Houdini

This song is written from the perspective of Harry Houdini's wife, Bess. Houdini was a famous magician in the 1920s who also used his skills to debunk psychics and other fake spiritualists. Before his death, he promised Bess that he would try to contact her from beyond the grave, using the secret code "Rosabelle believe," inspired by their favorite song, "Rosabelle." Following the death of Houdini in 1926, Bess held annual séances on Halloween to try to make contact with Houdini in the afterlife.

In the song, Bess does make contact with her late husband, but in reality she never did. In 1929, a psychic named Arthur Ford correctly relayed the message, but it turned out to be a hoax.

The lyrics, "With a kiss, I'll pass the key," inspired The Dreaming's cover art, which features Bush, with a key on her tongue, preparing to embrace a man bound by chains. Houdini was celebrated for his escape acts, which found him underwater in a straitjacket and buried alive in handcuffs, among other sensational feats. According to one theory, Bess was the key, literally, to her husband's escapes: Like Bush's depiction, she would place one on her tongue and pass it along to Houdini under the guise of a good-luck kiss before his act.