On the first few listens to this stunning song I thought that the opening about "all the dim companions of the old white dwarf" could also have referred to a Soviet rocket scientist in his white coat surrounded by members of the Party preparing to ruthlessly shoot a dog into space in the name of teaching the rest of the world that they could shoot a dog into space.
This kind of "because we can" behaviour requires a special kind of cruelty, completely ignoring the value of the dog's life. Children love the story of Laika, the Dog Who Went Into Space but the reality of her miserable situation would horrify them (also referred to in the movie 'My Life As A Dog' by Lasse Hallström). So in the statue, she becomes a hero to children for being an awe inspiring brave dog and a hero to the Kremlin guards for being a dick-waving demonstration of national superiority. Cynically, you could say the child's wonder transforming (or collapsing) into the adult's bluster could be summed up with
and one day all you children
will be white dwarves too
you'll cave under yourselves
and become cruel cruel cruel.
"It was not until 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, that Oleg Gazenko, one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die:
"It was not until 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, that Oleg Gazenko, one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die:
"Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog."
"Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog."
On the first few listens to this stunning song I thought that the opening about "all the dim companions of the old white dwarf" could also have referred to a Soviet rocket scientist in his white coat surrounded by members of the Party preparing to ruthlessly shoot a dog into space in the name of teaching the rest of the world that they could shoot a dog into space.
This kind of "because we can" behaviour requires a special kind of cruelty, completely ignoring the value of the dog's life. Children love the story of Laika, the Dog Who Went Into Space but the reality of her miserable situation would horrify them (also referred to in the movie 'My Life As A Dog' by Lasse Hallström). So in the statue, she becomes a hero to children for being an awe inspiring brave dog and a hero to the Kremlin guards for being a dick-waving demonstration of national superiority. Cynically, you could say the child's wonder transforming (or collapsing) into the adult's bluster could be summed up with
and one day all you children will be white dwarves too you'll cave under yourselves and become cruel cruel cruel.
Or maybe not.
Or maybe not.
(from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika)
(from Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika)
"It was not until 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, that Oleg Gazenko, one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die:
"It was not until 1998, after the collapse of the Soviet regime, that Oleg Gazenko, one of the scientists responsible for sending Laika into space, expressed regret for allowing her to die:
"Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog."
"Work with animals is a source of suffering to all of us. We treat them like babies who cannot speak. The more time passes, the more I'm sorry about it. We shouldn't have done it... We did not learn enough from this mission to justify the death of the dog."