David Wilson-Okamura
Fri, 12 Mar 2004 12:48:28 -0800
Does pop music count as reception history? I don't know, but this morning there was a Dido song playing at the gym, and I got curious. Lyrics follow; with a link to the video <http://www.rollingstone.com/videos/playvideo.asp?sid=495481>. Is this what the Queen of Carthage was really thinking when she saw her lover sailing off into the horizon? Probably not. Still, the song is in good company: think, for instance, of what Landor and Browning's monologues, or the Defence of Guenevere. White Flag -------------- I know you think that I shouldn't still love you I'll tell you that But if I didn't say it Well, I'd still have felt it Where's the sense in that? I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder Or return to where we were Well I will go down with this ship And I won't put my hands up and surrender * There will be no white flag above my door I'm in love and always will be I know I left too much mess And destruction to come back again And I caused nothing but trouble I understand if you can't talk to me again And if you live by the rules of 'It's over' Then I'm sure that that makes sense Well I will go down with this ship And I won't put my hands up and surrender * There will be no white flag above my door I'm in love and always will be And when we meet As I'm sure we will All that was then Will be there still I'll let it pass And hold my tongue And you will think That I've moved on Well I will go down with this ship And I won't put my hands up and surrender * There will be no white flag above my door I'm in love and always will be Well I will go down with this ship And I won't put my hands up and surrender * There will be no white flag above my door I'm in love and always will be * If anyone is still reading at this point, there is a web site that collects mishearings of popular songs <http://www.amiright.com/misheard/artist/dido.shtml>. Apparently someone was listening to this song and heard, for the line "I won't put my hands up and surrender," "I won't poke my eyes out and surrender." Having listened to this song on my office computer, I can see how that would happen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- David Wilson-Okamura http://virgil.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] East Carolina University Virgil reception, discussion, documents, &c ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To leave the Mantovano mailing list at any time, do NOT hit reply. Instead, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message "unsubscribe mantovano" in the body (omitting the quotation marks). You can also unsubscribe at http://virgil.org/mantovano/mantovano.htm#unsub