Post by Alyssa! on Mar 27, 2010 16:27:44 GMT -5
Owen's other song which most closely deals with father/sun stuff is "Hey Dad," which falls exactly along the lines you mentioned: "his music is all lies and bullshit" . Owen seems to be big on undoing his own work as a creator, as he did stylistically maybe on HAGH by ending the American version with a cover, and symbolically did on HPC with Pooka. Even though the exact lines of that father/sun conflict are in doubt, and beyond the scope of Heartland in my opinion, they carry resonances for Heartland all the same.
The idea of Lewis being a polar opposite to the father in this song makes sense to me, looking at some of the language as well. The "red winged bird" vs. "the flightless bird", for example. "The hollow voice of our 14th century", as said by Lewis, is corroborated by "I am a liar," whereas Lewis declares, even clings to the fact that he can't lie or get too deep into these philosophical implications: "as for me I am a vector, I am muscle I am bone, the sun upon my shoulder and the horse between my legs, this is all I know." But Owen's characteristics lie a lot more in the son, right?
The son is obsessive, likely gay, drugged up, morbid, and unclear in his expression. Owen likes reprimanding himself on his work, he's gay, and even though his music has wild and often galvanizing energy, his themes are depressing, and often about dying or losing (wasn't HPC essentially a concept album about how atheists approach death?). The father is a houseowner, a passive watcher over peace and loss, an impotent ("flightless") and false ("liar") overlooker. What does that father think of expression: "if pathos is born, born out of bullshit in formal attire, then I'll [do something musical]" ; "if pathos is good-looking bullshit, then I'll express." ; I sing because pain is bullshit, like hiding sores with makeup, as the real waterwheel of the world works: boys leave and gun for their brothers. But...Owen's the singer. And Owen watches over all of this. Right?
I feel the tragedy in Estranged because of its contrast with the two songs before it. LtohS rejects finding any truth at all, while Flare Gun accepts lies; Estranged implicates everything else, including Owen. It's too perfect.
The idea of Lewis being a polar opposite to the father in this song makes sense to me, looking at some of the language as well. The "red winged bird" vs. "the flightless bird", for example. "The hollow voice of our 14th century", as said by Lewis, is corroborated by "I am a liar," whereas Lewis declares, even clings to the fact that he can't lie or get too deep into these philosophical implications: "as for me I am a vector, I am muscle I am bone, the sun upon my shoulder and the horse between my legs, this is all I know." But Owen's characteristics lie a lot more in the son, right?
The son is obsessive, likely gay, drugged up, morbid, and unclear in his expression. Owen likes reprimanding himself on his work, he's gay, and even though his music has wild and often galvanizing energy, his themes are depressing, and often about dying or losing (wasn't HPC essentially a concept album about how atheists approach death?). The father is a houseowner, a passive watcher over peace and loss, an impotent ("flightless") and false ("liar") overlooker. What does that father think of expression: "if pathos is born, born out of bullshit in formal attire, then I'll [do something musical]" ; "if pathos is good-looking bullshit, then I'll express." ; I sing because pain is bullshit, like hiding sores with makeup, as the real waterwheel of the world works: boys leave and gun for their brothers. But...Owen's the singer. And Owen watches over all of this. Right?
I feel the tragedy in Estranged because of its contrast with the two songs before it. LtohS rejects finding any truth at all, while Flare Gun accepts lies; Estranged implicates everything else, including Owen. It's too perfect.
