3 Different Songs With Extracted Wisdom

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Summary by Anonymous

The article delves into the philosophical depth of three songs. "The Ship's Going Down" by Voltaire explores the dangers of conformity and the importance of individual thought. It highlights the power of groupthink and its corrupt potential for disastrous consequences.

"Melancholy My Love" by Hemi Rodner explores the concept of finding solace in solitude and the power of emotional connection. It demonstrates the depth of human emotion and the ability to form meaningful relationships with intangible, abstract concepts.

"The Imperial March" by John Williams, often associated with evil, is reinterpreted here as a lament for a tragic fall, highlighting the destructive power of misplaced negative emotions. It also raises questions about the nature of power and the potential for democratic systems to devolve into tyranny.

The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of critical thinking and avoiding superficial judgments. It encourages readers to seek deeper meaning in everything and to use those insights to live more fulfilling lives.

Introduction

Welcome to another article. This one is going to be different from what I usually provide here on Philosocom, mainly because exhaustion has hit me again, intensively this time. I have spent much of my life executing my late master's wishes, you see...

However, I did come up with an idea for an article you might find enriching to both your musical knowledge and to your contemplations. This will be a list of music I like that I also find philosophical, that I'd like to share with you.

I hope you will enjoy this list, both musically and intellectually. Hereby are 3 songs we could learn from on the wider scale of things:

1. The Ship's Going Down - Voltaire

Death is largely undesirable, even to those who had enough with life. This is why acts such as suicide were but attempts -- they ended in failure because the attempters might've been to afraid to die. Death, usually, means two things: life-taking pain and the unknown whom we might permanently find ourselves in.

Nonetheless, death is often romanticized in ways we might be too afraid to genuinely admit: the deaths of national heroes, heartbroken men and women who find the pain of heartbreak too overwhelming to endure, and life-long sentences of convicts who may never see the light of day. With the samurai, such acts might even be regarded as the moral thing to commit.

In his song, modern-day Voltaire celebrates death in a story about a ship with a huge hole that is inevitably doomed. Instead of struggling for life, all of the crew, including the singer, accept their fate and drowns themselves in a form of collective suicide. It is romanticized as a deep form of brotherhood, amplifying the value of friendship.

In the final verse, the only crew member who tries to save himself by swimming to a raft is knocked unconscious by the other crewmen, who are all eager to die together. His attempt of swimming away can be seen as an act of treason. Of course, treason/betrayal is considered largely immoral by many.

This shows us something important about conformity: that this value, especially under the framework of ethics, can often glorify an idea many would find awful and even twisted. As sheep to the slaughterhouse, conformity can lead individuals to devastating consequences, whether or not the end result is ultimately worth it.

Therefore, Voltaire's song highlights the twisted glory of the herd mentality, or of being only a cog in a bigger machine.

If you consciously conform, remember that following an idea can often be counterproductive to your own survival. Consider whether your sacrifice is truly worth it, because it could be a waste of time and an avoidable misfortune.

2. Melancholy My Love - Hemi Rodner (In Hebrew)

This is a crucial song in these times of physical and, often, social isolation, which in turns leads to problems like skin deprivation.

For non-Hebrew speakers, it is a song that tells a story that takes place over a day. The lonely man, serving as the protagonist finds himself agonizing over his inability to attract good-looking women for love, intimacy, and marriage.

That is while, his only true company is his deep, intense emotion of melancholy. This emotion is so dominant, the lonely man describes it as his only "love," "wife," even.

Failing to even interact with the women of the external world, he leaves for his home; his melancholy being his wife, sadness his atmosphere, and sweetness his blanket.

We can manage and even thrive within a life of relative or even major solitude, even within the company of other objects, other so-called "entities" that we interact with. Even if they are not other people, AKA, "actual" company. As demonstrated by Rodner's song, we can form relationships not only with people but also with concepts...

I have no Friends; I make my Mind my Friend. -- Anonymous Samurai, 14th century.

Those who claim that a solitary life is one of great void might not realize they can be far from the truth. Whether a positive or negative experience, this feelings of alienation can still be felt as if it is the company of any person you interact with. Sometimes, remembering a lost one, or fostering a relationship with obscure emotions, can ironically feel less alienating.

And finally,

3. The Imperial March - John Williams

Next to the "Happy Birthday" song, John Williams' Imperial March is likely one of the most recognizable songs on Earth. It is commonly used to describe the concept of evil, a critique of an over-militarized regime, or mockery of the nerdy who may resonate with niche topics like Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.

However, less is taken into account the possibility that this is first and foremost a tragic song, lamenting the metaphorical death of Anakin Skywalker, and his descent to "the Dark Side," a state of being that is fueled by hatred, rage, passion, grief, and vengeance. It is a state that also consumes the entity's life force like a vampire, and often leaves a permanent effect like the Mark of Cane. More on it I have covered on the Sith Philosophy article.

This is not about being "edgy." In fact, by focusing on the cringey, edgy aspect of media, we can easily reject a piece's philosophical depth, turning such labels into a straw man's fallacy.

Rather, the "Imperial March" is very similar to Chopin's funeral march. It can be seen as the funeral of Anakin's life before the descent into moral greyness and constant suffering, per the result of his wife's death, Padme.

In Darth Vader's case, his submissive subordination to Emperor Palpatine, also marks a symbolism of mourning in the Imperial March, which is supposed to also represent the Galactic Empire itself, falling from the grace of the Galactic Republic before Palpatine took over.

The Imperial March can also be seen philosophically, as to why Socrates was right about his critique of Democracy, given that Palpatine manipulated the entire galaxy when he led the Republic as a supreme demagogue...

Tyranny is probably established out of no other regime than democracy -- Socrates

Therefore, before you consider something or someone to be evil by default, like Darth Vader and his well-known theme song, consider giving them the benefit of the doubt. You might ignore the fact that it symbolizes the lamented downfall of the galaxy to total domination. This fall led to the revolutionary potential of rebels, and thus to a galaxy civil war, leading to the deaths of plenty.

And that's the problem of casually dismissing things that otherwise could teach us a lot. We should not succumb to superficiality, otherwise we would remain more ignorant than otherwise, preventing us from living more virtuously and seeing the wonder of reality.

Words of Departure

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this article, and I hope it has contributed to you in some way or another. At least remember the following: theoretically, everything can contain Extracted Wisdom, as long as we contemplate enough about it. Even an odd mishap with a taxi driver can foster much wisdom, after all.