Ever away from seeing more than life
The morning lies miles away from the night
No man ever could steal her heart
But With bright gold coins I'll take my shot
And all it takes to fall
If you don't walk, might as well crawl
All it takes to fall
What a quiet world after all
Of the things that you guessed will come
What a moment it was after all
What is the context?
The band, Beirut, was initiated by Zach Condon when he studied at the University of Mexico. Their music takes sounds from music around the world, incorporating it into their own pleasing melodies. Each of their albums are inspired by a location: Gulag Orkestar by Germany and elsewhere, The Flying Club Cup by France, and the March of Zapotec, from which this song came from, by Oaxaca in Mexico.
The song title, La Llorona, means The Weeping Woman or mourner. It is based on an old myth told to children about a woman prideful of her beauty. In the story, the woman is said to be the most beautiful woman in the area, and is only willing to marry an equally handsome man with specific outlandish qualities. At last, she finds her perfect match and the two of them get married and have two kids. However, the husband begins to lose interest in her and ignores her, but still remains in contact with the children. Because of this, she developed a sort of jealousy and anger against her children, but hid it. One day, her husband went past her and her kids in a carriage with another woman and he only stepped out to speak with the children briefly, and left. This drove the woman mad and in that moment, anger took ahold of her. She threw her own kids in a river nearby and only after it was too late did she realize what she had done. She felt absolutely miserable. The next day, she was found dead by the villagers, so she was buried in a white dress. Some of the people said they heard the sound of a mournful cry out by the river saying “Where are my children?” Because of this, the woman was now referenced as La Llorona and since then children have been warned to never go near the river because La Llorona would snatch them away.
What is the artist communicating and how?
Through writing this song, Beirut made a portrayal of a well-known old myth in the Hispanic culture. The myth is meant to scare children, much like a scary story, but there is a mournful, pitying aspect to it that this song conveys through the lyrics and their meaning as well as the sounds themselves. In the first four lines, the perspective can be related to that of the man in the myth who wed her, especially in the second and third lines, which express a similarity to how the woman was picky about who she chose to marry. And the last lines relate to how in the end this beautiful yet conceited woman crumbled so easily.
The song was written thematically around the myth of La Llorona, but it does not specifically apply to the myth only. It can be interpreted differently, depending on what the listener knows or does not know. In general, the song, from what I understand, is about the meaning of myth and message behind it in that people can tumble so easily and the fragility of life. And also how easily one can fall from feeling so high and mighty and above everyone else to losing it all. The crescendos in the song help establish a sense of power in the song. They work in conveying the emotion of the myth, going from simply talking about her story to the peak of it. Using few lyrics keeps the song in a way simplistic, allowing it to just flow.
The theme with all of their albums and this album and the song in particular is how they connect different cultures, new ones to which they are exposed, to the music they make. The trumpet, accordion, flugelhorn, and drums are some of their staple instruments used, making for a unique blend of such beautiful sounds.
The band, Beirut, was initiated by Zach Condon when he studied at the University of Mexico. Their music takes sounds from music around the world, incorporating it into their own pleasing melodies. Each of their albums are inspired by a location: Gulag Orkestar by Germany and elsewhere, The Flying Club Cup by France, and the March of Zapotec, from which this song came from, by Oaxaca in Mexico.
What is the artist communicating and how?
Through writing this song, Beirut made a portrayal of a well-known old myth in the Hispanic culture. The myth is meant to scare children, much like a scary story, but there is a mournful, pitying aspect to it that this song conveys through the lyrics and their meaning as well as the sounds themselves. In the first four lines, the perspective can be related to that of the man in the myth who wed her, especially in the second and third lines, which express a similarity to how the woman was picky about who she chose to marry. And the last lines relate to how in the end this beautiful yet conceited woman crumbled so easily.
The song was written thematically around the myth of La Llorona, but it does not specifically apply to the myth only. It can be interpreted differently, depending on what the listener knows or does not know. In general, the song, from what I understand, is about the meaning of myth and message behind it in that people can tumble so easily and the fragility of life. And also how easily one can fall from feeling so high and mighty and above everyone else to losing it all. The crescendos in the song help establish a sense of power in the song. They work in conveying the emotion of the myth, going from simply talking about her story to the peak of it. Using few lyrics keeps the song in a way simplistic, allowing it to just flow.
The theme with all of their albums and this album and the song in particular is how they connect different cultures, new ones to which they are exposed, to the music they make. The trumpet, accordion, flugelhorn, and drums are some of their staple instruments used, making for a unique blend of such beautiful sounds.
Why do you find it beautiful?
The crescendos like at 1:15 are so strong and powerful and hit you suddenly but in a pleasant way. It makes me want to act as if I am conducting the song. The instruments used combine so well, especially as emphasized at the pause of just the instrumental sound like at the crescendo and also at 2:50. The blending of it is just indescribable, along with his voice being so soothing and relaxing. It makes one want to sway to it and not analyze it so much. It is a melodious brilliance.
Many of their songs have very short or repetitive lyrics, focusing on the rhythm of the music they want to create. I personally love the song especially for the instrumental aspect of it and the baroque style. The combination of all the instruments such as the flugelhorn, trumpet, and drums makes for such a soft to the ear sound reminiscent of the type of music I love. I have always loved Beirut for the beauty of the sound they create in each of their albums.
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