Arcade Fire - Song On the Beach

A short, scintillating piece which evokes nostalgia, naiveté, and timelessness. It is, surprisingly, hard to maintain the pseudo-perdendosi rhythm that is the signature of the piece, in my opinion. 

The title is taken (for the few that have not yet seen the film) from Alexander Pope's (or, for the many that have seen the film, Pope Alexander's) 'Eloisa to Abelard', the Ovidian heroic epistle published in the early 18th century (1717). 

The film borrows line 209 for its title:

'How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd'

However, the poem is brimming with wonderful lines. I have taken the liberty to highlight some of the ones I think are particularly interesting below;

'Forget, renounce me, hate whate'er was mine.
Fair eyes, and tempting looks (which yet I view!)'

'Enter, each mild, each amicable guest;
Receive, and wrap me in eternal rest!'

'No, fly me, fly me, far as pole from pole;
Rise Alps between us! and whole oceans roll!
Ah, come not, write not, think not once of me,
Nor share one pang of all I felt for thee.'

'But o'er the twilight groves and dusky caves,
Long-sounding aisles, and intermingled graves,
Black Melancholy sits, and round her throws
A death-like silence, and a dread repose:
Her gloomy presence saddens all the scene,
Shades ev'ry flow'r, and darkens ev'ry green,
Deepens the murmur of the falling floods,
And breathes a browner horror on the woods.'

The poem is thought to be inspired by the 12th century story of Héloïse's illicit love for (and secret marriage to) her teacher Pierre Abélard (one of the most illustrious teachers and philosophers of Paris at the time). 

The story tells of the unfathomable vengeance exacted by Héloïse's family, who castrate Abélard after the lovers had married. Abélard goes to a monastery and bids Héloïse to do the same, even after their child is born. Héloïse is tortured by the separation, and unwillingly vows of silence. Time passes, and they are not reunited. A letter that Abélard writes to a friend, entitled 'Historia Calamitatum', or 'History of my Misfortunes', falls into Héloïse's hands, and her passion for him is rekindled. They exchange a series of letters, in an attempt to come to grips with their intertwined tragedy. The incompatibility of their masculine and feminine viewpoints is, finally, the concept which prevents them from doing so. 

In Pope's poem, Eloisa anguishes over the feelings she has, still, for Abélard. She suffers when thinking that Abélard, now a eunuch, couldn't ever return to his feelings even if he would want to. It is both a reprieve that liberates him from the 'contagion of carnal impurity,' and a perpetual set of shackles. 

Eloisa begs, then, for forgetfulness, not forgiveness. 

illustration: Monet, 'In the Rowing Boat', 1887, private collection

Jon Brion - 'Row' from "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"

Photograph - Her Soundtrack - Piano Cover

Rest in peace my friend 
Fly high in the sky 
Jumping in the clouds 
So many bright colors 
Sweet Molly
Your voice is a beautiful sound 


Rest in peace G 08-30-25

DOWNLOAD

for me here (old EP version)

guitar covers

and she will miss you cover

Cape Weather - Orchestration

frozen in the night
found me counting
in the flames of a pile of old tires
wait, hear the howl 
the winds are crashing
lay for awhile
unconnected
still staring at the my walls
wondering how they got tall
i find me on my own again

old lovers, aren't we
are you a friend of mine
uncover, believe me like the voices in your mind
thought back to my beginnings
called in to the blue
the winds they already knew who I was
who I knew

hard to unsee everywhere you were
but makes no sense to go fireproof
if you're made up of your fears
let them burn said the moon
take my hand, give you a tour
you're my girl, touch the world

old lovers, aren't we
are you a friend of mine
uncover, believe me like the voices in your mind
thought back to my beginnings
called in to the blue
the winds they already knew who I was
who I knew

Are you a friend of mine?

All Ive Ever Known // Bahamas

Available on Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music and other platforms at https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/glorialaing/why-cant-i-have-you

Me's Album

why can’t i have you

You can download my albums on my bandcamp page.

I'm also a proud member of Haunter, a super cool boy band that cries often.


Uh

Astronaut Husband