INSPIRATION AND ANALYSIS – THE SEABIRDS – THE TRIFFIDS

I would like to discuss the lyrics of a song called Seabirds, by a fantastic Australian rock band The Triffids. In my post I will explore how this song will help me shape my worlds internal logic, as well how it demonstrates subtle exposition and clever subjectivity that I hope to draw inspiration from when creating my future work.

Below, are the lyrics.

No foreign pair of dark sunglasses, will ever shield you from the light, that pierces your eyelids, the screaming of the gulls / Feeding off the bodies of the fish, thrashing up the bay till it was red, turning the sky a cold dark colour as they circled overhead.

He swam out to the edge of the reef,
there were cuts across his skin,
saltwater on his eyes and arms, but
he could not feel the sting / There was
no one left to hold him back, no one
to call out his name, dress him feed
him drive him home, say ‘Little boy
it doesn’t have to end this way!’
He announced their trial separation, and
spent the night in a Park Beach Motel
bed, a total stranger lying next to him,
rain hitting the root hard over his head /

She said ‘What’s the matter now lover
boy, has the cat run off with your
tongue? Are you drinking to get
maudlin, or drinking to get numb?’

He called out to the seabirds ‘Take me
now, I’m no longer afraid to die’, but
they pretended not to hear him, and just
watched him with their hard and bright
black eyes. 

They could pick the eye
from any dying thing that lay within
their reach, but they would not touch
the solitary figure lying tossed up
on the beach.

So where are you?

Throughout literary history water is frequently used as a symbol of renewal, of removing one’s guilt tied up with the past. In The Bible water is often used as a symbol of spiritual cleansing, “He who believes in Me, as the scripture said, from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water”-John 7:38-39. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it is used in a similar vain. Macbeth, after killing King Duncan says ‘Will all great Neptune’s Oceans wash this blood clean from my hand’. The water, as the blood washes away, removes all ties to the past. The future and the present become an open slate. It is for this reason that I wish to build my world next to the ocean.

The Seabirds fits into the literary motif I described above. The protagonist is committing suicide,in order to pay for the sins of his past (that appear in the form of guilt in his present). In this story our protagonist believes his suicide to be a redeeming/cleansing action.

This leads me to think about my world and its internal logic. In my world does one have to pay for the price of every sin- just like the man in the Seabirds? Or do bad people go unpunished, adding to its futility and stagnant nature? Based on my writing thus far, and some ideas I have on scraps of papers, one could argue that every moment that my two depressed characters live is an implicit punishment bound to their actions. Surely all decisions have consequences? As I write my story and begin fleshing out its world this descision (on the logic concerning the consequence of actions) will heavily inform my plot and in turn influence the fate of my characters.

In class, we defined exposition as an allusion to prior events (the back story) that serves to assist the viewer, reader, or listener in making sense of the immediate story. For example in low budget films they will say ‘but you’re my best friend’ – just so you instantly know the relationship between the two characters. In Seabirds, however, there is subtlety in the exposition.

He swam out to the edge of the reef,
there were cuts across his skin,
saltwater on his eyes and arms, but
he could not feel the sting.

This paragraph says a lot about the protagonist without revealing the mystery behind the lyrics. All we know is that our character is swimming out deep into the ocean and is completely emotionally/physically numb- not even the physical brutality of the ocean can make him feel. The contrast between physical pain and mental pain that this verse explores inspired me to set my story at the Beach, because, like much of nature it is such a rough, unforgiving place.

He announced their trial separation, and spent the night in a Park Beach Motel bed, a total stranger lying next to him, rain hitting the root hard over his head 

She said ‘What’s the matter now lover boy, has the cat run off with your tongue? Are you drinking to get
maudlin, or drinking to get numb?’

Then three paragraphs later the backstory, the event that has led him to the present (and indeed the world) is revealed- he’d been through a divorce and could no longer cope with life.

The genius of placing this information here, is that it sheds an understanding on the paragraphs before it. It contextualizes his behaviour and gives audience gets an ‘ahh’ moment. In my writing I hope to do this, I want to slowly reveal my world and its accompanying story. In the past I have had the issue of revealing too much at the start and then not knowing where to go. The Seabirds is a prime example of how to reveal a story.

By the time we leave this relevatory paragraph he is already calling for the seabirds to take him away ‘he is no longer afraid to die’. As soon as we understand his story it’s too late.

For me, this shows the importance of showing not telling when revealing crucial details about my story and the characters in it. This has challenged me to write key moments for my characters that are completely wordless, based on action alone. I had an idea of writing a story centred around two characters before and after spending the night together. The man as he spends the morning after on the beach, and the woman and her time at the casino before they meet the previous night. By having these characters alone, free to navigate the world I create, will grant me the opportunity to work on subtle, quiet story telling that is based on thoughts and actions- as opposed to dialogue.

Lastly, Seabirds does something else which I find mesmerising. The protagonist sees the ocean as an apocalyptic wasteland because of his depression (the sea was red with blood from the birds prey). When most people look out at birds over the ocean they are mesmerised by the grace of nature. This is in stark contrast to our protagonist, who sees something else.

Perspective is defined by Google as a particular attitude towards or way of regarding something; a point of view. This led me to an idea. Both my characters in my story stumble across the same object and interpret it in vastly different ways-and their respective answers not only comment on their character but also highlight the difference between the two. This song has given me the idea of juxtaposing perspectives in order to reveal things implicitly about character.