| The Wombats – Be Your Shadow Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[kinghenry402:27140] permanent not perfect** | |
| The Wombats – Be Your Shadow Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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This song is really interesting when considering the Jungian psychoanalytic concept of the shadow, meaning the sum of our repressed unconscious self fragments. Consider this song as written not just to a woman, but to/from all the author's repressed demons. According to Jung, anything we repress becomes a demon and begins to control us. Thus the shadow manifests as self-sabotage or inner conflict. The shadow also manifests as things we hate in others; they draw a strong reaction because subconsciously we know the depth of the conflict and can only deal with it by projecting it onto others. Thus the existence of a shadow is like having an abusive relationship going on inside your head. And an abusive relationship in the outside world may be a manifestation of that same inner conflict. The goal of Jungian psychology is to integrate the subconscious and all of it's shadow drives into a whole. This involves loving the dark or embarrassing parts of yourself that hurt you and others. Just as one would try to do for a difficult romantic partner. This song popped into my head when my friend asked me about the shadow today, and I noticed some surprising similarities. "Kiss me with your fist it's all right Wrap your hands around my throat I won't mind I'm permanent, now I won't go I just wanna be your shadow" The shadow is perfect; you can't destroy it only integrate it. The first two lines beautifully express the desperate love and dependency veiled by mortal violence. "And I just want to be sum of your broken parts And I just want to be the creature of the dark" This is almost outright allusion to the Jungian concept. Either that or Jung is right that the collective subconscious shares common symbols like the shadow idea that manifest when we let our subconscious free through creativity: art. Creative expression is highly valued for integrating the self, loving the shadow in all its violent glory. |
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