What must it be like to grow up that beautiful?
"Deep Dive - Gold Rush" available now from the AP Taylor Swift podcast!
This week, we're diving deep into "gold rush" from evermore. Building on last week’s episode on Aesthetic Theory, we get into the story and meaning behind this beautiful song. From the siren song start to the limited first-person narrator, we dive into all the different pieces that create this ethereal-sounding song.
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🪶Shakespeare - April 10th
That’s right! It’s time to get into some Shakespeare. We’ll be covering three plays: Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (We won’t lie - reading a summary or watching a film version may be easiest. We won’t judge!)
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🎒This Week’s Extra Credit - Brought to You by Jenn
Interestingly enough, I am writing this week’s Substack while on my first Amtrak ride! It feels rather appropriate after we discussed the historical gold rush so much in our conversation. Unfortunately, I’m en route to Texas, not Oregon. Maybe next time I’ll be more committed to the theme and go somewhere more appropriate.
When evermore was first released, I latched onto “gold rush” so fast. The whole album is incredible, but this song just transports you. I was so glad when Maansi picked it last week for Aesthetic Theory because I was debating between “willow” and “gold rush,” so thankfully I got to talk about both! However, the “siren call” was not something I had ever noticed. It’s such a great reference and adds so much to the song. So for this week’s Substack, I want to dive a bit more into the history of Sirens and explore that a bit more!
The Odyssey
Much of our modern idea of sirens comes from Greek mythology, and perhaps one of the most famous stories about the Sirens is in The Odyssey. Odysseus is desperately trying to get home to Ithaca after spending 10 years fighting in the Trojan War. His journey home takes another 10 years and is full of obstacles that get in his way (although if you want to hear the other side of the story, I highly recommend Circe by Madeleine Miller). One of those obstacles is going past Sirens.
This is one of the most dangerous passages on the journey because not only are the Sirens there to distract you and lead you to your death, but the shipwrecks of all of their past victims also create a dangerous sailing path. Odysseus, being the clever warrior he is, has his whole crew plug up their ears so they can’t hear anything. But, he has them tie him tightly to the mast so he can hear the Sirens, but he will be unable to do anything about it. They survive the passage, but during it, Odysseus appears to be in agony as he does everything in his power to rip himself from the mast to follow the Sirens.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
A modern retelling of Odysseus, I’ve always loved how O Brother, Where Art Though? interprets the Sirens. In this version of the story, the Sirens are simply three beautiful women singing by some water. Their appeal and allure seem somewhat magical but mostly lie in the fact that they are beautiful women singing. The protagonist’s choice to follow them and be sucked into their song appears to be done through free will.
Compared to the original story, this version leads viewers to be more frustrated with the Odysseus character, Ulysses (aka George Clooney). The only magic the Sirens have over him is his willingness and excitement to follow them. I am sure others would interpret this scene differently (and I would be fascinated to see if there is a gender split in how people perceive this scene), but regardless it is a whole new way to see the scene.
Peter Pan Films
Ok, so in the original animated film, the mermaids are fun and beautiful, but come across as jealous of Wendy. In the 2003 live-action film, the mermaids are much darker and more sinister.
Regardless of the version, the mermaids are consistently friends (or at least friendly) with Peter Pan, but significantly less friendly to Wendy. I know there are a few more modern interpretations that I haven’t seen, so I apologize if I missed anything relevant in those. Leave a comment below if I did though, please. I’d love to know!
Bringing it Back to Taylor
In our Ecocriticism episode, we discussed how nature is often gendered female and Taylor likes to play with gender and nature in some of her songs. Sirens are very much associated with both nature and the feminine. However, they are also villains. I find it so interesting, then, that Taylor is creating a siren-like sound in the intro and outro to “gold rush.” It leads me to a few questions. Is she calling herself a Siren or is she referring to the allure of the other person as Siren-like? If she is herself a Siren, is she situating herself as the “villain” in this story? Or is she going with more of an O Brother, Where Art Thou? interpretation of Sirens?
Whatever the answers may be, I am fascinated by Taylor Swift’s decision to include this type of siren call in this song. My personal interpretation? To me, the idea that men lose their minds over a siren call is a way for men to excuse their behavior. It’s her fault that she was irresistible, not his fault that he couldn’t resist. If that interpretation is true, I see this connecting back to “gold rush” because the speaker is breaking that pattern. If the siren call in the song is what our speaker hears from the object of her affection, the rest of the song is her saying “I hear you, but no thank you.” We talk a lot about agency in this episode, but part of agency is self-control. The speaker can resist, which is a brand new story in the world of Sirens.
One more thought that I’ll leave you with. In this story, the speaker resists the gold rush, resists the siren call, but still divulges in the fantasy anyway. I think that’s part of what is so powerful about Taylor’s songwriting and storytelling. She encourages us to divulge in the fantasy, but also learn our lessons and “keep our side of the street clean” as well. Life gets messy, but a cup of (hopefully not day-old) tea and some light fantasizing is good for the soul!