I don’t understand politics sooo here’s this… at least I’m posting…
I know an obscene amount of song lyrics, and since my mind automatically gravitates towards Classics-related things I decided to list the ones on the top of my head, but as I looked up lyrics I found that there are hundreds more songs (most of them by weirdo bands/singers that nobody’s ever heard of), mostly about Odysseus travels, battles at Troy, Achilleus being a hero (which if they would have read the epic they’d know that they should just sing about his whining, mooommmm, Agamemnon stole my bitch, I don’t wanna fight, give me new armour so I look cool), lots of songs about Aphrodite/Venus (because ain’t nobody want to write a song about a virgin goddess, except one band who made a song called Minerva), and other things like unicorns (yes i found a real song about unicorns) and the chimera and sirens and things, and a reeeeaal creepy song about Orestes which I will provide the lyrics for your entertainment.
“Orestes” song by A Perfect Circle, lyrics: Metaphor for a missing moment. Pull me into your perfect circle. One womb One shape One resolve. Liberate this will To release us all, Gotta cut away, clear away, Snip away and sever this Umbilical residue that’s Keeping me from killing you, And from pulling you down with me in here, I can almost hear you scream Give me One more medicated peaceful moment, And I don’t wanna feel this overwhelming Hostility
Yeah…….
I’m sure Freud would have a hayday with this and all the sexual tension between mother and son. Although I disagree with this creepy interpretation of the Orestes complex, he hates his mother and wishes to kill her to avenge his father, NOT the other way around. Freud would want him to love his mother and kill his father like Oedipus. Maybe Orestes is gay though? Freud would be panicking in his grave to make Orestes gay.
So the following are the lyrics I know that reference classical stuff.
Aphrodite: Katy Perry’s song “Dark Horse” lyrics: Make me your Aphrodite.
Tal Bachman’s song “She’s so high” lyrics: She’s so high, high above me, she’s so lovely, she’s so high like Cleopatra, Joan of Arc of Aphrodite”
Shocking Blue’s song “Venus” lyrics: I’m your Venus, I’m your fire, at your desire.
Odysseus/Ulysses: Cream’s song “Tales of Brave Ulysses” Also about Aphrodite here, but the whole thing is just about Odysseus sailing and seein sexy Aphrodite and some singing sirens.
Necropolis: Tech N9ne’s song “Strange Music Box” lyrics” I’ve been hibernating in the deepest darkest part of Necropolis
Pandora: Tech N9ne’s song “Strange Music Box” again, lyrics: this box is worse than Pandora
Bacchus: A song by Krizz Kaliko that I cannot freaking find in my iTunes but the lyrics are I’ve got followers like Bacchus, implying that drunk chicks fall all over him (haha).
Constantinople (now it’s Istanbul): Of cooooouuuuurrrrse I’d mention this. They Might Be Giants song “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” lyrics: Istanbul was Constantinople now it’s Istanbul, not Constantinople, been a long time gone, Constantinople.
Herakles: Bonnie Tyler’s song “Holding out for a hero” lyrics: Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods? Where’s the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?
May 27, 2014 @ 4:43 am
To continue this off-topic digression into the world of songs and classics, your post reminded me of musicals, my favourite form of song. (Which of course may actually be more appropriate than I initially thought since Greek dramas were originally performed in song.)
My first thought was Spring Awakening, which has a scene in which the boys are studying The Aeneid. (Which, the first time I saw that musical, I was in the middle of studying the Aeneid in Latin and it excited me beyond belief that I recognized the Latin.) There’s a whole song (“All That’s Known”) in which the boys recite Latin in the background. The next song in the scene, “The Bitch of Living” has the lines “As I cried out like in Latin, “This is so not life at all”” which amused me greatly because in the Aeneid and other epic tales our heros do a lot of crying out and whining.
My next thought was RENT, in which Roger sings a song called, “One Song, Glory,” which is very Achilles-esque.
My Fair Lady can’t be left out, with its obvious ties to the Pygmalion myth.
I want to include Mamma Mia! some how because it takes place in Greece, but no immediate ties come to mind.