A Solo Renhai
Why Won't You
Believe Me?
his greeting
a betraying kiss—
the clink of silver
the stream laced with fool's gold—
betrayal, the truth that clings
for courting to slow
on top of Old Smokey—
a false hearted love
Notes: 191
Notes
"Why Won't You
Believe Me?" is the fourth renhai in the "Duplicity
Series" at Renhai Studios.
Duplicity #1: Gillena
Cox & John Daleiden; #125
Duplicity #2: Gillena
Cox & John Daleiden; #127
Duplicity #3: Gillena
Cox & John Daleiden; #131
Why Won't You Believe Me?: John
Daleiden; #191
Duplicity is a deliberate
deceptiveness in behavior or speech; there are
many historical instances of it taking place:
Verse 1 of "Why Won't You Believe Me?" depicts the Judas betrayal to the Romans with his
double-dealing kiss—he received 30 pieces of silver.
According to the account given in the Gospel of John,
Judas carried the disciples' money bag and betrayed Jesus
for a bribe of "thirty pieces of silver" by identifying
him with a kiss—"the kiss of Judas"—to arresting soldiers
of the High Priest Caiaphas, who then turned Jesus over to
Pontius Pilate's soldiers.
This moment is conveyed in various types of music
according Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_kiss_of_Judas.
-
The
moment is represented in Bach's St Matthew Passion and
other Passion settings by many composers.
-
In
Bob Dylan's "With God on our side," he says, "Jesus
Christ was betrayed by a kiss."
-
Petra (band) had a hit in 1982 with a song called
"Judas' Kiss". The song was controversial with
anti-Christian rock critics for having a back-masked
track before the song at a time when back masking
messaging in rock albums was under public scrutiny.
However, the message was a Christian one and was aimed
at the critics.
-
Dave
Barnes, a Christian singer/songwriter, uses it in his
song "On a Night Like This".
-
Finnish power metal band Stratovarius describes the
events around Judas betrayal from a first-person
perspective in the opening song "The Kiss of Judas" from
its album Visions.
-
The
politically progressive Canadian punk band Propagandhi
references this in the song "With Friends Like These Who
The F*** Needs COINTELPRO?" in the line "the crippling
Judas Kiss to christen thee a sinking ship".
-
The
Academy Is...created a song called "Judas Kiss" about
betrayal of a loved one.
-
Metallica has a song entitled "The Judas Kiss" in their
ninth studio album, Death Magnetic.
-
Canadian rock band Triumph, used the lyric "30 Golden
Pieces For The Judas Kiss", in the song Never Surrender
from the album of the same name.
-
U2's
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" contains the lyric "one
man betrayed with a kiss".
-
The
Hold Steady song "Citrus" has a repeating line "Lost in
fog, and love, and faithless fear, I've had kisses that
make Judas seem sincere".
-
In
Van Morrison's Days Like This he sings "When you don't
get betrayed by that old Judas kiss".
-
Filipino metal band Wolfgang have a song entitled Halik
ni Hudas which translates into the kiss of Judas.
Verse 2, line 1: "fool's gold". The mineral pyrite, or
iron pyrite, is a naturally occurring iron sulfide with
the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and
pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the
nickname fool's gold due to its resemblance to gold. There
is a story of an entire shipload of iron pyrite having
been shipped over to England during the 1500's—the yellow
stuff having been mistaken for gold.
Verse 3: betrayal of love:
On Top of Old Smoky
On
top of old Smoky, all covered with snow
I lost my true lover from courting too slow
Though courting's a pleasure and parting is grief
A false-hearted lover is worse than a thief
For a thief will just rob you and take what you have
But a false-hearted lover will lead you to the grave
The grave will decay you and turn you to dust
Not one boy in a thousand a poor girl can trust
He'll hug you and kiss you and tell you more lies
Than cross-ties on a railroad or stars in the skies
Recorded by Ives
Verse 3: The popular song, "On Top of Old Smoky", tells
the simplistic story of the "false-hearted lover" who
commits the ultimate betrayal—one lover runsoff with a
rival.
This renhai was composed in the traditional manner
recommended by inventor Vaughn Seward, a Canadian poet.
Verse 2, line 1, composed first, details the placement of
"fool's gold" in a stream, to deceive miners that gold is
in plentiful supply. History records tales of intention
and unintentional deception with fool's gold. One example
is the 1500's tale of "fool's gold", the mineral pyrite,
or iron pyrite, when an entire shipload of iron pyrite was
shipped over to England—the yellow stuff having been
mistaken for gold.
Verse 2, line 2, composed second, "betrayal, the truth
that clings" is an abstract philosophical phrase. The
image of clinging is haunting and it is documented in the
historical images presented in Verse 1, Verse 2, line 1,
and Verse 3.
Verse 3, composed last, depicts the betrayal in a romantic
love triangle—the "true love" of one individual us
forsaken for instant physical gratification (implied
actions never directly stated in the song--gee whiz, what
did you expect!).
Verse 2: 1--"fool's gold" 2--"betrayal...clings"
Verse 1: Judas' betrayal of Christ
Verse 3:
Old
Smokey
Mountain
love betrayal
The Verse 2, line 2 word "betrayal" functions like a
pivot word, allowing the presentation of three examples of
"betrayal or deception", one in each of the three Verses.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
