After listening to my Spotify library, I came across a song that I felt connected to and could write about. The song is “Icarus” by Bastille, the same group that wrote “Pompeii“. Contextually, this song is written about the Roman mythological story of “Daedalus and Icarus” where the two were seen flying away with wings glued to their backs. However, Icarus got too excited and flew too close to the sun, to which the glue in his wings melted and then caused Icarus to fall to his death in the ocean.
This song makes several references to that story, however, the exigency behind the song is how much it relates to my life and others around me. I feel as though the story of Daedalus and Icarus has many aspects of symbolism, beginning with the wings. The wings represent new beginnings on the path of life. Most people walk everywhere, so a set of wings would allow for a new perspective on life, especially since many others don’t have wings. However, with a great power, comes great responsibility. And with responsibility comes a exigency for respect, respect for what one is given. Much like Icarus disrespecting his gift and flying too close to the sun, if someone on a new path of life gets too excited and abuses their power, they, like Icarus, will “[fly] towards an early grave”, meaning that they will not only lose the privilege in which they were given, but also cause harm to themselves and others in the process (such as the emotional toll that Daedalus had to face that he couldn’t save his son, Icarus).
I chose this song because I have been Icarus before. I once had a different perspective on life than most people. I am gay, and after coming out, I was excited and felt like I could do anything now that I had told everyone. Being over-excited, I got into a very toxic relationship (this being me flying too close to the sun). After months of emotional abuse, I fell and broke down. So, learning from that, I related to this song and felt a exigency to write about it.
This matters to me because I feel like with my history and my mistakes, I can, or at least try to, help other people to not make the same mistakes I have made in the past.
Below are the lyrics and video, with the lines I mentioned in bold; obviously for the essay I would analyze more lines much more in depth beyond what I wrote next to some of the lines, but this is just a brief summary.
(Credit: Google Play Music for Lyrics, Nico on Youtube for Music Video)
That is what they all say
You’ll drink yourself to death
Lies right down within it
And what will you have left?
Drinking from a paper cup
You won’t remember this (could argue that in times of power, people tend to forget what it truly means to be human)
Acting out all their fears
You feel it in your chest
From the wild winds around you
And Icarus’s life, it has only just begun
It’s just begun
Highest foe you’ll ever grace
It scares me half to death
But it tells you nothing (could argue that this is foreshadowing of an inevitable failure)
So take another breath
From the wild winds around you
And Icarus’s life, it has only just begun
This is how it feels to take a fall
Icarus is flying towards an early grave
You leave because you’re certain
Of who you want to be (could argue that this is when one realizes the power they’ve abused)
And you leave because you’re certain
Of who you want to be, oh
And Icarus’s life, it has only just begun
This is how it feels to take a fall (could argue that this is the final fall back to the beginning, i.e. the consequences of ones actions)
Icarus is flying towards an early grave
Hi Ben,
Thanks for your post. I’m glad you are able to choose a “text” that has such personal meaning for you. It sounds like you’ll be able to write a really genuine analysis about it. As you continue to explore the song’s “purpose,” I encourage you to think about what Bastille’s larger intention could possibly be in creating the song. What is the overall message that Bastille wants its listeners to gain from listening to this song, and then, how do they attempt to get that message across? Good job so far — I can’t wait to read the final product!