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Re: Athena-another defense (groan...)
Bravo. I hope I wasn't implying that "Athena" is anything short of being,
ultimately, ambiguous -- which it certainly is. My best, Henry
On Tue, 4 Jun 1996, B. Gramlich wrote:
>
> Henry, Re:
>
> > Actually, if you just look at this song lyrically, it's one of the
> > funniest satires that the Who ever did. Remember it was written
> > during the last hurrah of the Cold War when Reagan was increasing
> > the military budget and talking about that "evil" empire.
> > The scenario of the song, where warped nuclear scientists are
> > feeling an increasing sexual attraction to a bomb that they've
> > personified with the name "Athena" is wickedly funny.
> >
> > And then we get the bridge with Townshend singing "Look into the face of
> > a child...how long will children remain?" Pete, in effect, is the
> > voice of conscience -- his higher pitched, arguably "maternal" voice
> > contrasting with Daltrey's masculine, testosterone-charged growl.
> > Does the scientist listen? You decide.
>
> Hm, interesting thoughts.
>
> Maybe you weren't yet on the list by that time, but we discussed the lyrics of
> Athena just two months ago. FYI, I'll try to summarize what were the results
> of that discussion:
>
> - First interpretation (similar to yours): The narrator is the leader of
> some military superpower. He relies on nuclear weapons, but his affectation
> of the `bomb' soon turns into a sick desire for more and more nukes, an
> infatuation only to be compared with boundless sexual desire. Some
> incident, however, - maybe actually having seen the destructive power of the
> bomb or simply having realized it - forces him to leave his fingers from
> nuclear weapons henceforth...
>
> - Second interpretation: The narrator, an older man, falls in love with a
> much younger girl, possibly a prostitute, only to see that she doesn't take
> him seriously. Though he knows how unreasonable and hopeless his
> infatuation is, he keeps longing for her again and again. The girl is like
> a weapon (a `bomb') gradually destroying his life. Some incident, however,
> - possibly the intervention of his wife - brings him back to his senses...
>
> - In both interpretations, Athena is not the name of the bomb or the girl,
> but a third person, a female authority, perhaps the narrator's wife, his
> (personified) conscience, or a supranatural being (Greek mythology: goddess
> of wisdom and warfare). The narrator tries to justify himself and to
> explain his actions and feelings in a dialogue with Athena.
>
> - Maybe it was Pete's intention to allow both ways of interpretation. This
> gives the song an interesting ambuiguity...
>
> Your observation that Pete's vocal part might represent the narrator's
> conscience is convincing, though I would rather say that it's Athena who's
> speaking there...
>
> In conclusion, I wouldn't claim that the song is funny, but it surely is some
> kind of a satire. And, yes: Your `scientist' does listen to Athena's advice,
> and he finally changes his mind...
>
> Comments?
>
> Bernd