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Placebo — Running Up That Hill
Album: Sleeping With Ghosts (Bonus disc)
Avg rating:
5.5

Your rating:
Total ratings: 315









Released: 2003
Length: 4:53
Plays (last 30 days): 0
It doesn't hurt me
You want to feel how it feels?
You want to know, know that it doesn't hurt me
You want to hear about the deal I'm making?
You
(If I only could, be running up that hill)
You and me
(If I only could, be running up that hill)

And if I only could
Make a deal with God
And get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
Be running up that building
If I only could, oh...

You don't want to hurt me
But see how deep the bullet lies
Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder
There's a thunder in our hearts, baby
So much hate for the ones we love
Tell me we both matter, don't we?

You
(If I only could, be running up that hill)
You and me
(If I only could, be running up that hill)
You and me won't be unhappy
(If I only could, be running up that hill)

And if I only could
Make a deal with God
And get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
Be running up that building
If I only could, oh...

C'mon, baby
C'mon, c'mon, darling
Let me steal this moment from you now
C'mon, angel
C'mon, c'mon, darling
Let's exchange the experience
Oh...

And if I only could
Make a deal with God
And get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
With no problem

And if I only could
Make a deal with God
And get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
With no problem

If I only could be running up that hill
If I only could be running up that hill
Comments (93)add comment
 ploba wrote:
okay i just have to say what everyone is already thinking.  worst.cover.ever.

 
Easily. By a mile. Hell, by a lightyear. (Now watch Yoko Ono release an album of covers and instantly make the sun's core go dark).

"And if I only could
Make a deal with God 
And get him to swap our places"

If God had any compassion, he'd lock this guy in a soundproof box at the bottom of the Mariana Trench and give the rest of us free passes to Disney World.  
I really enjoy this cover. Always liked Placebo.
okay i just have to say what everyone is already thinking.  worst.cover.ever.
What a terrible cover....hate his voice >1
 I like you flyboy..you'll get no ridicule from me on this, but beware of the 'others'. wrote:
God did swap places with us.  He took on the punishment for our sins through his Son, Jesus Christ, and will impute Jesus' righteousness on us if we repent and ask for his free gift of forgiveness.

 



God did swap places with us.  He took on the punishment for our sins through his Son, Jesus Christ, and will impute Jesus' righteousness on us if we repent and ask for his free gift of forgiveness.
Thanks for sharing this with us, Bill. I'd be thrilled if you never share it again.
Better than the original, which isn't saying a whole lot.
Nicely produced-engineered  
I think Kate's unique and powerful vocal interpretation is what first made this such a powerful song. Remove her and what's really left? I won't fault these guys for what they're trying to do here, but they probably should have known better than to cover this particular song given the quality of their other efforts.
It's a total -5. Suck-barfo and then some.

This is terrible.

{#Eyes}

I usually give covers a chance because it can be interesting to hear another take of a great song.

I can apprecaite an original being the standard by which a cover gets judged.  Somtimes a style I might not like can be applied and can also appreciate another interpretation as well as the ambition.

This cover just sucks.  Plain an simple.
I think I need some psychiatric care.  This guy's voice immediately makes me want to break things and that is not the Placebo effect one hopes for.  I guess the first step in getting better is recognizing the problem.
Well, I don't hate it. 
I gave it a 4, but after listening for a little longer I may need to downgrade.
Say what??..
I reitterate (because, I thought about this cover today and I think it bears repeating): camden_hampden wrote:
I respect the ambition to even attempt a cover of this song with a male vocalist. That being said, I am almost embarrassed for Placebo that this was released.
Nowhere near the wonderful and spirited original, of course, but that's not the point of covers. I think it has a somber, almost holy kind of mood, which is an interesting direction to take the original.
Now this is just laughable!
Roverfish wrote:
Taste is certainly subjective. I happen to have taste that's been developed by years of radio and other media experience. Your credentials? No matter. What you like in your mountain home is what you like (SEVEN Placebo songs with 10's?!? Hmm, I question your subjectivity). Placebo's version of this song is not what people like. Nor do I.
My rating system is on a like and dislike system, therefore it is 10 and 1 and that is all I give. I do have some songs that aren't rated that way, but that was well before I adopted said system. Oh, and just because you've listened to music for several years doesn't qualify you as any sort of guru or connoisseur. Once again though, I must point out the math to you, there are more people who rated this song as Godlike. You can refute it all you want and make claims of simplification, but you're just in denial that more people find this song good than bad. Congratulations, you have bad taste in music. I hope you haven't based your "career" around this "radio and other media experience" that you've seemed to amass.
DMay wrote:
I would also like to add that there are more people that gave this song a 10 than gave this song a 1. If you look at it on the 1 or 10 scale, it would've taken 95 people to vote 1 and 95 people to vote 10 in order for it to be a split decisions on whether the song was "sucko-barfo" or "Godlike." But since the rating is 5.4 and .4 in favor of "Godlike" the majority has declared over your insignifance that this song is indeed "God like." Much like the band themselves.
Way to take a multi-dimensional problem and turn it into 2D. Nice oversimplification. Oh, and kudos on quoting the original post and completely missing the clarification. You said "Placebo's version is so much more amazing than Kate Bush's." No, it isn't, in my opinon, and the opinion of the vast majority of people who rate songs on RP. This version barely passes mediocrity, while Kate's version is approaching the top quartile. DMay wrote:
It's a good thing then that both you and the 5.4 rating have bad taste in music.
Taste is certainly subjective. I happen to have taste that's been developed by years of radio and other media experience. Your credentials? No matter. What you like in your mountain home is what you like (SEVEN Placebo songs with 10's?!? Hmm, I question your subjectivity). Placebo's version of this song is not what people like. Nor do I.
lame. i think that bill has an obsession with peppering the mix with silly "interesting" cover versions of songs that didn't need covering at all. why not just play the far superior orginal versions? these dumb covers are "interesting" as rock trivia curiosities, i suppose...
Upon second hearing, not even a 2. Gack.
Roverfish wrote:
I, and the 5.4 rating behind me, respectfully disagree. Abyssmal song.
It's a good thing then that both you and the 5.4 rating have bad taste in music. I would also like to add that there are more people that gave this song a 10 than gave this song a 1. If you look at it on the 1 or 10 scale, it would've taken 95 people to vote 1 and 95 people to vote 10 in order for it to be a split decisions on whether the song was "sucko-barfo" or "Godlike." But since the rating is 5.4 and .4 in favor of "Godlike" the majority has declared over your insignifance that this song is indeed "God like." Much like the band themselves.
I'm not sure what I think of this version. It took me a few minutes to even recognize it! But then again, I'm kind of perverse in that I really like covers that sound remarkably different than the original. I mean, if you are just going to try to sound like the original, why would I bother listening to the cover? I could just get the original! No, if someone wants to cover a song I want to hear their style applied to it. That certainly appears to be the case here. It is dramatic enough that it reminds me of Tori Amos's cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" or Johnny Cash's cover of NIN's "Hurt". wisemoon
Gotta go with Kate Bush still, but it is ok.
:propeller.gif: A truly interesting version
DMay wrote:
Placebo's version is so much more amazing than Kate Bush's. I mean, she gets credit for writing it, but Placebo really polished it.
Uh, no. Personally, gimme Kate's version any day.
Eul0gy wrote:
That would be less than halfway between "decent" and "pretty good." If the rating suddenly dropped to 2.3, then the term "abysmal" might apply. Frankly, this is a hit or miss song, and it's rating supports that.
Allow me to clarify: for me, it is abyssmal. I give it a 1. DMay said "Placebo's version is so much more amazing than Kate Bush's" to which I responded that I respectfully disagree and see the rating as supporting my argument . Two separate statements. Sorry for the confusion.
Roverfish wrote:
5.4 rating
That would be less than halfway between "decent" and "pretty good." If the rating suddenly dropped to 2.3, then the term "abysmal" might apply. Frankly, this is a hit or miss song, and it's rating supports that. With me, it gets the same rating as the original for vastly different reasons.
DMay wrote:
Placebo's version is so much more amazing than Kate Bush's. I mean, she gets credit for writing it, but Placebo really polished it.
I, and the 5.4 rating behind me, respectfully disagree. Abyssmal song.
Placebo's version is so much more amazing than Kate Bush's. I mean, she gets credit for writing it, but Placebo really polished it.
I really like this song, but it creeps me out. I don't know if it's the music or the vocal quality of the singer. Very unsettling.
Don't know much about Placebo, but even a cover of KB is cool. A 7.
I have upgraded my rating some songs on RP after listening to them a few times. This is the only track I have downgraded. Ah well - it's provoking an emotional response.
The Kate Bush version was always annoying, but I actually like this version. Maybe my dislike stems from Kate sharing her last name with that little man in the White House.
I was hoping I would find this interesting. Unfortunately, it rates a "1"
Mmmm, no thanks. How about Kate?
What a terrible cover of a great song! They make it sound muddled and washed out. Give Me Kate!!!!
I was going to say that this might have seemed like a good idea at the time, but on reflection, it was never a good idea. A "2".
I almost wish Kate would find Molko and slap him silly for this wretched remake.
Yuk. Did Kate Bush really think this was a good idea?
Way to take an intense, passionate song and make it boring.
Roverfish wrote:
If I could make a deal with God, it'd be to strike down Placebo. Nay.
Here, here!!
drmaybe wrote:
Interesting note: I read that this song was originally titled " Deal With God", but the record company made her change it because it would have made the album tough to sell in some countries.
Figures. Darwin didn't want to publish Origin of Species for fear of angering the church, but told his wife to do so if he died. He only published his book when a competitor (Wallace, not of Gromit fame) came up with the theory of evolution all by himself. Fewer Americans believe in evolution today than did 100 years ago. Let's not talk about Galileo.
If I could make a deal with God, it'd be to strike down Placebo. Nay.
Tux wrote:
Ahhhhhhhhrg. Can we please have Peter and kate instead? Please!
Yep, have to agree with you on this one. Soulless and uninspiring.....
Ahhhhhhhhrg. Can we please have Peter and kate instead? Please!
Personally, I like Placebo's subdued take on this song. It brings out the desperation in the lyric differently than Kate did, but I still think it works.
joe1 wrote:
Absolute crap...they should be ashamed of themselves... Terrible/shocking cover...
What Joe said. :nodhead:
I don't mind this version... funny, I just went out and bought Kate's "Hounds of Love" last week after not having owned it for years. Interesting note: I read that this song was originally titled " Deal With God", but the record company made her change it because it would have made the album tough to sell in some countries.
Sure, I like the original perforrmance better too. But listening to this version reinforces the assessment that Kate Bush is a great songwriter besides.
His voice just does it for me. This is really good and I think it's time I bought this album.
Molko's voice drove me nuts on that "Carbon Kid" thing - but this is decent, though i think i like Kate's better
This sucks. Still, I appreciate the variety of programming.
Hey, this is quite good. It reminds me of the early 90s cover of the same song by Adam West, a London, Ontario band.
Pretty good cover, actually, although I prefer the original. The edge is toned down considerably, but not completely. The singer's voice suits the material well. Can't help repeating that I would rather hear KB herself, though.
find this version excellent. Love Kate, but this one has some value added
Boy is this bad. Sounds like a very earnest high school garage band playing at the Battle of the Bands, trying to hit all their chords.
joe1 wrote:
Absolute crap...they should be ashamed of themselves... Terrible/shocking cover... Kate is now on and I have calmed down.........*breath*......
Joe, for once I agree with you.
joe1 wrote:
Absolute crap...they should be ashamed of themselves... Terrible/shocking cover... Kate is now on and I have calmed down.........*breath*......
I don't know, I like Kate's "Army Dreamers" song, and I've listened to some of her other material, but it really seems that "Army Dreamers" is the only song of hers I can really enjoy, the rest of her material sounds way too dated for me to really enjoy. A prime example of this would be 80's Rock, to me, it sounds terrible now to me, whereas if I go back to a band like The Beatles, their sounds seems to transcend every decade. That said, I am a HUGE Placebo fan, I have all of their albums and they get a lot of playtime in my cd players. Comparatively, I find Placebo's version a lot better than Kate's. But hey, that's just my opinion.
samiyam wrote:
Wow, Latin as a reason to like a song. Yes, taste is not a disputable thing. I love this song myself whether Kate does it or anybody else. You can hardly ruin this song.
I agree and like 'em both. Glad to hear this.
Typesbad wrote:
Personally I think it takes a fair amount of guts to do a Kate Bush cover. Sure, side-by-side I also prefer Kate's version, but I'm really glad to have heard this one anyway. Kate's histionics are such that when she really get rolling, the lyrics completely overshadowed by the power of her voice. It was nice to here the words in a more relaxed vibe. It's interesting to observe the complete familiarity of Kate Bush and this song among this audience. Now I expect some wags to reply that its because she gets too much air play here. My feeling is that anyplace where an artist like Kate Bush gets too much airplay is a great place to be.
I'll second that. All of it.
I vote for Kate also - because when she's in the house trans sic gloria mundi!
Rebliah wrote:
I prefer this version... am I crazy? uff... de gustibus non disputandum est
Wow, Latin as a reason to like a song. Yes, taste is not a disputable thing. I love this song myself whether Kate does it or anybody else. You can hardly ruin this song.
I prefer this version... am I crazy? uff... de gustibus non disputandum est
Platypus wrote:
wow. Placebo actually managed to make Kate Bush palatable. i never would have thought that was possible. nicely done.
Platy! Something else we agree on! I am not a KB fan, but for some reason, I really like their take on this tune!
splendy wrote:
Ugh. Give me Kate anytime!
Put me in that camp as well. This is an abysmal remake courtesy one of the worst voices in modern music.
A band named Placebo. Is this supposed to be some new kind of irony?
Personally I think it takes a fair amount of guts to do a Kate Bush cover. Sure, side-by-side I also prefer Kate's version, but I'm really glad to have heard this one anyway. Kate's histionics are such that when she really get rolling, the lyrics completely overshadowed by the power of her voice. It was nice to here the words in a more relaxed vibe. It's interesting to observe the complete familiarity of Kate Bush and this song among this audience. Now I expect some wags to reply that its because she gets too much air play here. My feeling is that anyplace where an artist like Kate Bush gets too much airplay is a great place to be.
I feel I shouldn't like this, but how come I do.....
I respect the ambition to even attempt a cover of this song with a male vocalist. That being said, I am almost embarrassed for Placebo that this was released.
wow. Placebo actually managed to make Kate Bush palatable. i never would have thought that was possible. nicely done.
I really liked this new take on the song. Interestingly, I always thought she was saying, "I'd get him to smooth out places" rather than "swap our places"... Hey, everyone thought she was saying "she's so popular" when she was actually saying "jeux sans frontier" ... so Kate's got a history here ;)
This one really sucks... uhhh :headache.gif:
"Swap our places" Nice! I like it. Changing the gender of the vocals seems completely consistent with the idea of the song. And I like the new trip hop groove.
interestingly cool 8)
I loved the original, but I really enjoyed the cover. It was a totally different vibe.
TreborG2 wrote:
and I've gotta say.. I really like Kate Bush's version.. but this just expanded my love of the song lyricly.. because now I can understand it more than before.. and the pace is a little slower so it too fits better into a moody groove..
right on! listening to this i realized how way off i was with some of the lyrics. way way off. god, i sure hope i never sang along to this with anyone else around...
Not only am I having a flashback, but I'm seeing double, too!! LOL
Am I having a flashback, or did we just hear this song at 9:38?
SiniLMan wrote:
Interesting interpretation, I must say. I do prefer the Kate Bush version although hearing this version made me listen to the lyrics a little closer than I normally would. I forgot what a powerful song this is lyrically. Oh! Hurray! It's followed by Cloudbusting!!
You know.. I was just thinking.. Bill in one of his segways mentioned in re:Tori Amos's Teen Spirit remake.. (to the effect of) that its a different, sometimes as good, but definately allows you to know the lyrics... and I've gotta say.. I really like Kate Bush's version.. but this just expanded my love of the song lyricly.. because now I can understand it more than before.. and for that this song rated a 9.. because it really does a good job of both.. remake, reitterate. and the pace is a little slower so it too fits better into a moody groove..
Like the song, much prefer Kate's version.
splendy wrote:
Ugh. Give me Kate anytime!
ditto
Remakes just don't do it for me unless they are really bring something new and different to the song. This one, well, the only thing I get from it is less - as if they really wanted to do a Kate Bush song, but had no idea why.
Interesting interpretation, I must say. I do prefer the Kate Bush version although hearing this version made me listen to the lyrics a little closer than I normally would. I forgot what a powerful song this is lyrically. Oh! Hurray! It's followed by Cloudbusting!!
Wow. I have no idea who Placebo is, but they did a fine job with this! Since Kate has left us high and dry for so long, I love to hear a good cover! Thank you, Bill!!
Sorry, I've tried, but I cannot stand this singer. Please, no more.
Ugh. Give me Kate anytime!