The Shins are a popular band that is known for their alternative/rock sound. Each song has powerful and meaningful lyrics and typically leaves the listener with their own interpretation of the song and how it relates to their life. Many of The Shins songs touch on existentialist themes, whether expressing a longing for unrequited love, telling a story of a troubled person, or advising the listener to take on Mercer’s carefree way of life. Many of the songs’ themes are also themes that can be seen in Albert Camus’ The Stranger. Specifically The Shins’ song Sleeping Lessons can be related to the main character of the novel – Meursault.
In the song, Sleeping Lessons, the lead singer, James Mercer is encouraging the listener to take advantage of their free will. He advises to break free from absolute systems – or the things that you’re a part of that define who they are. This song pushes the listener to free their true self and not let the norms of anyone or anything shape who they are or what they do. In The Stranger, Meursault seems to take advice from Mercer towards the halfway point of the book. Though Meursault is typically very reserved and removed from society because of his inability to understand the abstract emotional world, he breaks from his typical behavior when faced with his friend Raymond’s enemy; an Arab that is the brother of Raymond’s mistress.
Similarly, Mercer sings, “And glow/glow/melt and flow/eviscerate your fragile frame/and spill it out in the ragged floor/a thousand different versions of yourself,” showing the existentialist theme of free will and defying absolute systems through saying “eviscerate your fragile frame”, or in other words break out of the shell that society created. Here, Mercer’s voice is echoing and slow, the lack of percussion allowing his words to directly penetrate the mind of the listener, with the message sinking in. As Meursault walks down the beach with a gun in his hand in the hot sun, he shows a “different version of [him]self” when rather than being the typical removed and calm person that he is, he disregards the expectations of how someone should behave and how he has been formed to think, and blatantly shoots the Arab.
After being put in jail for his actions, Meursault exercises his belief in free will when he rejects the belief in God and religion after the chaplain at the jail tries to make Meursault find God and allow Him to guide Meursault to feel remorse for his sin. Mercer perfectly describes Meursault’s feelings toward the chaplain’s shame when he sings these words passionately with guitars and drums building in the background, emphasizing the importance of his words. He declares, “you’re not obliged to swallow anything you despise.” Meursault has a similar view that no one has to accept anything or love anything or do anything that they don’t like or don’t want to. In Meursault’s words, “I just didn’t have the time to interest myself in what didn’t interest me.” Meaning, especially at the time that he had been condemned to death (but could be true always) that he is not going to bother getting involved in something that he doesn’t care about. This is clearly showing Meursault’s free will.
During Meursault’s last days as he awaits his execution for the murder of the Arab, the first lines of Sleep Lessons perfectly describe the process of Meursault’s thoughts. Mercer sings, “Go without/till the need seeps in/you low animal/collect your novel petals for the stem. . .” Meursault “goes without” any emotions or ties to the world for most of his life. In his cell nearing his death, his fears of death are revealed, creating a need for a comfort to “seep in” and settle his newly appeared emotions. Once Meursault realizes that he’s feeling an array of emotions he lets them out in a screaming and crying fit to the chaplain, acting as an “animal”. After he discloses his feelings, he “collects [his] novel petals from the floor” and uses all that he’s ever known and felt to come up with an idea of the meaning (or really, lack thereof) of life and comes to terms with what he’s been condemned to.
The underlying meanings in this song’s lyrics, it structure and organization allow it to be pictured playing in the background as The Stranger reaches its climax. As the song builds up and reaches the most intensity, with the entrance of strong guitar and percussion, Mercer sings “. . . and see that I do what I do.” This matter-of-fact statement could be Meursault’s exact thoughts, as he simply and with little emotion approaches the climax of the book and kills the Arab. As the song slows back down, the song ends with the echo of “you’re not obliged to swallow anything you despise,” some of Meursault’s last conclusions of life during his final days.
Go without Till the need seeps in You low animal Collect your novel petals for the stem And glow Glow Melt and flow Eviscerate your fragile frame And spill it out in the ragged floor A thousand different versions of yourself And if the old guards still offend They got nothing left on which you depend So enlist every ounce Of your bright blood And off with their heads Jump from the hook You're not obliged to swallow anything you despise See, those unrepenting buzzards want your life And they got no right As sure as you have eyes
They got no right
Just put yourself in my new shoes
And see that I do what I do
Because the old guard still offend
Their pudgy hearts and slimy hands
They’ve got nothing left on which we depend
So enlist every ounce
Of your bright blood
And off with their heads
Jump from the hook
You’re not obliged to swallow anything you despise
World Studies World Literature 