The myth of Apollo and Hyacinth is one that is heartbreaking and underappreciated. While there are a couple different versions of the myth, the one I based this and “oh, Hyacinth part 2” off of is the one that goes like this: Hyacinth was a Spartan prince and essentially everyone, including godly beings, found him beautiful and wanted to be with him. Among these gods were Apollo, god of music and light, and Zephyrus, the god of the western wind. Hyacinth wound up being in a loving relationship with Apollo, and this made Zephyrus incredibly jealous. One day, while Apollo and Hyacinth were discus throwing, Zephyrus, in a fit of jealousy, manipulated the wind so that Apollo’s discus hit Hyacinth in the head and killed him. Apollo was devastated, unable to live with the fact that his discus was the reason that the love of his life was dead. Apollo immortalized Hyacinth into a flower. Despite having multiple chances to, Apollo never married out of respect for Hyacinth. This song is from the perspective of Apollo and follows the story of their short but intense relationship.
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A kind of different format for this post! Today I’ll be explaining the lyrics to my song “Keira Knightley as Anna Karenina.” Just so there isn’t any confusion, I’ll write the line I’m explaining in one color and write the explanation for that line in the same color! Some lines might also not have explanations. Now, just to get into a general background: over the pandemic summer, I decided to watch Keira Knightley’s entire filmography (I regret to inform you all that this task was never accomplished). She stars mainly in period pieces and I was enchanted by the way they took the mundane and inserted dramatics and pain and love into the story. I wanted to know what it would feel like to be one of those characters, who seem to live for each other, who abandon all reason in the name of love. Of course, it’s all unrealistic. But that doesn’t make it any less romantic or beautiful. And I wanted to capture that feeling.
If I had to name one artist that has instilled a love for music in me, that inspired me to craft my own music, that has gotten me through my hardest moments, it would be Taylor Swift. At the risk of sounding like a copycat of Olivia Rodrigo or Conan Gray (whom I both look up to very much and I’ll touch on later), who are both massive Swifties, I think it’s safe to say that she has played and continues to play an integral part of my life. The way she can weave words that hold and support you no matter what you’re feeling is something that a small number of other artists have been able to achieve— for me, personally, at least. Without Taylor Swift, I certainly wouldn’t have begun to write my own songs. I wanted to be the next her. Luckily, I have a stronger sense of identity now, but her role in my development as an artist is so important. It took me a while to find other artists who touched me the way she did; I lived off of her and The Beatles for most of my life. (At this point it’s trite to say The Beatles are your musical inspiration— it’s essentially a given.)
When it comes to songwriting, I don’t really have a process that is set in stone. Most often, I get an idea in the middle of the night for some witty line to use later on or a general concept of a song. Sometimes, after these ideas occur, I might continue with them at that same time, staying up late to make sure I don’t forget anything. Other times, I promise myself that I’ll remember when I wake up in the morning what I was thinking about. I almost never do, so I usually base the decision on what I need more— sleep or a new song. I almost always write lyrics first, and I prefer to finish (as a rough draft) an entire song before setting it to music. Though there are times where I want to use specific chords to the point where I will craft a song around the emotions the chords evoke. Sometimes, there are piano melodies that I will write a song around too; rarely does a vocal melody come to me before any of these other things.
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July 2022
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