Heartland Lyrical References

[joebonte]

Feb 17, 2010 10:08:07 GMT -5 @mhmm said:

Oh, you wrote me like a Disney kid, in cut-offs and a beater
With a feathered fringe, it doesn't suit a simoniac breeder.
Doesn't work, doesn't fly, doesn't handle.


Anyone?

I'm slightly confused by this bit, simony is the crime of selling pardons or other religious favours, so I'd assume that "simoniac breeder" would be a person who creates them ^_^ But my memory for religious practises is severely misty at best

The first line is just building a picture of an "original" Lewis before he turns;
Disney kid I would assume = blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect face etc etc etc
Cut-offs = tight jeans cut off very very high
Beater = a wife beater? Small vest?
So quite a homoerrotic image which fits with the rest of the story line.

Last line could be a reference to something, but I've no idea tbh

[emyli]

Oh, I didn't know exactly what simony was before, that's pretty cool.

I've heard "breeder" used as a jokingly derogatory term for straight people before (since, you know, they have babies and such), I assumed that was the context here.

[joebonte]

Feb 17, 2010 10:35:50 GMT -5 emyli said:

Oh, I didn't know exactly what simony was before, that's pretty cool.

I've heard "breeder" used as a jokingly derogatory term for straight people before (since, you know, they have babies and such), I assumed that was the context here.

That hadn't occurred to me :3
And makes quite a lot of sense in this case ^_^

[ben]

So Lewis is saying, "you wrote me as if I was gay, but I'm not Owen, I'M NOT"?

[yesanastasia]

Feb 17, 2010 10:46:13 GMT -5 joebonte said:

Feb 17, 2010 10:35:50 GMT -5 emyli said:

Oh, I didn't know exactly what simony was before, that's pretty cool.

I've heard "breeder" used as a jokingly derogatory term for straight people before (since, you know, they have babies and such), I assumed that was the context here.

That hadn't occurred to me :3
And makes quite a lot of sense in this case ^_^

Owen mentioned in an interview recently that Lewis eventually starts to question the way that he's been written by Owen, and I assumed that this was one of the parts he was talking about. I also read it as Lewis questioning being written as a gay pinup when he's a straight man (though I'm still not too sure about the implications of Lewis being simoniac - is he buying or selling? why? buying pardons for killing his family? receiving higher office from Owen?).

I see this part as justifying the allusion in the title and chorus to the XRay Spex song. Basically, (in my mind at least) that song is about questioning the way that one has been "written" by society, and challenging/rebelling against that perception.

[joebonte]

Feb 17, 2010 11:19:23 GMT -5 yesanastasia said:

(though I'm still not too sure about the implications of Lewis being simoniac - is he buying or selling? why? buying pardons for killing his family? receiving higher office from Owen?)

Maybe it's him acknowledging the fact that his current place in the world has at least in some way been bought through Owen's attraction to him. Even if he wasn't aware of it at the time, he could feel as if his status is due solely to his God's lust for him.

[JackAltman]

That slang reading of "breeder" does make a lot of sense and clears up some confusion for me. So, thinking aloud...

The simony that Lewis is practicing isn't explicitly "buying" favor in a monetary sense, but referring to his previous acts of violent devotion. What I've supposed Lewis is realizing at this point in the story is that Owen is writing him further and further into this role as a boyish gay lover, but the bloodthirsty action he has taken is only that of a faithful religious servant. Which would make him both a "breeder" and a "simoniac," but unsuitable as the winnowy dreamboat The Author wants him to be.

Maybe? (On an off-handed tangent, isn't it a little weird to be using "Owen" when "Owen" is a character but also a person we like who reads and replies to these threads? It makes me uncomfortable to attribute words and thoughts to "Owen" mouth when Owen may not feel that way at all...)

[Peter Heke]

Feb 17, 2010 16:51:29 GMT -5 JackAltman said:

(On an off-handed tangent, isn't it a little weird to be using "Owen" when "Owen" is a character but also a person we like who reads and replies to these threads? It makes me uncomfortable to attribute words and thoughts to "Owen" mouth when Owen may not feel that way at all...)

I think he can tell the difference between himself IRL and himself in Heartland, assuming there is a difference. Don't worry about it.

[yesanastasia]

Feb 17, 2010 16:51:29 GMT -5 JackAltman said:

The simony that Lewis is practicing isn't explicitly "buying" favor in a monetary sense, but referring to his previous acts of violent devotion. What I've supposed Lewis is realizing at this point in the story is that Owen is writing him further and further into this role as a boyish gay lover, but the bloodthirsty action he has taken is only that of a faithful religious servant. Which would make him both a "breeder" and a "simoniac," but unsuitable as the winnowy dreamboat The Author wants him to be.

Hm, I like this explanation of things a lot. Thank you!

[cliffc]

Psalm 21 or 22?? I am no bible expert, but I read that the Vulgate was scripture it the 14th century - with the OT translated from the Greek. Most bibles today (including JKV) translate the OT from the Hebrew. There is a slight difference in the numbers assigned to the Psalms between them. Psalm 21 in the Vulgate is Psalm 22 in most modern bibles. This might not seem important (and I agree that verse 4 in Psalm 21 seems to point to the Lewis/Owen relationship), but verse 1 of Psalm 22 gave me a jolt when I read it! If this seems a wild 'stretch' remember OPIA...

[heathenpoet]

Feb 17, 2010 10:35:50 GMT -5 emyli said:

I've heard "breeder" used as a jokingly derogatory term for straight people before (since, you know, they have babies and such), I assumed that was the context here.

Yeah, same here... I hope that is how it's meant!