Now, I know this isn't exactly what you call research but having listened to this album: Oracle by Shelby Merry I can say that it has a lot of dystopian themes within the lyrics of the songs. Therefore, I decided to analyse the lyrics to the songs and see what inspiration I could find embedded within this album.
Song 1: Grounded
We have been waiting now,
Waiting for change,
And the dust is falling down to rest on my shoulders.
We have been waiting now,
Waiting for change,
And the dust is falling down to rest on my shoulders.
Can you hear the sound,
Coming now, coming now,
Hear the sound, hear the sound,
When we hit the ground running.
Lead and I'll follow,
Lead and I'll follow,
When the worlds falling down,
Will you come when I fall?
Lead and I'll follow,
Lead and I'll follow,
When the worlds falling down.
Can you hear the sound?
Can you hear the sound,
Coming now, coming now?
Hear the sound, hear the sound,
When we hit the ground running.
In the song 'Grounded', I found immediate links to dystopian themes in the first verse, for example the use of 'dust' can be linked to most dystopias due to ruin. 'Dust' can also be closely linked to sand which could also be linked to ruin. The repetition of the lyrics 'when the worlds falling down' emphasise a dystopian and post-apocalyptic feel to the song. Another thought that occurred to me is that the multiple voices within this song make it sound like a chant or a war cry which would link to the use of an uprising within the dystopia.
Song 2: Army of One
If I could change my ways,
If I could change the role of the tide,
Would it still be the same?
Would it still fade away with the times?
To be a King of Kings,
And how long will it last this time?
Would it still be the same?
All things fade away.
So could you tell me?
Tell me what my eyes have seen.
My head's too heavy to look at the stars
And I'm staring in the space between.
My my, pride is a precious stone
May it sink you to the bottom, my friend.
So wave your flag for your army of one,
May you bury yourself in the sands.
So could you tell me?
Cause my eyes are fading back to black.
You feel the power, oh you feel the powerWell I am here to take it all back.
You came to find me when I was alone,
You'd live another day on what's inside my hands.
If only you had learned to stand on your own,
Oh, if only you could be as I am.
If I could change my ways,
If I could change the role of the tide,
Would it still be the same?
If I could change my ways,
If I could change my ways,
Would it still be the same?
So wave your flag for your army of one,
So wave your flag for your army of one,
If I could change my ways,
If I could change the role of the tide,
Would it still be the same?
Would I still fade away with the times?
To be a King of Kings,
And how long will it last this time?
Would it still be the same?
All things fade away.
In the song 'Army of One', lyrics such as 'fade away with times' and 'all things fade away' give a sense of the loss of time which I have already linked to many dystopian genre films. The use of 'stars' is always a science-fiction convention within that genres films, so the use of it within this song links it straight to the genre. The full lyrics was: 'my head's too heavy to see the stars'. This emphasises a lack of hope - hope being the stars which she cannot see - which in a majority of dystopian films is very common. The speaker within the song also mentions how 'pride' has sunk 'to the bottom' and this could be interpreted as her pride or the pride of someone else e.g. the government. The repetition of 'sand' - as linked with 'dust' in the first song - links to ruin, once again, and the way the speaker instructs the audience to 'bury yourself in the sands' could be interpreted as the speaker telling us, the audience, that one way or another the ruin will kill them. Also the use of 'fading back to black' could be a suggestion that we are blinded by our own ruin and surrounded by our own darkness which is linked to science-fiction films in general. I also like the way she says 'well I am here to take it all back'. This could be seen as an uprising against a totalitarian government or something along those lines.
Song 3: Black Sands
Darkness come,
Tuck me in for the night.
Paint pictures in my head,
Of the daylight burning bright.
Darkness come,
Leave me dying the sheets.
All the fears and the faults,
Of the day come washing over me.
Black sands,
Homeland,
Mountains,
They all turned to dust.
I've got this fire,
But I'd forgotten how it burns.
And I don't wanna be waiting on better days to come,
Black sands.
I woke up in a barren land,
And I was broken and afraid.
I heard "The things in life you want come hard,
But the choice is yours to leave or stay"
But I don't wanna fall asleep again,
And I don't wanna fall asleep.
Black sands,
Homeland,
Mountains,
They all turned to dust.
I've got this fire,
But I'd forgotten how it burns.
And I don't wanna be waiting on better days to come,
Black sands.
I dont wanna fall asleep again,
Holding to what could have been.
Finally in the last song 'Black Sands', I found many dystopian ideas. Firstly, the speaker uses the theme of 'darkness' which has been a theme throughout all three songs and is a common occurrence within dystopian films. I then took the lyric: 'daylight burning bright'. In this, the speaker has twisted what we are usually comfortable with - daylight - and given it a mildly menacing tone with the use of 'burning' which connotes being hurt or in danger. The use of 'dying in the sheets' is also powerful because the 'sheets' on our beds are normally what we feel safe in and when the speaker later uses the lyric: 'I don't want to fall asleep again' it tears us away from yet another place that we feel untouchable and safe in; the speaker then states that she is 'dying' in the 'sheets' which connotes that we, the audience, are no longer safe where believed we were. Which again is a common theme within dystopian films. Alike to the other two songs, the speaker again mentions 'dust' and 'sands', yet again suggesting ruin. However I like how the 'sands' have become 'black sands' which connotes authority, power, death and a sense of evil. This connotation of black could suggest that ruin of the world or country that they are in rules them menacingly and the ruin could eventually kill them. Also, the lyric 'I don't wanna be waiting on better days to come' is extremely powerful because it shows how her hope is nonexistent but also shows that she has determination she turn the world back to the way it was. The description of the world as a 'barren land' is extremely powerful as this presses the imagery of a wasteland and somewhere that mankind would no longer be able to survive in - which is another extremely common theme within dystopian films.
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