Dark Triad

Introduction

Each video is a song which you can listen to for free. All of these songs can also be found on any streaming service, so if you like them, please add them to your playlist! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my commentaries on the music and listening to the music that inspired the commentaries!

1. Hope

2. Moment

3. It’s Not For Me To Decide

Hope (by Emily Dickinson)

Hope is the feathered thing

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all;

And sweetest in the gale is heard,

And sore must be the storm,

That would abash the little bird

That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,

And on the strangest sea;

But never, in extremity,

It asked a crumb of me.

***** * *****

This is an a cappella rendering of a poem by the incomparable Emily Dickinson.

Better to fail despite our best efforts than from lack of trying. It may be that one in a better position than our own will be inspired by our struggle with futility and succeed in achieving the ideal of which we fall short.

The sacred duty of the poet is to stimulate the imagination.

The choice of the word "sore" in this context is significant. It suggests one who cries out in pain, as if from a debilitating fever, or a crippling accident. When she states that she has heard it in the chillest land and on the strangest sea, she is admitting to being such a one. It is not the bird that is "in extremity", but the soul of the one to whom it sings.

It is important to add that the most worthwhile ideals only remain attainable so long as people strive toward them.

MOMENT

If this one moment

Is all we have

Before we burn up in the sun

Why waste it bickering

About what we could have had

Instead of just becoming one?

We will never do this again.

If this one moment

Is all we have

Before we burn up in the sun

Why waste it bickering

About what we should have

Instead of just becoming one?

We will never be here again.

This moment is our entire life.

***** * *****

Sometime in 2013, I had a daydream about two vampires trapped in a locked chamber that was soon to be filled with sunlight. They had a conversation, and I turned it into a song. I write a lot of songs, but not all of them stay with me. This one did, and every time I play it, I think of the daydream I had. At the time, for reasons I cannot discuss here, I was impressed with the importance of appreciating every moment as if it was my last. Some of us, like the vampires in the daydream, let life go by as if we'd live forever, and everything is strictly business. It has been my experience that those moments when we are most reminded of our mortality are the ones that wake us from this illusion. We can only hope that, unlike the vampires, we can afford to welcome the clarity which the dawn brings. You can find the story based on this song here.

It’s Not For Me To Decide

It's not for me to decide, is it?

It's not for me to decide... and that's okay.

It's not for me to decide if you are beautiful. In fact, you are exquisite.

It's not for me to decide, but I will find a way:

To tell you all the things my heart holds dear.

Though you are not with me, I still wish you near.

It's not for me to decide if you will come, or stay.

But it is for me to decide: not to push you away.

***** * *****

One might ask why I grouped these three songs under the title Dark Triad. This is a reference to the three personality disorders: Machiavellianism, Narcissism and Psychopathy. These songs do not reflect anything that would seem to be associated with the subject. I bid you to consider, dear reader, how often we encounter people who are not what they seem, and how often we fail to realize it until it’s too late.

This applies in two ways: sometimes, we invite the wrong person into our life. Sometimes, we push the right person away.