Portentous songs about dystopian futures have been around as long as I can remember. Take Zager & Evans’ ‘In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus)’ for example, (and that’s only 500 years in the future from next year), R.E.M’s ‘It’s the end of the world as we know it’ and Hedgehoppers Anonymous’ ‘It’s good news week’ as just three random examples.
The theme is perpetuated by Jake Ziah who were last with us back in June with a song, ‘Drugs’, which was a “sweet piece of Americana with added rock-et”.
This single will also be a track on the band’s forthcoming fourth album, ‘Rising Tide’ – an ominous title in its own right – which will be released in October.
I have to say straight away that while I enjoy analysing lyrics – sometimes I ‘get it’, more often I don’t, the lyrics to ‘Cut him down’ are as obscure as I’ve ever come across.
The song is delivered in a languorous tempo and a voice which makes Leonard Cohen sound like a court jester and we have been pre-warned that it examines “where we have been and where we are heading” and that it will embrace both history and a future that may not be what we would wish for.
But there is a series of allusions, allegories, call them what you will, that are vague to say the least and which might require a degree of insider knowledge to penetrate, with references to Hemingway, violins, wrenches and dancing in the trenches.
‘Hemingway’ I’m hazarding a guess at is with reference to ‘For whom the bell tolls’, which is set in the Spanish Civil War, and which suggests the song is about trying to avoid another one, with several countries (including mine) on the brink.
And who exactly are we meant to be cutting down? The Generalissimo? A ‘leader’ that failed to lead, a prophet, a false idol?
One line is repeated that does offer some hope to the afflicted, namely “I’m sure we’ll be fine”, and it comes straight after “the canary in the mine” which hints at least that the danger has been recognised…
I’m beginning to suspect, and taking into account Jake Ziah’s back story, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Enrico Morricone and Harvey Keitel, that the album will be something of a concept one rather than merely a collection of songs; a jigsaw of which this is just one of many pieces.
We shall see.
The album ‘Rising Tide’ will be released on Atomic Soul Records in October.
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