't think I saw the video until this century. Didn't need to. But the eclipse was a perfect visual metaphor. Finally - a great song I loved which was not cheapened by a video. Then again, nothing Kate's ever touched has been lessened by the accompanying video... At any rate, I love your reaction to it - and I know just where it comes from. Keep up the great work!

Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel first collaborated on "Games Without Frontiers" ... they would continue to work with each other from that point forward. They were both big fans of each other.

I can't listen to this song without crying. The entire song is capable of touching everyone somewhere in their past and/or present. I've loved these two singing it for decades.

YES whenever you need a 6&1/2 minute hug, I always tell people, this isn't a song , it's a lifeboat

We watched a movie “She’s Having a Baby” which resonated with us after 6 years of trying to have babies (it did eventually work out in 2 sets of twins), but there is this beautiful Kate Bush song “This Woman’s Work” that touched my heart and helps me appreciate my wife and everything she does and who she is.

I was in a super dark place when a friend sent me this song. I think it saved my life

Such a beautiful song that means something different to all of us.. My marriage broke up 13 years ago, my wife left for another guy. I lost my wife, my home & seeing my 2 children every day.. I bought a small caravan to live in whilst I got myself back to my feet, financially and mentally. It took a year. My parents sent me this CD in the post with a letter that still makes my heart cry, but in a good way.. Great song.

Peter’s voice carries an element of tragedy, which suits a lot of his songs. And Kate sounds like a best friend or guardian angel.

"So" was a powerhouse album in the 80s. There are few albums that I have listened to more times (back when ppl listened to whole albums), or have affected me as much. Gabriel is not just a massively talented singer songwriter but a gifted performer as well. His concerts, and I've seen him at least five times, are remarkable for their original sets and lighting. He brings a theater actor's perspective to his stand out performances so the visual aspect really ties into the music more than most (same is true in his videos). He has been a curve driver for more than fifty years in a fickle and unforgiving business. He is an artist's artist, a storyteller's storyteller. And this duet with Kate Bush is just a tour de force. The patience, the need, the vulnerability, the devotion and affirmation make me tear up every time I her this song.

As amazing as this duet is, it's Kate's vocal in "This Woman's Work" and Peter's vocal in "Red Rain" that still send shivers down my spine to this day, and I am old enough to remember their albums coming out back in the 80's.