Todd Grotenhuis

I’ve started a series where we’ll be examining the lyrics and source material for Silent Planet’s Northern Fires (Guernica). (See the Series Introduction if you missed it.)

Today, I want to share all the lyrics and annotations from the song, as well as links to which versions I’ll be using for the references. You won’t have to read everything I will be, but you may find you want to read some. Most of the referenced works are pretty heady, but they do include some great fiction, including For Whom the Bell Tolls, Altered Carbon, 1984, and Margaret Atwood’s the Robber Bride. Hopefully you’ll want to join along with one or more of the works. But if you just want to read and comment on the posts, that’s fine, too!

The Lyrics

Ration my breath - terror clandestine in my chest. Mangled, I lay on a foreign forest floor. [1] Caught in an instant, divided by distance. Alone in the fray, clutching my trigger I pray as I make amends with death on a distant shore. [2]

Such is the fate of the nation state [3] despite the myths they propagate. [4] The narrative never fits the crime. Democracy’s died this death a thousand times. The masses kneel before the golden cross - held by the priest [5] who bows at the feet of the king. [6] We stand alone in the dust of what could be, fighting to find our humanity.

Bury me with my name in an unmarked grave - another casualty to the vanity of history. [7] The war marches on after the killing ends. [8] Take our lives: Colonize our minds. [9]

I’ve been digging through timelines, historical bylines; I find the fatal flaw in our design lies between thoughts we had and words we knew [10] - between what we’re told and what is true. [11] Who fuels the fascist? [12] A classist - inculcating the masses in passes… under the contrived countenance of contrition. [13]

The victor writes the story [14] - more often burns the manuscript. Set fire to a pyre, cremate the crimes that they commit. [15] But the flames kept us warm, so we bit our tongues and tasted scorn.

The bitter stench of finite men betrayed by the thieves they swore to pretend. The bell will toll [16] and in the end lay only echoes of what could have been. [17]

We stand alone in the dust of what could be, fighting to find our humanity. We stand alone in the dust of what could be; nothing we fought for will set us free. [18]

Throw myself, headlong, to the jaws of the beast: [19] The war machine that feeds for eternity. Throw myself, headlong, to the jaws of the beast: The war machine that turns for eternity. Throw myself, headlong, to the jaws of the beast: The war machine that feeds for eternity. Throw myself, headlong, to the jaws of the beast: The war machine that turns for eternity.

The References

• 1. Spring, 1937. Spain.
• 2. Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
• 3. Leo Tolstoy, Patriotism and Government
• 4. Plato, The Republic
• 5. Religion as a means for sustaining the rule of fascist dictator Francisco Franco from 1939-1975
• 6. Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War
• 7. Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: The Will to Knowledge
• 8. Richard K. Morgan, Altered Carbon
• 9. George Orwell, 1984
• 10. Jacques Lacan, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis
• 11. Margaret Atwood, The Robber Bride
• 12. Anthony Beevor, The Battle for Spain
• 13. American corporations, such as Texaco oil, that made large financial gains due to loyal support of Franco’s nationalist forces in Spain, and subsequently Hitler in Europe.
• 14. Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery of India
• 15. The Bombing of Guernica, 26 April, 1937.
• 16. John Donne, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions: Meditation XVII
• 17 George Santayana, Soliloquies in England and Later Soliloquies
• 18. Matthew 26:52
• 19. Mario Savio

Disclaimer: some of the links above are affiliate links.

#NorthernFires

This was our question in church this morning, and this was my response:

• I’m thankful that the Lord of Flies is wrong. I’m thankful that people predominantly want to help humanity, and that those that want to exploit it for their own wealth or ego are a minority. I’m thankful that we see more people sharing food, advice, help, seeds, recipes, and tools than we see angry white doomsday preppers that are mad they didn’t get to have apocalypse standoffs.
• I’m thankful for coronavirus haircuts, quarantine beards, and hair colors returning, for long walks, sports-season-delays, and the absence of quarterly fast fashion dictates. I’m even thankful for endless stories of sourdough-making and crafts projects. I’m thankful for chats around dinner tables, in backyards, and on patios. I’m thankful for swept porches, tended gardens, and home projects.
• I pray that our global reprieve from advertising-based conspicuous consumption will persist, if even in some small degree. I pray that we will find ways to alter world economies towards circular movement and sustainability, instead of just-in-time supply chains and extractive growth. I pray that we will be able to spend more of our time and attention on the things that matter to our friends, family, and community, and less on activities and products that we are told we should want.
• I hope that we continue to drive less and walk more, buy less and share more, throwaway less and repair more, consume less and create more, desire less and care more.

Ration my breath - terror clandestine in my chest

These are the opening words in Silent Planet’s - Northern Fires (Guernica), from the album When the End Began.

And thus begins a series where we’ll examine the lyrics and read through the annotations for this song.

“Wait, a song has annotations?” Yes! Silent Planet produces footnotes for their lyrics, citing influences and quotes. Northern Fires has 19! (You can read more about them in the syllabus post.)

To follow along on this journey, you can add the feed to your reader, or visit the posts page to catch all the entries. The video of the song (with lyrics and footnotes) is available here.

#NorthernFires