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theme song: why we build the wall
2018-Mar-18, Sunday 12:49 pmToday's theme song is a decade old but newly relevant. It's so interesting because it has two separate (and opposing) interpretations: the surface one, and the deeper meaning.
The Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice tells us about a man who descends to the underworld to retrieve the woman he loves. Orpheus has a gift of song, and he sings to Hades (lord of the underworld) and moves him to release the spirit of Eurydice, so they may travel together back to the world of the living.
Songwriter Anais Mitchell has translated this ancient story into a modern "folk opera" named Hadestown. It is set in New Orleans during the Depression and influenced by American music styles like Dixieland, jazz, country, and folk. In the underworld, Hades builds a city safe from the pain and suffering that's found in the living world. In the album's 9th song, Hades asks his workers why they labor in his factory. On the surface this question-and-answer series seems so logical. Listen to the progression of the argument for their effort, as each question builds upon the last to form a coherent whole.
What is their argument?
HADES
Why do we build the wall, my children, my children? Why do we build the wall?
SPIRITS
Why do we build the wall? We build the wall to keep us free.
That's why we build the wall; We build the wall to keep us free.
HADES
How does the wall keep us free (...)
Who do we call the enemy (...)
Because we have and they have not (...)
HADES
What do we have that they should want, my children, my children? What do we have that they should want?
SPIRITS
What do we have that they should want?
We have a wall to work upon! We have work and they have none,
And our work is never done, My children, my children, And the war is never won.
The enemy is poverty, and the wall keeps out the enemy, and we build the wall to keep us free.
That's why we build the wall. We build the wall to keep us free.
We build the wall to keep us free.
But the hidden meaning of this effort is obvious: it's an industrialized fear that only dead souls could embrace. Only spirits devoid of compassion and hope could turn their backs on the suffering of those weak creatures who still live. Given those awful disabilities (of no sympathy and no hope), the logic of Hades is infallible, and the construction of Hadestown seems inevitable. The wall will keep us free to enjoy our superficial prosperity.
This song is a decade old, yet it has found new relevance because of Trump, his iconic wall, and the fear politics of Republicans. Someone even made an edit of this song to clearly present this interpretation, cutting between live performance of this opera to video clips of famous walls, quotes from U.S. presidents (Reagan, Obama, and Trump), and the real-world suffering that spurs the fearful to build walls.
So today's song is a reminder that everything and everyone is connected, and when we choose to keep those who suffer away from our good fortune, we lose the very hope (a future-oriented exercise) that made our peace meaningful. I made a conscious decision long ago to walk away from the wealth treadmill, so I could embrace a life of relative simplicity. I've found its challenges far more meaningful than the ones I faced earlier. That choice has kept me more aware of the hardships faced by the majority of people in this world. I do not regret the decision. I'm not especially fond of humans, but I do understand the struggle of facing circumstances that seem beyond our individual control. That's why I've spent nearly 1/4 of my life in efforts for animals, nature, and minorities.
The consequence of building walls seems obvious. Rest is necessary and desirable, but only the dead can rejoice in its permanence. The living must commit to the exercise of compassion, for as long as life persists and future beckons.
The Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice tells us about a man who descends to the underworld to retrieve the woman he loves. Orpheus has a gift of song, and he sings to Hades (lord of the underworld) and moves him to release the spirit of Eurydice, so they may travel together back to the world of the living.
Songwriter Anais Mitchell has translated this ancient story into a modern "folk opera" named Hadestown. It is set in New Orleans during the Depression and influenced by American music styles like Dixieland, jazz, country, and folk. In the underworld, Hades builds a city safe from the pain and suffering that's found in the living world. In the album's 9th song, Hades asks his workers why they labor in his factory. On the surface this question-and-answer series seems so logical. Listen to the progression of the argument for their effort, as each question builds upon the last to form a coherent whole.
What is their argument?
HADES Why do we build the wall, my children, my children? Why do we build the wall?
SPIRITS
Why do we build the wall? We build the wall to keep us free.
That's why we build the wall; We build the wall to keep us free.
HADES
How does the wall keep us free (...)
Who do we call the enemy (...)
Because we have and they have not (...)
HADES
What do we have that they should want, my children, my children? What do we have that they should want?
SPIRITS
What do we have that they should want?
We have a wall to work upon! We have work and they have none,
And our work is never done, My children, my children, And the war is never won.
The enemy is poverty, and the wall keeps out the enemy, and we build the wall to keep us free.
That's why we build the wall. We build the wall to keep us free.
We build the wall to keep us free.
But the hidden meaning of this effort is obvious: it's an industrialized fear that only dead souls could embrace. Only spirits devoid of compassion and hope could turn their backs on the suffering of those weak creatures who still live. Given those awful disabilities (of no sympathy and no hope), the logic of Hades is infallible, and the construction of Hadestown seems inevitable. The wall will keep us free to enjoy our superficial prosperity.
This song is a decade old, yet it has found new relevance because of Trump, his iconic wall, and the fear politics of Republicans. Someone even made an edit of this song to clearly present this interpretation, cutting between live performance of this opera to video clips of famous walls, quotes from U.S. presidents (Reagan, Obama, and Trump), and the real-world suffering that spurs the fearful to build walls.
So today's song is a reminder that everything and everyone is connected, and when we choose to keep those who suffer away from our good fortune, we lose the very hope (a future-oriented exercise) that made our peace meaningful. I made a conscious decision long ago to walk away from the wealth treadmill, so I could embrace a life of relative simplicity. I've found its challenges far more meaningful than the ones I faced earlier. That choice has kept me more aware of the hardships faced by the majority of people in this world. I do not regret the decision. I'm not especially fond of humans, but I do understand the struggle of facing circumstances that seem beyond our individual control. That's why I've spent nearly 1/4 of my life in efforts for animals, nature, and minorities.
The consequence of building walls seems obvious. Rest is necessary and desirable, but only the dead can rejoice in its permanence. The living must commit to the exercise of compassion, for as long as life persists and future beckons.