"The Triumph Of Our Tired Eyes": A Silver Mt. Zion's Political Activism

 

Musicians often engage in political discourse through both explicit and more subtle means. Lyrics, interviews, and album art directly express a band's political message. Meanwhile, song structures, sampled voice inserts, file sharing policies, ticket prices, and press choices manifest implicit clues concerning a band's intended social impact. Godspeed You! Black Emperor's political activism works on a more suggestive than outspoken level through the use of provocative voice inserts, low ticket prices, avoidance of merchandising, select press interviews, and open recording and file sharing policies for fans. As a result, Godspeed members Efrim Menuck, Sophie Trudeau, and Thierry Amar formed A Silver Mt. Zion near the beginning of America's war in Iraq in 1999 to initiate social and political discussions more casually.

Here is an interview with Efrim Menuck detailing his goals with A Silver Mt. Zion:

A Silver Mt. Zion's songs such as "God Bless Our Dead Marines" and "Mountains Made Of Steam" utilize lyrics, such as "when the world is sick can't no one be well," to candidly critique war and the socially reinforced solipsism which enables its perpetuation. Though A Silver Mt. Zion often delivers its political messages explicitly, the band simultaneously implements more subtle rhetorical strategies to communicate their intentions.

A poignant example of A Silver Mt. Zion's implied political commentary can be found in the song "The Triumph Of Our Tired Eyes." The song's structural melodic components and harmonies are inspired by a popular Spanish anarchist tune titled "A Las Barricadas" sung during the Spanish Civil War. The original song "A Las Barricadas" chants "To the barricades! For the triumph of the Confederation." A Silver Mt. Zion's "The Triumph Of Our Tired Eyes" lyrics include, "So come on friends, to the barricades again" and "musicians are cowards." By referencing a Spanish anarchist song, A Silver Mt. Zion injects another layer of meaning to their artistic work and situates their political voice within the sphere of historical protest music. A Silver Mt. Zion's allusion to Spanish anarchism extends their musical world and simultaneously insists for political action on both the listener's and musician's behalf. The lyrics saying "musicians are cowards" may be self-referential and if so, the statement suggests that both artist and audience must act upon their political leanings because creating and listening to politically provocative music simply isn't enough.

Here is a video of "A Las Barricadas"-

Here is a video of A Silver Mt. Zion's "The Triumph Of Our Tired Eyes"-