"Sat in Your Lap" was the first song to be released from The Dreaming by Kate Bush. It was issued 13 months prior to the album because The Dreaming was nowhere near completion and EMI needed a release from Bush to keep up public interest in her and her music.

The track was released on June 21 1981 and peaked at number 11 in the UK Singles Chart. Its subject is man's endless search for knowledge, which is often limited by his unwillingness to devote the effort necessary to attain it. Musically, it was faster and more percussive than Bush's previous releases.

The demo version of "Sat in Your Lap" contains an extra verse at the start which was later cut out of the song probably because it didn't fit with the song. As with subsequent singles from the album a 12" single was to be issued but was eventually withdrawn.

The B-side to the single was Bush's cover of "Lord of the Reedy River" by Donovan. It was her first recording of a song that she had not written herself.

Charts

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