I agree wholeheartedly with BiblicallyBeyondRepentance (great user name, by the way!)
The only thing I would add is that, for me, this song is one of the most crucial unifying factors for the various layers of this album.
For the top layer, (the surface story), it is a cancer patient begging for help that no one can give her.
For the second layer, (the emotionally abusive relationship), it is the abusive partner in one of her moments of depression. This bit only really makes sense when you listen to epilogue and get a very clear glimpse at the nature of the relationship.. she was clearly a depressive with lots of outbursts.
The next part, and probably my favorite layer of Hospice, is Slyvia Plath. Here we see the reference to her early suicide attempt and her final act of shutting the kids out of the kitchen. BiblicallyBeyondRepentance already did a great job of covering these aspects, and I agree that the main intention of this song was to capture her silent scream for the help that never came.
I do love how understated and simple this song is, all while being so VERY important to the album. I have heard it said that Slyvia Plath's entire life was an unanswered cry for help. The clarity of the connection to the other layers of the album is really striking to me here... because who can help a terminally ill cancer patient?
I disagree about the patient begging for help. She seems to resist help more than ask for it. This is made clear on Sylvia, as she hides under the covers and refuses to take her head out of the oven. She does nothing to fight death.
I disagree about the patient begging for help. She seems to resist help more than ask for it. This is made clear on Sylvia, as she hides under the covers and refuses to take her head out of the oven. She does nothing to fight death.
I agree wholeheartedly with BiblicallyBeyondRepentance (great user name, by the way!)
The only thing I would add is that, for me, this song is one of the most crucial unifying factors for the various layers of this album.
For the top layer, (the surface story), it is a cancer patient begging for help that no one can give her.
For the second layer, (the emotionally abusive relationship), it is the abusive partner in one of her moments of depression. This bit only really makes sense when you listen to epilogue and get a very clear glimpse at the nature of the relationship.. she was clearly a depressive with lots of outbursts.
The next part, and probably my favorite layer of Hospice, is Slyvia Plath. Here we see the reference to her early suicide attempt and her final act of shutting the kids out of the kitchen. BiblicallyBeyondRepentance already did a great job of covering these aspects, and I agree that the main intention of this song was to capture her silent scream for the help that never came.
I do love how understated and simple this song is, all while being so VERY important to the album. I have heard it said that Slyvia Plath's entire life was an unanswered cry for help. The clarity of the connection to the other layers of the album is really striking to me here... because who can help a terminally ill cancer patient?
I disagree about the patient begging for help. She seems to resist help more than ask for it. This is made clear on Sylvia, as she hides under the covers and refuses to take her head out of the oven. She does nothing to fight death.
I disagree about the patient begging for help. She seems to resist help more than ask for it. This is made clear on Sylvia, as she hides under the covers and refuses to take her head out of the oven. She does nothing to fight death.
Also, while there may be some Sylvia Plath parallels, Silberman never actually read the Bell Jar. (guardian.co.uk/music/2010/may/13/antlers-concept-album)
Also, while there may be some Sylvia Plath parallels, Silberman never actually read the Bell Jar. (guardian.co.uk/music/2010/may/13/antlers-concept-album)