"Our Lady of the Underground" is a total bop and a lot of people just appreciate it as such But oh my God the song is dark Everything about the described situation is horrifying
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Persephone's speakeasy is the closest thing in the dreary hellworld of Hadestown to happiness It is the only place to go to feel positive emotions, to feel optimism and hope And it's all fake, it comes in the form of addictive drugs and flickering glimpses of porn
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And it COSTS Persephone gave it all away for free aboveground but in Hadestown everything has a price She means well but she's complicit - the need to stay on top of your tab at the Our Lady of the Underground pub is why you can't slack while you're at work It's another prison
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The whole system of Hades as the God of Money and Persephone as the Goddess of Wine It's that cruel joke about the life of 19th century factory workers "I work so I can afford to drink, I drink so I can forget about work"
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That thing about Rat Park, the experiment showing healthy, well adjusted rats in their natural habitat don't really get addicted to substances You make an addict by putting the rat in a cage
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What gets me about this is that it's established that to work in Hadestown means to forget your identity and history, just like in the myths, to become a cog in the machine The evocative idea that there's not much difference between a working stiff and a classical shade
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Which means that Persephone is offering false advertising What you want is to remember You want your childhood back, your family, your lost loves, your passions She doesn't know what those are any more than you do All she can sell are *approximations*
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It's that theme I was talking about before, of nostalgia for things that didn't happen, of this inchoate unfulfilled longing You can't remember your wife's face but she can sell you the general feeling of the general idea of having a spouse
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That verse, man "I got the wind right here in a jar I got the rain on tap at the bar I got the sunshine up on the shelf"
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In these trying times it's not even really a metaphor is it That's why we drink It's a dull, sloppy blast of chemical warfare on your neurons to try to mimic the sensations the world won't fucking give you anymore because the world has been reduced to four fucking walls
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I dunno, I'm just thinking of a world where we just label the substances we buy and use for what they're meant to replace, like Persephone does (This comes off as a crude satire against substances but I really don't mean it as such You take whatever you can get)
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"I find myself pouring a glass of Being Surrounded By Family and Friends earlier and earlier every day lately I tell myself I shouldn't, that I should at least get some things done first while retaining my full consciousness of how alone I am, but you know, why the fuck not"
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"Nowadays I can't even fall asleep without drinking a shot of A Reassuring Hug From Someone I've Known All My Life" "I've been stockpiling these gummies, 10 mg of Having Something Cool To Look Forward To Tomorrow Morning I try not to go through them too fast"
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"I know I'm abusing my prescription but I keep steadily upping my dose of Falling Asleep Against the Warm Presence of the Love of Your Life The side effects are getting worse too but if I try to taper off I start getting these panic attacks"
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"Yeah well I just heard about my neighbor, he ODed in his bathtub Turned out months ago he started shooting up Mom and Dad Tell You Everything Is Going to Be Okay, and You Believe Them"
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End of conversation
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