I chose the song All My Days by Alexi Murdoch for my cultural artifact. (you can find lyrics for the song here) Commissioned for 2009 film Away We Go, this song, shows two different empires, fitting in perfectly with our class theme.
The first half of the song through repeating phrases such as “I’ve been trying to find” and “All of my days” explain his expectations from a world that cannot fulfill his wants, no matter how hard he searches. Murdoch’s “days keep turning into night” with no friends and no answers.
In the second half you hear a revelation: “Now I see clearly It’s you I’m looking for.” The second half of the song is now full of hope - no more loneliness, and questions are answered, shown in the line “I know I’ll feel this loneliness no more...for I look around, And it seems He found me” Here, although the days keep turning into night, morning will still come the next day.
The music mirrors this split feel. The music starts out slow and calm, but almost mournful. After a small musical interlude, the music fades down matching the revelation shown in the lyrics. This fade allows one to feel the same change Murdoch is experiencing. After this pause, the music once again picks up, but rather than a mournful feel, it is a much brighter, happier feel.
I believe this song split into two opposite views correctly shows the contrast of the Empire and the Kingdom. In the Empire, although one may search “All of your days” will never find true happiness and will always be searching for more. But once you find the truth through converting to the Kingdom of God, questions will be answered, and love will prevail. For it is through God that we find our hope.
Discussion Questions:
- How does todays society try to fulfill the hopes of the American people?
- In contrast, how does the Kingdom of God fulfill hope?
Good thoughts on this song, Sam. It's interesting to think about the various ways the families in Away We Go answer that first question in such vastly different ways.
ReplyDeleteThat’s cool, I was also thinking this song was about Jesus.
ReplyDeleteLet’s pray for him and all musicians to be blessed to make good music for God’s kingdom. Amen