| Wolf Parade – Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
I'm not trying to sound pretentious on purpose, but the similarity of the protagonist of the song to Hamlet always strikes me. Hamlet is the son of a "hungry ghost", his dead father who wants to be revenged. He somehow has to commit himself to the grisly act of murder, so he uses grand aristocratic ideas, "hunters and kings" to keep himself motivated and "block out the view." Hamlet is also extremely clever, "people I can trick 'em into thinking anything" - as he tricks the court into thinking he is mad, running rings around Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However, he can't quite trick himself with his own deceptions, he can't believe in revenge or the perspective it entails which is why he leaves Denmark ("I can't believe in the guns I can't believe in the view.") For me, the central tragedy of Hamlet is also the same tragedy of the song. To survive against the people he detests he has to play the same game as them, he has to become a "digger of holes in a land of holes." In fact, the same imagery is used when Hamlet declares he will hoist his enemies with their own petard (when laying siege to a castle, the attackers would dig tunnels under the walls, and detonate an explosive charge under them...against this, the defenders would dig counter tunnels with charges and blow them up to trap the original tunnelers inside and kill them. They would be defeated by the very same device they were using...hoist with their own charge, or petard.) |
|
| Owen Pallett – An Arrow In The Side Of Final Fantasy Lyrics | 18 years ago |
|
No-one has really tried to discuss the central theme of this song...to me, this song is actually a subtle criticism of optimistic, idealistic love with no roots in reality - "An Arrow in the Side of Final Fantasy." "My love for you needs no water" - when you look at it, it's actually quite an absurd line. Everybody needs water to live; it's stupid to pretend that love can magically provide the essentials of life for you. How can all things shine when smoke and pollution have turned midday to midnight? |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.