Yes, I did sign up for yuletide! I didn't nominate anything though, but as always I got drawn in by all the buzz, and exeterlinden talked up some fandoms, and there were many other fandoms nominated by other people that kind of intrigued me, so finally, for the first time ever, I am part of yuletide!
I think the song is a satire. There is the contrast between England (Land of the Angels) with its church (but funnily enough, the mother is a character, while the one above is never mentioned by name, so I'm thinking it's more "good" social mores than actual Good) and the pagan and ungodly merman (who funnily enough seems quite nice, and asks permission before abducting and enchanting Agnes, but he is still clearly not one of God's creatures since the icons turn away from him), and then there is the tension between what a good Woman and Daughter and Mother is and what Agnes does.
A good woman doesn't say "sure" when a man tempts her with sex. A good daughter doesn't fuck off and do her own thing for years without telling her parents what she's up to, and a good mother doesn't say "whatever" about abandoning her kids.
So the humor is in the transgressiveness of the Agnes character, and putting it into the Christian context makes her a humorous figure rather than a horrific figure, because technically she was probably enchanted, and she turns her back on the creatures of darkness in the end.
Seen from a modern perspective, Agnes is not horrifically transgressive, she could be a completely ordinary woman. It's not bad to make your own choices without consulting your parents, it's not bad to shack up with some dude, it's not bad to leave him when you find out you're not into it any longer, and it shouldn't automatically be the mother who gets custody of and primary responsibility for the children in a hetero relationship, so we're left with this tragic Nice Guy merman, with his slick pick up artist moves, who kinda sorta wants to control and dominate Agnes, but kinda sorta also wants to please her, and who feels bereft and out of his depth (bad metaphor for a merman, heh) when she leaves him, and the strong woman who has a dilemma, because her personal ambitions and her responsibility to her children are impossible to both fulfill.
There are many stories and layers in the song! I think you're definitely on to something about "he plugged her ears, he shut her mouth", it's a metaphor both for her own withdrawal from the world in the turmoil of her lust and his power and enchantment over her, as much as it is a practical matter for traveling between the worlds.
Povl Dissing is fantastic. He interprets his songs with incredible intensity and passion, and both genuine respect and sympathy for the characters and at the same time a certain gleeful ironic distance. I love Der er 25 minutter endnu, it's easily as good as the Johnny Cash version, and maybe even better. I absolutely adore Den Grimmeste Mand I Byen, such pathos and humor. And of course Kvælerslange, the cheeriest song about being eaten alive I've ever heard.
The first time I listened to Agnete og Havmanden, I seriously got chills when he sang about the icons turning away. I love, love, love his interpretation of this being something that hurts the merman. The merman can travel between the worlds on his own power whenever he wants to, but unlike Agnes, he could only ever live under the waves.
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The song I link to here is awesome even if you don't understand the lyrics, try it!
Date: 2010-11-20 03:04 pm (UTC)I think the song is a satire. There is the contrast between England (Land of the Angels) with its church (but funnily enough, the mother is a character, while the one above is never mentioned by name, so I'm thinking it's more "good" social mores than actual Good) and the pagan and ungodly merman (who funnily enough seems quite nice, and asks permission before abducting and enchanting Agnes, but he is still clearly not one of God's creatures since the icons turn away from him), and then there is the tension between what a good Woman and Daughter and Mother is and what Agnes does.
A good woman doesn't say "sure" when a man tempts her with sex. A good daughter doesn't fuck off and do her own thing for years without telling her parents what she's up to, and a good mother doesn't say "whatever" about abandoning her kids.
So the humor is in the transgressiveness of the Agnes character, and putting it into the Christian context makes her a humorous figure rather than a horrific figure, because technically she was probably enchanted, and she turns her back on the creatures of darkness in the end.
Seen from a modern perspective, Agnes is not horrifically transgressive, she could be a completely ordinary woman. It's not bad to make your own choices without consulting your parents, it's not bad to shack up with some dude, it's not bad to leave him when you find out you're not into it any longer, and it shouldn't automatically be the mother who gets custody of and primary responsibility for the children in a hetero relationship, so we're left with this tragic Nice Guy merman, with his slick pick up artist moves, who kinda sorta wants to control and dominate Agnes, but kinda sorta also wants to please her, and who feels bereft and out of his depth (bad metaphor for a merman, heh) when she leaves him, and the strong woman who has a dilemma, because her personal ambitions and her responsibility to her children are impossible to both fulfill.
There are many stories and layers in the song! I think you're definitely on to something about "he plugged her ears, he shut her mouth", it's a metaphor both for her own withdrawal from the world in the turmoil of her lust and his power and enchantment over her, as much as it is a practical matter for traveling between the worlds.
Povl Dissing is fantastic. He interprets his songs with incredible intensity and passion, and both genuine respect and sympathy for the characters and at the same time a certain gleeful ironic distance. I love Der er 25 minutter endnu, it's easily as good as the Johnny Cash version, and maybe even better. I absolutely adore Den Grimmeste Mand I Byen, such pathos and humor. And of course Kvælerslange, the cheeriest song about being eaten alive I've ever heard.
The first time I listened to Agnete og Havmanden, I seriously got chills when he sang about the icons turning away. I love, love, love his interpretation of this being something that hurts the merman. The merman can travel between the worlds on his own power whenever he wants to, but unlike Agnes, he could only ever live under the waves.