Storyteller Sunday is a weekly blog post that details the creation of past lyrics I’ve written.
Included as the last piece for Nocturnal in 2018, History is inspired by a few things. Coming together quickly, it was also the first bit written for this group of lyrics. In my head, I envisioned a vibe similar to U2’s Wake Up Dead Man ((NSFW – opens in new tab.) Their 1997 album Pop was a big influence on Nocturnal as a whole.)
As for the overall themes, they echoed the strange times surrounding me. A major part was actually influenced by death and it creates an ominous atmosphere. The idea to use “princess” came from Carrie Fisher’s passing in December, 2016. I also knew someone in grade school who had died around the same time, so it was still on my mind when writing these the following month.
Fisher was referenced because of some conversations following her death as well. People began speculating about the usage of CGI to put her in the next Star Wars film (opens in new tab.) It happened almost immediately and seemed strange to me. Not only had she just died, but the sense of ownership over her and her character felt really perverse.
Of course, (I’m sure this view was influenced by the recent passing of the person from grade school.)
With those elements in place, the era of fake news and alternative facts fed into the rest. Entering a time where beliefs were based on willful ignorance, it felt like we were doomed to repeat our past mistakes. In my mind, it created a chaotic vision of people becoming historical gatekeepers. If enough didn’t like how a factual event framed their current desires, it could simply be replaced with misinformation instead.
Every idea melded together to create History: Resurrecting someone with technology, manipulating the past to sculpt the future and the death of a person tied to my innocence. These circumstances created a surreal environment. One where citing the truth turned into the Salem witch trials because fewer and fewer people wanted facts to get in the way.
It’s a world the princess left behind to get some peace and hopefully remain untarnished.
Lyrics
Paint yourself an image of the future
Recounted from the past that won’t retreat
Illusions in the eye of the beholder
Born from all the facts we can’t perceive
Pretty soon they’ll come to a conclusion
Steady or unsure, it all depends
Working through these fits of paranoia
When nothing’s all that simple in the end
So princess
Tell me princess, are you dreaming?
Are you looking for some reason?
While you’re begging for some peace
Now princess
Tell me princess, are you leaving?
Don’t you see our hearts are bleeding?
We can’t seem to find relief
Shining from some light made artificial
Transfixed to what’s projected on the screen
Corpses to exhume for one last mission
This history wasn’t meant for us to keep
Echoed through the hallways lying vacant
Brought down by some weight to reach our knees
Constructed from the truths we’re always sold on
It’s all in what we’ve chosen to believe
So princess
Tell me princess, are you dreaming?
Are you looking for some reason?
While you’re begging for some peace
Now princess
Tell me princess, are you leaving?
Don’t you see our hearts are grieving?
We can’t seem to find relief
Counting down the hours as they’re slipping away
Rising with our torches to pierce through the haze
Waiting so intently to feed us a lie
Sheltered by the silence to deflect and deny
Everybody sees but they’ll never admit
No one deals in reason when they’re all full of shit
Always on a witch hunt to serve our beliefs
Ignoring what’s been lost as this history repeats
It wasn’t meant for us to keep, it wasn’t meant for us to keep
It wasn’t meant for us to keep, it wasn’t meant for us to keep
So princess
Tell me princess, are you dreaming?
Are you looking for some reason?
While you’re begging for some peace
Now princess
Tell me princess, are you leaving?
Can’t you see our hearts are bleeding?
We can’t escape this history