by the waters, the waters of babylon
I'm obsessed with this right now:
This is the version of "Babylon," a Don McLean song off of "American Pie," that appeared in an episode of "Mad Men" from season 1. It's amazing. The actual clip is here. (I can't embed it.) It was written/adapted by David Carbonara, who has done all of the scoring for "Mad Men" so far.
The song's lyrics are from Psalm 137, which tells of the Jewish people who were captured and taken to Babylon after Jerusalem's conquest in 586 BC. As described by the psalm, the Israelites are overcome by sadness at being parted from Jerusalem and weep on the banks of the river. When their captors demand songs in praise of the Lord, they hang their harps in the trees and swear by their hands and tongues to remember Zion. They then wish revenge upon their enemy, ending in a hope for the death of their enemy's children, thereby stopping the growth of future generations.
The song only treats the first couple of lines. But I find the song to be so haunting and lingering. There's a lot of mysticism in religion for me, and a great deal of fascination in the complexity and mystery of it. Ancient things. So intriguing.
I will leave you with this brief article about something else I find intriguing and haunting: the mass suicide of Masada in the face of Roman conquest.
Click to viewThis is the version of "Babylon," a Don McLean song off of "American Pie," that appeared in an episode of "Mad Men" from season 1. It's amazing. The actual clip is here. (I can't embed it.) It was written/adapted by David Carbonara, who has done all of the scoring for "Mad Men" so far.
The song's lyrics are from Psalm 137, which tells of the Jewish people who were captured and taken to Babylon after Jerusalem's conquest in 586 BC. As described by the psalm, the Israelites are overcome by sadness at being parted from Jerusalem and weep on the banks of the river. When their captors demand songs in praise of the Lord, they hang their harps in the trees and swear by their hands and tongues to remember Zion. They then wish revenge upon their enemy, ending in a hope for the death of their enemy's children, thereby stopping the growth of future generations.
The song only treats the first couple of lines. But I find the song to be so haunting and lingering. There's a lot of mysticism in religion for me, and a great deal of fascination in the complexity and mystery of it. Ancient things. So intriguing.
I will leave you with this brief article about something else I find intriguing and haunting: the mass suicide of Masada in the face of Roman conquest.