December 03, 2003
Why Do the White Gulls Call?
Alright, I'm sitting here in the library trying to do 10 Bible journals at once, and just finishing up the fourth. I'm not working very fast because I'm in one of "those" moods, and I have a train of thought stuck firmly in my head, moving at a slow crawl on the circular track. I can't get it to jump the tracks, the bridge isn't out at the moment, and I don't have any spare wood to stoke the engine fires with. So this is what we do: I'm switching the tracks, and the train is coming out at my fingertips (you know, the ones that are stuck to this keyboard). This little introductory section is coming while I wait for it to wind its way down out of my head and through my arms to the . . . Wait, I think its here.
Yesterday I found this link where the final track of the Return of the King soundtrack is available to be listened to in its entirety. Later that night I actually went out and bought the thing (not having realized that it was already out). Since then I have listened to the final track (which will be played during the end credits) about . . . well, I've listened to it a lot, over and over. I'm listening to it right now.
At the end of Fellowship we had "May It Be" sung by Enya, and it was a pretty song. She's got a good voice, the music is pleasant, etc. The lyrics were . . . functional. They worked. It was kind of a "Godspeed" to Frodo as he starts the real journey. It kind of glanced off the surface of things, a bit. It's not particularly deep or meaningful, (not that I care). I wasn't expecting it to be (I wasn't thinking about the music much when I first saw the movie anyway), and I think it is a very nice song. Looking at it now, I can see that it carries the movie forward from the "last scene." The movie isn't over until . . . (I wasn't going to say the fat lady sings) . . . this song has ended.
Then, at the end of Towers there was "Gollum's Song" performed by Emiliana Torrini. The choice of this song was . . . interesting. It takes a moment to get used to it, first. It's a direct contrast to Enya, both the voice and the lyrics. Torrini's singing is almost like listening to a heart break, musically. She sings just shy of a whine or a moan. But the words are what make the song really good. I think this is a perfect capture of what has just happened to Smeagol/Gollum as the movie ends. Once again, the movie isn't over until the song is over. And, while I think it has more depth than "May It Be," it's not the sort of song one listens to over and over and over. This is not because it's melancholy, I don't mind melancholy, but the song offers no hope. It only crushes and departs.
Then, after all this, comes "Into the West" sung by Annie Lennox. Based on the name of the next to last track ("The Grey Havens"), together with the fact that each of the songs before was a continuation of the thoughts during the last scene, I would say that this song is basically Sam's thoughts and feelings as Frodo and the other Ring Bearers leave Middle Earth. Be that as it may, I found the lyrics to be especially significant when considered in the light of being a euphemism for the physical death of Christians. I don't want to take the time here to go through each line and stamp my little commentary in, and I think that would ruin the song anyway. Here are the lyrics, think about them yourself as you go listen to the song:
Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You have come to journey's end
Sleep now
Dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across a distant shore
Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping
What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come
To carry you home
And all will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
All souls pass
Hope fades
Into the world of night
Through shadows falling
Out of memory and time
Don't say
We have come now to the end
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again
And you'll be here in my arms
Just sleeping
What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come
To carry you home
And all will turn to silver glass
A light on the water
Grey ships pass
Into the west
And, as a final, bonus thought, consider the following lines from each song as they connect together:
"Oh! How far you are from home" (May It Be)
"You are lost, you can never go home" (Gollum's Song)
"The ships have come to carry you home" (Into the West)