Synopsis

Kate Bush appears as a troubled performer trapped in the supernatural world of The Line, the Cross & the Curve. Wearing the enchanted red shoes, she seeks help from Lily, an elderly mystic surrounded by four guardian angels. Lily draws a protective circle around Bush and invokes spiritual forces to shield her from the shoes' influence. The sequence moves between ritual, dance, and stark white imagery, presenting "Lily" as a moment of protection and guidance before Bush continues her struggle to break free.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Lily" is not a standalone music video in the usual sense. It is a sequence from Bush's 1993 musical short film The Line, the Cross & the Curve, which was released on home video in 1994.

• The song appears on Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes and runs for approximately 4 minutes and 5 seconds in the film.

• Lily is portrayed by Lily Cornford, the real-life woman who inspired the song. Cornford was an elderly spiritual adviser and healer who became important to Bush during the period surrounding The Red Shoes.

• The sequence features four guardian angels identified with Gabriel, Raphael, Michael, and Uriel. Their symbolic objects include flowers, a staff, a sword, and a globe-like sphere.

• The imagery reflects the song's protective ritual. Lily uses a staff to draw a fiery circle around Bush, creating a visual representation of spiritual defense rather than another conventional performance setting.

• Unlike the other major musical sections from The Line, the Cross & the Curve, "Lily" was not used as a separate promotional single video.

• Bush later made "Lily" the opening song of her 2014 Before the Dawn concert residency, giving the piece a prominent role in her first live shows since 1979.