“Down in the Valley” is a song that was released in 2010 by the folk/pop band The Head and the Heart. The band’s name describes its sound of their music perfectly; the lyrics and music are both inspired by intellect and emotion. By analyzing the lyrics and sound of “Down in the Valley”, one can detect existential themes as well as relate it to Meursault inThe Stranger. One interpretation of the song’s poetic lyrics is that it is telling a story of the life of lead singer Jonathan Russell. He can do what he wants in life and he travels around, but other things that he has no control over come into play and he always returns back to where his life used to be (the valley). His life is very repetitive, and eventually he turns to drinking because there is no purpose to his life anyway.
The sound produced in the production of “Down in the Valley” are driven by guitar and piano, with accents of violin and drums. The singing is made up of soft male voices, sometimes singing different lyrics in the background of each other. If you listen closely, the song has a female voice as well in a few parts. The singing is made up of a trio of voices, with three more people playing instruments completing the music group. The song starts out with just a guitar tune, and a low voice begins sorrowful lyrics. A violin steps in for a moment, and then the voice continues to tell his story and a piano and drums kick in. The lyrics step up to a slightly higher tempo, but then they slow down again and it is back to a violin and guitar only. After a series of oh oh’s created by multiple voices, the faster pace picks up again. The next series of oh oh’s is accompanied by all of the instruments by a soft voice in the background pronounced lyrics that are hard to understand, which continue on. The song picks up in the most hopeful tone of the entire thing, and then the lyrics and instruments slow done again before the song comes to an end. The final lyrics and sound of the song are the same depressing lines and tones as the song ends with. The sound of the music alone delivers the message that life is repetitive. The song ends the exact same way that it starts. In the middle, there are a lot of different sounds and lyrics, but in the end none of it matters.
Many of the lyrics from “Down in the Valley” relate to existential themes. Jonathan Russell portrays his perspective on life as that he has free will, but life is absurd and mundane. The opening lines of the song “I wish I was a slave to an age old trade” and “…my rough and rowdy ways” show that he does not follow absolute systems, which is an existential idea. Slaves are forced to do certain things by absolute systems, so if he was a slave he would be forced to be someone he’s not. Instead, he has “rough and rowdy ways”, doing his own thing and not following the rules. Existentialists believe in free will, and they believe that following absolute systems because they limit personal meaning to life. The singer also seems to believe in absurdity, feeling as though there is no meaning to life. His life is hopeless and repeats over and over again. The quote “But it don’t make no difference if you sit or you stand” means that no matter what he does in life, nothing changes. “We do it over and over and over again” and “’Cause they both end in trouble and start with a grin” suggest that he feels his life is the same thing over and over again, and nothing ever ends up worth it. The singer also expresses that he feels alienated. The lines “Down in the valley with / Whiskey rivers / These are the places you will find me hidin’” show that he feels alone in his life, hiding, and the whiskey rivers reference implies that he drinks. Throughout the song, the singer refers to the valley, which represents where he always ends up in life, when there is no sense in going anywhere else.
Many of the existential parts of this song can be related to the character of Meursault in Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger. In the book, Meursault breaks free from absolute systems. On page 59, he shoots the Arab. Although it is against the law and societal norms, he does it unexpectedly and does not even feel guilty afterward. In “Down in the Valley”, the singer suggests that he already does not follow absolute systems. Both do things without thinking them through first, making their own decisions. Another thing is that Meursault does not feel emotion. Although “Down in the Valley” sounds very sad, there are no lyrics that prove the singer is sad. He is depressed because he turns to alcohol, but that makes him feel numb. His life is meaningless, with everything occurring over and over again, getting him nowhere.
Another example of how the lyrics of “Down in the Valley” relate to Meursault in the novel The Stranger is the part of the song that is difficult to understand. It is the part of the song when the singer is talking about a girl, but he never connects her to any emotion. The most common lyrics applied to this part of the song are “I hear your name and then / I saw you standin’ out / I saw your face in the crowd and you came out / You saw me crossin’ the valley and you came in”, but many people claim to hear different things and there is no published version of the lyrics so one cannot be sure. Based on these lyrics, this part of the song could be compared to parts in The Stranger when Meursault is with or thinking about Marie. On page 35, Meursault says “she asked me if I loved her. I told her it didn’t mean anything but that I didn’t think so”. Throughout the book, he focuses on the physical aspects in life, and never his emotions. This quote shows that even though he is with Marie and is attracted to her, he doesn’t have feelings for her. Based on the lyrics from the song, the lead singer of The Head and the Heart could feel the same way about the girl he is discussing.
It is surprising how many songs include existentialistic themes. The lyrics and sounds of “Down in the Valley” were easily analyzed for existential themes and things relating to Meursault’s existential character. This song seemed out of the ordinary for The Head and the Heart because they typically write love songs, and most do not contain any existential thoughts at all, but they do portray a sense of depression and longing as well as alienation. Within this song, the singer expresses existential thoughts relating to free will, absurdity, repetition, not following absolute systems, and alienation. Jonathan Russell and the rest ofThe Head and the Heart, as well as Meursault feel that their lives or on repeat, think that life is absurd, make rash decisions whether or not they are rough, and demonstrate ideas of having free will and not predetermined destiny. One would not be able to sense this by listening to just one of another of The Head and the Heart’s songs, but by listening to this one and a group of others, existentialism becomes obvious. The group was created in 2009 after meeting through a series of open mic nights in Seattle, Washington. It is a tough lifestyle, with repetitive shows and very little money, but that is their own choices that they have made. Though they may believe that life has no meaning, their decisions are completely up to them and they can make their lives into whatever they want them to be. Through free will, the band creates beautiful music and lives their lives to the fullest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4jFyOsY54M
Lyrics of Down in the Valley, from: http://lyrics.wikia.com/The_Head_And_The_Heart:Down_In_The_Valley
I wish I was a slave to an age-old trade
Like ridin’ around on railcars and workin’ long days
Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways
Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways
Call it one drink too many
Call it pride of a man
But it don’t make no difference if you sit or you stand
‘Cause they both end in trouble and start with a grin
Yeah they both end in trouble and start with a grin
We do it over and over and over again
We do it over and over and over again
Oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh
I know there’s California, Oklahoma
And all of the places I ain’t ever been to but
Down in the valley with
Whiskey rivers
These are the places you will find me hidin’
These are the places I will always go
These are the places I will always go
I am on my way
I am on my way
I am on my way back to where I started
Oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh
One more for the stars and their eyes in the walls
I hear your name and then, I saw you standin’ out
I saw your face in the crowd and you came out
You saw me crossin’ the valley and you came in
Look at the sign on the door and it reads to me
Just like the grass and the sign when you walked in
Oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh
I am on my way
I am on my way
I am on my way back to where I started
California, Oklahoma
And all of the places I ain’t ever been to but
Down in the valley with
Whiskey rivers
These are the places you will find me hidin’
These are the places I will always go
These are the places I will always go
So I wish I was a slave to an age-old trade
Lord have mercy on my rough and rowdy ways
World Studies World Literature 