GuidoWorld

Alu

March 2, 2008 on 9:33 pm | In General |

The following lyric and reverie I wrote some time ago.

If you want to listen to the song go to music, click on the “Take Me” CD and then click on the song ALU.

Alu came from he land of light
Man take Alu when great trod asleep
Trod spat as boat pass by
With Trod eye Dala pull Alu into the sea
No more Trod land, without spirit Alu no live
Alu hungry, Alu tired, Alu see no beast
To hunt, bring down, no breathe, eat

A god in sky
No could be
Trod is stronger, hotter piercing gaze
Made Alu blink, made Alu see Alu feet
Alu scared now, without Trod
No tribe, no family, no woman, Alu no live

Alu work fleece many tiny tree
Learn work, move fast, Alu do please
“I ” want it that way
Alu hear cries of man take away
Back puff up, bleed, when man say “I” angry
Alu eat food now, Alu never see beast
“I” give Alu plenty
Alu scared, Alu proud
Alu work hard, to please, to praise, to beg

God is everywhere, bow down,
“I” see always
“I” give what Alu need
Alu bow down, no more Trod land
Alu live where “I ” see everything
Alu becomes “I” when Alu fleece

Alu bow down, kiss the land of milk and honey
Alu bow down, pray to the god, the god of salvation

REVERIE:

This song tries to incorporate a few linguistic and cultural tendencies of what we commonly refer to as primitive people while telling the story of a man abducted from his homeland to become a slave in a land unlike his own. Rather than having the victims be speaking and thinking like 20th century western man, and effort was made to reconstruct the thoughts and feelings of a man from a radically different life world than modern western society. Many essential linguistic tendencies were modified so that the sentences could retain enough English grammar to remain moderately intelligible without losing sight of the fact that this man views and interprets the world from a drastically foreign, emotional and conceptual perspective.

Many cultures do not have a clearly defined concept of the personal ego. In fact most languages did not, and some still do not, contain a first person pronoun such as the term “I” as in our language. The individual ego as having a unique or separate existence is foreign to many cultures in which a person is defined by a totemic system or a lengthy and complex  cross-reference of social relations. The belief that the individual ego has been a slowly developing human concept finds support in historical and anthropological studies. In many cultures, the belief in an in an individual ego would be not only blasphemous, but nonsensical. The main character of this song is named Alu, and when referring to himself, he always calls himself what others call him, Alu.

In the beginning of the story Alu talks of his homeland and his traumatic removal from there. The god Trod is a sun god who was asleep (night time) when Alu was taken. Trod’s sister (the ocean) spat at the boat as Alu was taken. Reliving the myths of his people tht speak to extended boat travel, Alu feels that he has been pulled into the sea (drown) and is in a state of chaos (with Dala in her sea kingdom).

This feeling of chaos is furthered by the fact that the god of Alu’s people is a sun god who is tied to the land of Trod. As Alu drifts from the land of Trod he no longer is with , seen or protected by Trod. Alu, therefore, is no longer alive. He is essentially living a shadow existence. It is interesting to note that there are some ancient tribes that have a totemic pole that symbolizes the center of the world and when that pole breaks they cease to exist in any real (sacred) manner. Entire tribes have been known to just sit and wait for death to overtake them for their spiritual life expired the moment the pole was destroyed.

Alu looks out at the great expanse of the sea and sees no animals to kill. Since his language contains no word for death,he describes the process of acquiring food, “Alu see no beast to hunt, bring down, no breathe, eat”. Alu terrified and truly alone spends the rest of the journey in a trance like stupor surviving in living conditions not fit for an animal.

When Alu arrives on his new land he feels like a coward for even continuing to live. Yet, the idea of dying without the presence of his own people is too terrifying to consider. Alu wonders if he is alive or is this the land after death. Alu is astonished to see a sun in the sky, and decides that it cannot be a god for it is much weaker than Trod. Trod was so bright that you could never look directly at his presence. Trod’s “piercing gaze made Alu blink, made Alu see Alu’s feet”. Alu quickly becomes introduced to the life of a slave. Alu is comforted by seeing people more like himself and even has found people from his own tribe. Alu again wonders if he is alive or dead.

Alu, being a hard worker, is treated better then many of the other slaves. Alu hears the white people talk about this “I”. “I” wants things, I gets angry, I is pleased and I rewards hard work with food. Alu becomes fascinated by this “I” and decides that I must be the god of this very strange world. I punishes those that don’t work hard or somehow fall out of his favor. Alu never sees beast yet his is always provided with food that magically appears from “I”. This I is truly amazing and is everywhere in this land of I. Alu becomes content serving I by fleecing these odd little trees that I wants so badly. Alu feels that he actually becomes I when he immerses himself in the work of I. The harder Alu works the more he feels the heat of his homeland and the presence of I.  Alu, grateful and tired, praises this land of I. Alu bows down and kisses the magical land of I and feels that all of his work is constant adoration of this magnificent god. In the fields Alu and many others would sing songs of praise and glory. Alu at these times, worked even harder being filled with the spirit of I and again sensing the sense of family that he so dearly missed. The song ends in an orgiastic chant like phrasing in which the spiritual mood of Alu is evoked.

The phrase that Alu becomes I when Alu fleece is also very revealing from another point of view. When Alu picks a lot of cotton he receives praise and recognition for his efforts. Ones sense of self and personal esteem are greatly influences and created by positive recognition. So Alu is correct when he states that he becomes I (has an ego) when he picks a lot of cotton.

The sense of wonder that Alu felt for I is echoed in us when we reflect on the complexity of human feeling and experience. What else is more captivating than man in the midst of his world, feeling, sharing, believing and loving? Man, the creature that incorporates and solves is flexible  and creative in his efforts to survive and come to terms with a world that cries out to him for meaning. All of us so independently interdependent, reading our environment and interpreting all that comes in our path.  We, all different yet so much alike, need look no further then ourselves to experience awe and revere life.

The tempo and rhythm of this song plod along at a slow walking pace. The world created by the music allows you to drift with Alu through his personal odyssey. You can feel the rocking of the boat, him walking in the land of I, and rhythmically working in the fields with the other slaves. Some of the sounds in Alu are very earthy depicting his simple roots. The island/African sounds provide Alu with a homeland and seem to cry out for his return. The peculiar mix of electronic and acoustic flavors are designed to give the song a haunting eerie flavor having you sense Alu’s confusion and bewilderment.

When I listen to this song I’m placed in a relaxed meditative state. The bowels of the earth bass lines and drums, shared by at least three instruments at a time create a sleepy calm in my belly.The marimba heard off in the distance incites me to take in a deep breath and feel refreshed. The slow crescendo that the song inches towards carries me into dream. The horns are like splashes of color on a darkened sky, giving contrast to the earthy world the lower toned instruments create. It is this sky that I begin to drift towards as the song delicately builds. As I float upward I am met by Alu’s cries as his voice rises above the chants of the others. As “Alu bow down” is repeated, I gently drift back down to earth feeling light and relaxed at songs end.

This song demonstrates how man can turn tragedy into beauty, how he can adapt to almost any situation creating a home out of chaos. This song is a celebration of man’s ability to create meaning  in their life, while calling into question the absolute truth or superiority of any of these amazing creations.

Jim Guido