“O deities of the underworld, to whom all we who live must come, hear my words, for they are true. I come not to spy out the secrets of Tartarus, nor to try my strength against Cerberus, the three-headed dog with snaky hair who guards the entrance. I come to seek my wife, whose opening years the poisonous viper’s fang has brought to an untimely end. Love has led me here, Love, a god all powerful with us who dwell on the earth, and, if old traditions say true, not less so here. I implore you by these abodes full of terror, these realms of silence and uncreated things, unite again the thread of Eurydice’s life. We all are destined to you, and sooner or later must pass to your domain. She too, when she shall have filled her term of life, will rightly be yours. But ’til then grant her to me, I beseech you. If you deny one, I cannot return alone; you shall triumph in the death of us both.”
These are the words sung by Orpheus, the greatest musician and poet of Greek myth. The lovely words spilled from his lips when he went to the underworld to plead with Hades for the return of his wife, Eurydice, after a serpent’s bite took her life.
Hades agreed to let her go back with a condition. During the trek back, Orpheus was to walk ahead of her and never look back. She followed, limping from the pain in her damaged foot. Unfortunately, Orpheus failed and turned to look at his beloved wife — and she was ripped from his arms forever, dying yet again.
Orpheus never recovered and his sad music broke hearts long after. There are different stories of his death in the end, but most aren’t pleasant.
I have a treat for the ladies. I say ladies because it may have a bit too much estrogen for my male readers. To make it plain, WARNING, MUSHY ROMANCE AHEAD! (g)
I go through periods where I listen to a lot of ethereal, electronic music. One such CD I bought for the cover. Seriously. Look.
Sleepthief’s CD, Dawnseekers, is an electronic gathering of different lead female vocals. It has a bit of an 80s feel in places, but I wasn’t disappointed in the purchase. There are a few seriously wonderful songs on it, including one called Eurydice sung by the talented Jody Quine. I first heard of her when I bought another CD called Balligomingo. (Yes, my music spending habits are intense.)
But, there is a heartbreaking video for the song. It’s a tribute to the love story of Orpheus and Eurydice. Takes a bit of artistic license here and there, but still good.
You can also hear long previews of all the songs on Sleepthief’s site. (Click on previews at the bottom–I couldn’t get the videos to load there.) With each load of the site, you get a different image of dawn. Also, for anyone who loved Berlin in the 80s, they do a cover of the song, The Metro.
BTW, Sleepthief’s CD has only been in the US since last month. There is a fantastic remix of Eurydice on their myspace site www.myspace.com/sleepthief . And if you like Jody Quine, check out her spot and listen to Superman. She doesn’t have a record deal yet, but it shouldn’t be long. www.myspace.com/jodyquine