Lua- Bright Eyes

What’s up with me and choosing songs by people who can’t sing? For my next song analysis, my victim is Lua by Bright Eyes. This is singer/songwriter Conor Oberst’s most popular song, and for good reason. His lack of...well...tune in this particular song emphasises the mood of the lyric, which are quite stunning. At the end of each verse, Conor shows how in the morning everything of the evening looks different. “Supplies are endless in the evening by the morning they’ll be gone.” He frequently references self abuse, in the forms of alcohol, drugs, and eating disorders. Pair that with the sad tone and realizing that the self abuse only leads to more pain and it’s evident that he realized there has to be Something better out there. Maybe not in those exact words, but he’s getting there.

Conor speaks of loneliness (“When everything is lonely I can be my own best friend”), his inability to love fully (“But me, I’m not a gamble you can count on my to split. The love I sell you in the evening by the morning wont exist”), the eating of disorders of his girlfriend, and his drinking habit. Even though he seems to be living the life that so many people long for, he still feels hopelessness. Only God can fill this void that he tries filling with sex, drinking, drugs, ect. God has programmed us all to be this way, to want purpose and love and value, but only in Him can we find those things. I love how repeatedly Bright Eyes speaks of wanting worth or purpose, and how sex, drugs, and alcohol cannot fulfill that. Some say it’s trashy music for it’s content, but when heard with the right ears, it’s evident how must the author wants a Savior. “The mask I polish in the evening by the morning looks like shit”–he even admits to acting like he has it all together, but in the morning he sees how absurd it is. What a wonderful contrast to the hope we have in Christ, “Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).

-Becca

16 Military Wives

“Cause America can, and America can’t say no. And America does, if America says it’s so” this quote comes directly from the chorus of “16 Military Wives” by The Decembrist. The song is a testament about the sacrifice of those who chose to go into the armed forces for America, and the way that we at home become so caught up in the inconsequential things of life. The song opens in describing the parting of 17 military men from their families, 16 of them have wives; however, only 12 of the men will return again. This sacrifice is a proud one, when a man or woman goes into the military they know the risk and danger, the possibility that he or she might lose their life. But this doesn’t stop them, there’s something within them that drives them to protect their family and their country. During the world wars, men would go into the service and it wasn’t an obligation, it was something to be proud of, a responsibility. However, this has turned into a hindrance, when someone expresses interest in the armed forces they are often asked, “Why would you do that? That’s crazy!” This great responsibility has been turned into a burden. I feel it is a responsibility of our generation to turn back this burden to a responsibility. The sense of national pride in our country has diminished. If we were proud of our country, what we can do for it, and the defense of our country AND family; there would not be this fear and burden attached to the armed forces.

~Reagan