In this section we will relate all the works we have read throughout the year by song lyrics that we feel represent the three most reoccuring themes of the year. Those are the Theme of Mystery, the Theme of Violence and the Theme of Love, and each set of lyrics will be followed by an annotation of how they relate to the works of literature we have read.
From the classroom teasing of Frank in Angelas Ashes to the butchering of young children in A Modest Proposal, the theme of violence is one that occurs in nearly every piece of literature. The lyrics of Garbage's "#1 Crush" provide insight into the mind of a deranged individual who is willing to kill, die and feel pain for another. Pain was also experienced by young Cathy and Hareton in Wuthering Heights, when Heathcliff beat them painfully; and through the beheading of Carton in Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities. Just like the song's writer who would kill for a cause, the characters in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress would be willing to kill and risk their own lives for the revolution.
I would die for you
I would die for you
I've been dying just to feel you by my side
To know that you're mine.
I will cry for you
I will cry for you
I will wash away your pain with all my tears
And I will feel.
I will pray for you
I will pray for you
I will sell my soul for something pure an true
Someone like you.
See your face every place that I walk in
Hear your voice every time I am talking
You will believe in me
And I will never be ignored
I will burn for you
Feel pain for you
I will twist the knife and bleed my aching heart
I'll tear it apart.
I will lie for you
I can steal for you
I will crawl on hands and knees until you see
You're just like me
Violate all my love that I'm missing
Throw away all the pain that I'm living
You will believe in me
And I can never be ignored
.
I would die for you
I would kill for you
I will steal for you
I'd do time for you
I would rape for you
I'd make room for you
I'd sail ships for you
To be close to you
To be a part of you
'Cause I believe in you
I believe in you
I would die for you.
In "Building a Mystery," Mclachlan focuses on one person who chooses to make himself as mysterious as possible. He constantly wanders in the dark wearing mysterious clothing, and has parts of him that will remain forever unknown. The journey Conrad takes the reader on in Heart of Darkness proves long and mysterious as does much of the action in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. And many questions are left mysterious in other works like where exactly did grandma go?...how long had she been dead? from "The Sandbox," and why did the Defarges refuse to help Dr. Mannette? from A Tale of Two Cities.
"Building a Mystery"-Sarah Mclachlan You come out at night You strut your rasta wear You're building a mystery. You live in a church You wear sandals in the snow Oh your so beautiful 'Cause your working You woke up screaming aloud You give us a tantrum Oh your a beautiful,
that's when the energy comes
and the dark side's light
and the vampires roam.
and your suicide poem
and a cross from faith
that died before Jesus came.
where you sleep with voodoo dolls
and you won't give up the search
for the ghosts in the halls.
and a smile that won't wash away
can you look out the window
without you shadow getting in the way?
with an edge and a charm
but so carefu
l
when I'm in your arms.
building a mystery
holding on and holding it in
.
Yeah your working
building a mystery
and choosing so carefully.
a prayer from your secret god
you feed off our fears
and hold back your tears.
and a know it all grin
just when we need one
when the evening's thin.
a beautiful messed up man
you're setting up your razor wine shrine
'cause your working on a building a mystery.
Some of the most enjoyable moments from literature come during themes of love. In this song, originally performed by The Supremes, but rereleased by the Dixie Chicks, the writer explains that a person cannot control when love happens, to who it happens to or how long it will last. The characters of "The Misanthrope" definitely learned this as the misanthrope himself finally fell in love only to discover that she loved another. Hamlet unknowingly fell in romantic love with his mother, who he later married, and young Cathy of Wuthering Heights found herself in love with her cousin Hareton, who she detested for most of the novel. All these, and the lyrics of this song show the beautiful unpredictable nature of love.
I need love, love You can't hurry love You can't hurry love But how many heartaches You can't hurry love How long must I wait No, I can't bear to live my life alone You can't hurry love You can't hurry love No love, love don't come easy You can't hurry love You can't hurry love
To ease my mind
I need to find, find someone to call mine
but mama said
No, you just have to wait
She said love don't come easy
It's a game of love and take
No, you just have to wait
You got to trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes
Must I stand before I find a love
To let me live again
Right now the only thing
That keeps me hangin' on
When I feel my strength, yeah
It's almost gone
I remember mama said:
No, you just have to wait
She said love don't come easy
It's a game of give and take.
How much more can I take
Before loneliness will cause my heart
Heart to break?
I grow impatient for a love to call my own
But when I feel that I, I can't go on
These precious words keep me hangin' on
I remember mama said:
No, you just have to wait
She said love don't come easy
It's a game of give and take
No, you just have to wait
She said trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes
But I keep on waiting
Anticipating for that soft voice
To talk to me at night
For some tender arms
To hold me tight
I keep waiting
I keep on waiting
But it ain't easy
It ain't easy
But mama said:
No, you just have to wait
She said to trust, give it time
No matter how long it takes
No, you just have to wait
She said love don't come easy
It's a game of give and take.
