“Icarus” is a song written by Bastille about the Roman myth “Daedalus and Icarus.” Bastille is an indie-pop / alternative band who have a recording label under Virgin Records, EMI, and Capitol Records. Bastille has four members of their band, including: Daniel Smith (the main singer), Kyle J Simmons (guitar), William Farquarson (piano), and Christopher “Woody” Wood (drums). Their unison of instrumental and vocal talent bring together a beautiful song every time they record a new record.

In particular, Icarus was released in 2013 along with their album “Bad Blood.” One of Bastille’s songwriters, Dan, got a degree in English Language and Literature at the University of Leeds, England. Because of this, they are an excellent candidate to use metaphors and arguments very strongly, just like they do in “Icarus”.

“Icarus” is intended primarily for younger people. This is because not only was Icarus a very young boy, Bastille makes constant references to their life having “only just begun”. Therefore, it is assumed that Bastille is arguing for younger people to listen up unless they wish to end up like Icarus, drowning. The song isn’t targeted towards older people as much since they have the wisdom and experience that they can see what would and wouldn’t cause a metaphorical death.

Specifically, I will argue that “Icarus” is a story of a young person who is embarking a new journey. That journey could be physical, such as beginning college, or emotional, such as a relationship or trying to rediscover who one person really is. Bastille mainly conveys this through pathos, for constantly scaring the audience into the inevitability of death, metaphorical that is, that could be caused by flying too close to the sun, or making a mistake. Referencing death triggers the audience’s emotions and causes them to think twice before going for a flight with new wings, or embarking a new journey. Bastille accomplishes this messages beautifully through their use of instruments, timing, and attention to lyrics.

There is one main fallacy that Bastille uses in “Icarus.” First, they use scare tactics. Although the audience won’t literally die by making mistakes, usually, they still are terrified of death. By implementing the theme of death on their audience, Bastille scares them into wanting to never make mistakes again. This could be hazardous because people are supposed to make mistakes. Making mistakes causes people to learn and grow from them. Without mistakes, as a society, we would be nowhere in society. So, this scare tactic is a major fallacy.

These days, many young people are getting ahead of themselves and don’t take a look at a situation before they approach it. By getting into a situation without thinking of the consequences first, that could cause many problems that could have been avoided had the person looked and learned first. Bastille implements this theme throughout “Icarus” thanks to their use of pathos.

[credit to: http://www.bastillebastille.com/ (their official website)]

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)

Hey there! I am Benjamin, but you can call me Ben. I am a Health Science Major, with a minor in Biology. I am from Upstate New York, right near Albany. I was born in Boston, Massachusetts and have lived in Albany nearly my whole life.

Believe it or not, I chose Stony Brook by mistake. I was taking the SAT exam and had no idea who to send my scores to, so I chose a random school, that happened to be Stony Brook. I then visited Stony Brook and fell in love. When I graduate, I want to go to business school to eventually become a Health Care Manager, but if that fails I would become a Physician’s Assistant. Either way, I would love to work in a hospital. When I am not stressing over school, I am usually cooking. Cooking is one of my favorite things to do, and was going to be a backup choice in case Stony Brook failed.

Something interesting about me is that I am an only child and have been living with my mother since around 2001, with occasional visits with my father. I was also a cheerleader in second grade, and then took dance classes through the rest of elementary school. Unfortunately, I can not dance today, nor can I sing. However, I can write, some things. Specifically, I like to write poems for events that go on in my life.

Something else that may be interesting to know about me is that I am obsessed with Apple products. You name it, I have it. From laptops to phones to headphones and beyond, I have it and I love every single Apple product.

In general, I am a very upbeat and positive person. When I do have blue days, I listen to music (absolutely love music). All in all, I am excited to continue my education and see where my life takes me! Below is a photo of me and my friend Amanda, the day of homecoming. #WhatsASeaWolf