[2] "When Under Ether" was released as the lead single for White Chalk on 17 September 2007, in both digital download and limited edition 7" vinyl formats.

[4] Like the majority of songs that appear on White Chalk, "When Under Ether" was written and performed on the piano, which is a departure from prior PJ Harvey albums.

Musically, the song is quite sparse, centering on Harvey's vocals – which have an airy, otherworldly quality to them – and a subtle, repetitive piano melody.

Eliot's Four Quartets (East Coker- movement number III[6]) which seems to be a prominent influence on some other songs from the album (for example "The Mountains").

The lyrics may indicate something as innocent as a dream dissolving into the clouds under diethyl ether intoxication, but while one critic takes the song as an account of a "harrowing" birth under archaic medical conditions,[7] some critics[8][9] such as Heather Phares[10] hint that they "quite possibly" refer to "abortion, since unwanted children are some of the many broken family ties that haunt the album".