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The reasons for my song choices

1. Big God by Florence and the Machine: Let me start off by saying that any and all Florence and the Machine songs are religious experiences. Her voice, lyrics, and music are powerful and moving – at least to me. This song is first on my playlist because the music feels dramatic and intense. It’s how I imagine hunting for your personal God would sound like. I also like the first lines, “You need a Big God, Big enough to hold your love…”, because in the text the birds are hunting for their “Big God” to rule them. When I listen to music I almost always have accompanying “scenes” in my head, and the scene that comes to me when I listen to this and read the text is this: I picture the birds flying high over a foggy mountain range, they are all emotionally charged and determined to reach their goal. It’s a song to accompany the feeling of “succeed or die trying”. 2. From the Ground Up by Ayla Nereo: This song feels like a call to action for the birds. It’s motivating, emotional, and sends the message that all should face the challenge together. I picture a group of birds/people standing together on the front lines, united and ready to fight for their goal. The lyrics perfectly match the journey of the birds, “As a wave across the land, we are moving, moving…” and “you hold the spade, to turn new soil…for the coming grace, you hold the plans…”. 3. Crystals by Of Monsters and Men: I chose this song because it always gives me an inspirational push when I am feeling down. It motivates my soul, not to sound cheesy or anything. I picture the birds making their way through the seven valleys. This song could be in a movie in a scene where the main character has found her luck and is winning at every turn. I love the lines “In spite of all my fears, I can see it all so clear, I see it all so clear”. When we find ourselves close to our personal gods/goddesses it can feel like we are finally seeing things clearly for the first time – in spite of our fears! These birds, which represent any person who is fighting to find their god/goddess, are pushing through their fears to meet their Divine King. 4. Many Roads by Trevor Hall: The lyrics in this song are perfect because they are about finding one’s creator. While my beliefs are more eclectic then others I can still relate to traversing “many roads” to find what connects with my soul and mind. There are many religions out there and some religions fit some and not others – the paths are endless. Spiritual practices and belief systems are unique to the person. This song is the epitome of a spiritual jam and fits perfectly with the “vibe” of the text. 5. How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful by Florence and the Machine: This song is spiritual in nature because it is describing the Earth, in my mind. Our “big, blue and beautiful” Earth. The text has the birds traversing many lands and valleys and I think that they would appreciate all that they are seeing, considering all they are seeing was likely created by their god, or ruled by their god. 6. The Promised Land by Trevor Hall: I think that the title of this song is explanation enough as to why I have included it in my soundtrack. The birds are quite literally hunting for their version of the promised land, the place where their god dwells. They wish to find this place so they can have direct contact with their god so that they can feel divine love and knowledge. This is a common theme among religions across the globe. Whether in life or death, we hope to reach the place where we make contact with our deities and receive divine love, knowledge, and peace. 7. My Sweet Lord by George Harrison: This song is special to me because whenever I travel around the country I play this song at least once a day while driving. It’s a song that is forever tied to new journeys and cool discoveries, often in nature (as I travel to national parks often). Not only is it directly about one’s god, but it also sings of wanting to meet one’s god. As it says in the song, “I really want to see you, really want to be with you, really want to see you Lord, but it takes so long”. The birds in the text literally died trying to reach their lord because they wanted to be with him, with only a small amount surviving the journey. 8. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door by Bob Dylan: This is the last song in my playlist, and it is last for a very specific reason. The song gives a sense of finality, especially given the phrase “knocking on heaven’s door” means someone has died and is now moving into the afterlife – heaven. The birds do reach the end of their journey. The dead birds’ souls have likely moved into their afterworld, plus the birds who completed the journey have literally reached “heaven’s doors” to meet their divine king.

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Reflection

The Conference of the Birds 

I chose these songs and arranged them in a non-chronological way. I wanted each song to paint a picture of what the relationship between oneself and one’s soul/creator/divinity is. I chose not to do a chronological soundtrack because the text is lengthy and I think that listening to the soundtrack as one piece, rather than individual songs for each part of the text, is a more enjoyable listening experience. I wanted to make this soundtrack focusing on the personal relationships we have with our spiritual selves. Even though the text is about the journey of a group of birds to find their divine king, it can really represent the personal journey we each go on within ourselves. These songs are all from my personal music library and either the lyrics or melodies of each one has something in it that reminds me of my own personal spiritual journey. In the text, the birds travel through seven valleys: quest, love, understanding, independence and detachment, unity, astonishment, and finally poverty and nothingness. Only thirty birds out of thousands reach the end and enjoy eternal life and peace with the Simurgh, their God or Divine King, signifying how difficult spiritual enlightenment can be. Spiritual enlightenment is allusive and tricky but that doesn’t stop us from searching for it. We must learn the lessons of the seven valleys and realize that we are not singular beings that exist around each other, but that we are all one. Not unlike a drop of water in the ocean. I hope that my soundtrack is an enjoyable listening experience!

Word Count: 262

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A link to my youtube playlist!

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Where to read the text

The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume B, Third edition, page 373.

I am unsure if it’s easily accessible online.