Nuru Project helps photojournalists make a difference in the world—but it also re-introduces the frequently discussed matter of whether the journalist’s job is to make that difference or to record things as they are.
“Heavy In Your Arms”
“Heavy In Your Arms” is a song written by British singer/songwriter Florence And The Machine. The band made its first public appearance in 2008 with the single “Dog Days Are Over”. I chose the Indie-Pop band for its heavily metaphorical content. Although it is a song and its structure is involuntarily rhythmic it also has substantial imagery and symbolism. The heavy symbolism leads the listener to a deeper meaning set to drum beats and chords that significantly help create the tone of the song.
Symbolism, one of the elements of poetry we discussed is submerged throughout the lyrics creating the entire basis for the song, but there are some distinguishing key words, and phrases that contain heavy connotations. They are: heart, arms around his neck, river, waterfall, “concrete feet”, iron ball, and ankles. The heart symbolizes the common abstract concept of love. The subject in the song discusses the physical act of placing arms around someone’s neck, which is often construed as an embrace and support component of the person being carried willingly. In the spiritual meaning of tarot cards a river, which is mentioned before the waterfall, is regularly symbolic of the direction of our lives and biblically, baptizing was often done in a river. The concrete feet mentioned in the song is being equated with how heavy the subjects love is and the iron ball wrapped around the subject’s ankles are associated with how anchored the subject’s love is. Our ankles are the bridge between our feet and legs that allow for movement. When they are constricted they prevent us from moving in any direction, causing us to be stagnant. Also in the spiritual meaning of tarot cards, the waterfall is seen as a rushing force that leads to a rocky demise.
The second element of poetry I mentioned was imagery. Imagery is displayed throughout the song and the entire song reads as a narrative and helps unfold a vision in the audiences mind. In the very first lines you can truly imagine the embrace of the two subjects and there voyage towards the “river”. The meaning of the song to me is by no means ambiguous. It to me talks about unrequited love and the burden it can place on the person that is more involved. The type of relationship involved could be that of a romantic one, or also the relationship between Christ and those who believe in him. In a religious sense the song could mean the constant struggle between good and evil. The Christian’s battle between following the ways and paths that lead to God and showing our love for Him is often a tumultuous one. We often burden God with our love for the world even though His greatest act of love was sending his son to save us. And Christ bared His love for us by carrying the burden of our sins. Thereby making our love a heavy burden to Him. The line that makes this song stick out more religiously than romantically is “Who is the betrayer? Whose the killer in the crowd?” Hearing this line instantly took me to the scene of Jesus’ crucifixion. Was Judas the one who betrayed Jesus, or are we as Christians who constantly falter in our faith and belief the real murderers and betrayers? But also taking that same concept of unrequited love in a romantic sense, is loving someone more than they love you like crucifying yourself?
