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puddlesofwords · 5 months ago

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The Future is a Foreign Land Meta Analysis

This was super fun for me to put together. Please enjoy.

The Future is a Foreign Land has allusions to lyrics from the Dead Kennedys, classic literature, and Nazi Germany. It has a more punk aesthetic than the other Papa Nihil songs, which are focused primarily on interpersonal relationships, with a heavy dose of the ubiquitous Satanic imagery the band is known for. Notably, Satanic imagery is virtually absent from the lyrics of TFiaFL, although interpersonal relationships do still play a role.

So, let’s dig into the lyrics and music to see if they lead us to any ideas about the future of Ghost, or insights into how the concepts presented in this song might influence the band’s identity. Please note that while I have researched the lore and read several histories of the band, I am fairly new to this fandom. I am merely following leads I discovered while binge-listening to this song after seeing RHRN. Which is to say, if any of my ideas run counter to established fandom theory, I apologize in advance. (I edited this to put in a read more... it's been a hot minute since I've used this platform and forgot my etiquette, please forgive me.)

The conceit of TFiaFL is that Papa Nihil wrote it in 1969. Taking that into account, the year 1984 does track, mathematics-wise. However, 1984 is a very culturally significant year. George Orwell’s novel is immediately brought to mind, with all the baggage contained therein - Thought Police, brainwashing, Big Brother and the loss of privacy, and the fact that the main character’s job is to literally rewrite history at an organization called the Ministry of Truth.

Initially, as a US-based listener of the song, I’m jumping on the anti-fascist underpinnings of that allusion. That line of thought isn’t wrong, per se, but I think there are factors at work that make the allusion much deeper and even more meaningful.

Since 1812 (Or 1834, depending on your source) Sweden had maintained a stance of neutrality. This neutrality was baked into their identities - to the point that they didn’t declare for either side in World War II, the Cold War, or any other conflict. On March 7, 2024 (ah, there’s the 2024 from the song!) Sweden joined NATO, foregoing neutrality for the first time in 200 years. A large step - and one that was supported by 66% of the population.

Now, as someone who lives in the US, I know exactly how much power and influence 34% of the population can wield if it so chooses. According to poll after poll, 66% of US Americans support all KINDS of initiatives that would actually make living in this country suck a lot less. But that last 34%... well. If you’ve followed US American politics at all in the past 8 years, you know what happened when 34% of the population lost its collective mind. (Yup, that’s the percentage of US Americans that identify, or routinely vote, as Republican. The percentage is nearly identical to that of Democrats, so let’s not get too overwrought about things just yet.)

The interesting thing is, though, that the anti-NATO movement is supported primarily by young people. Young people worried that joining NATO will militarize their country. Worried that collective security does not stop conflicts and may exacerbate them. I can’t deny that I understand where they’re coming from, that political neutrality gives more freedom of choice to the Swedish government about where and how they get involved in European affairs. Choosing to be a part of NATO may remove some of that freedom of choice. On the other hand, you end up selling iron ore to Nazis and training Danish troops at your airbases in the same breath, so… neutrality can also lead to hypocrisy.

But Puddles, I hear you cry, what on EARTH does this history lesson have to do with Ghost?

Well, in the absence of sympathies, won’t you hear me out?

1969. The year TFiaFL is supposed to have been written. Height of the Cold War. Sweden is still neutral - this time out of concern that if they join NATO, the USSR is going to invade them. A not-improbable concern, given Finnish history of the era. And closer along the timeline to 1945 than we are to 1969. What’s the worry stated in the song? A Brownshirt Stasi guard is knocking on your door. A Brownshirt is, of course, one of the Sturmabteilung troops of Nazi Germany. Stasi is a security officer of East Berlin - the Berlin of the Cold War.

Thus, if we take a small leap of logic and use a Sweden-centric worldview: If Sweden fails to maintain neutrality, if they give up their freedom of choice, then the world falls to fascism. (This is the first half of the first verse. I’m sorry. Moving on.)

Interestingly, the specific lyric ‘It’s 1984, and knocking on your door’ is a callback to the Dead Kennedys song “California Uber Alles” which was then remade by the band after the 1980 election into “We’ve Got a Bigger Problem Now.”

Those two songs studied side-by-side are a fascinating study. The first is about the fascism of the Left - which IS A THING. It might seem corny or sarcastic to worry about hippies becoming dictators - but the theft of choice, even if that theft feels like comfort, is still theft. Forced conformity, even if you agree with the premise, is still fascism.

The second song is, of course, about how everyone who wasn’t WASPy felt about the election of Reagan. The rise of the yuppie to replace the hippie. This is definitely more in line with what is traditionally associated with punk and rock music in general. (I’m also a fan of the fact that “We’ve Got a Bigger Problem Now” is on an album named ‘In God We Trust’ but I think that’s just coincidence.)

To continue the lyric analysis, the song goes on to reference the Kennedys (which is a nice double-whammy - telling us that the previous line is almost certainly related to the Dead Kennedys songs, but ALSO invoking in the next breath the assassination of both John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, which would have been contemporaneous to the storyline release date of TFiaFL, occurring in 1963 and 1968 respectively.) As an aside, I find it hilarious that ‘the good ones get shot’ is the next lyric because there is currently ANOTHER Kennedy running for president, with the implied meaning that he’s ‘not good’ because he hasn’t been shot. I don’t think this was intentional, it’s a very minor point in a pretty complex political landscape, but it makes me chuckle.

“For the minute it takes” in the chorus… definitely a reference to nuclear war. The ensuing firestorm after a nuclear blast will consume a human body within moments, leaving nothing behind. This is also likely to be a reference to the Doomsday Clock - which is currently sitting at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it’s ever been to destruction. Just to give some perspective - the Doomsday Clock was set to 7 minutes to midnight in 1947, right after WWII. It was 10 minutes to midnight in 1969 and 3 minutes to midnight in 1984. In 1991, however, the clock had been set back to 17 minutes to midnight, the furthest back it had ever been since its inception. It has never been set back since. More esoterically, though, it could be a reference to ts eliot’s poem “The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock.” The line ‘in a minute there is time/for decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.’ If this line is an allusion to the poem (there are other lines in other songs that make me think that ts eliot is likely one of Tobias’s poetic influences, tempered by the medium of lyric creation and music) then we can assume the piece is, indeed, referring to Sister Imperator and Papa Nihil.

The second verse is a bit more obscure - probably because it’s dealing with an actual future prediction, as 2024 is only about half over as of the time of this writing. There is hope in this verse, but it’s tinged with irony. ‘The dark fascist regime might be gone’ is bittersweet - the hope of Papa Nihil looking toward the future and seeing that maybe, just maybe there’s a way to defeat fascism for good and knowing, as we do, that it didn’t come to pass and that fascism is, in fact, on the rise globally is a gut-punch.

The next two lines are interesting. They could be referring to Sister Imperator, continuing the subplot of their failed relationship. They could be speaking to the audience - either in reference to some real-life transgression of the lyricist or of the lore-based transgressions of Papa Nihil. Or, perhaps this is asking to be forgiven for some future slight that will occur later.

I’m not going to lie, the bridge is weird. It’s simultaneously finishing the thought of the previous verse but ALSO giving heavy-handed “All You Need is Love” vibes a la Beatles in 1967. None of this is in any way meant as a criticism, however. The bridge works musically as well as lyrically to pull the disparate lines of thought together into something coherent and hopeful. Also of a tangential but possibly related note - “Revolution” by the Beatles was released in 1968 on The White Album. And I can’t think of a more boot-licking rock and roll song ever to be penned. But this is certainly a digression and probably just my brain leapfrogging onto interesting coincidences.

Ok, fine, the song has some deep roots, but Puddles, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE BAND?

I’m so glad you asked. I find that putting the two Dead Kennedys songs together paints a pretty definite picture for me, and I’m going to lay out what I think is in store based on this juxtaposition and The Future is a Foreign Land generally.

I think our next Papa is going to be a ‘teenage punk’ to put it bluntly. Cardi was childlike - the tricycle, Papa Nihil and Sister Imperator acting as parents, his antics onstage, the bumbling charm and relative innocence of the character all read as childlike. Charming, charismatic, certainly able to carry the title, but even the character’s backstory lends itself to a kind of childhood, with Cardi beginning as frontman without the official title of Papa Emeritus. Cardi has grown up - and now has to face those awkward, angry, tumultuous teens. And I think that will be reflected in a more punk-inspired sound (where Cardi’s music definitely trended toward pop-inspired). TFiaFL gives us some of that punk-inspired flavor with the guitar riff and general vibe of the song. I also think that this next Papa might try to dismantle the Clergy as it's a symbol of authority and conformity - the antithesis of the spirit of punk. I think we got a taste of this direction on IMPERA with the song “Twenties” - which I’ll be doing a deep dive on sooner rather than later, I’m sure.

I’m interested in, but not sold on, the idea that the next Papa will be female (either a new character or Tobias in drag - either works). I don’t think changing the gender works with the story as I see it progressing. I do think, however, that the next Papa will be possibly more chaotic and possibly angrier than we’ve seen - and probably more political, if the allusions in this song are any indication. Whether that politicization is outward-facing toward the world as it is or inward-facing toward the world of the Lore, I’m not sure yet. I look forward to the new cycle with great eagerness!

TLDR; I want the next Papa to have a mohawk and wear a ripped denim jacket for at least part of the ritual. Thank you.

#the band ghost #ghost the band #the future is a foreign land #puddles writes #this is the first meta I've done in maybe 6 years #this delightfully ridiculous man and his music have broken me #i am broken #I've done nothing but listen to this music on repeat since Friday #Thank you to my lovely wife who dragged me to the film #and then allowed me to completely obsess #spoilers #rite here rite now spoilers

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