My
Thesis:
"Begin
Again" is a very Buddhist movie, but in a stealth kind of way. There were
two songs in particular in this movie which I will analyze to prove my point. I
will provide the lyrics to each, but will only number most of the lines. Then I
will follow the lyrics with my analysis.
But first, give these songs a listen using these links. They're simply beautiful:
But first, give these songs a listen using these links. They're simply beautiful:
This first is a bouncy little tune called "Coming up Roses:"
The second is quite the opposite - very poignant: "Lost Stars:"
Disclaimer: I don't mind admitting I was very smitten with this movie, having seen it three times in one week at the local theater.
The primary characters:
- Keira Knightley as Gretta, an amateur but talented songwriter and soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend of Dave Kohl, who's a recording artist about to hit it big by recording an album based on music he'd recorded for a successful movie.
- Mark Ruffalo as Dan Mulligan, record company exec who is "instrumental" in recording an album based on the lyrics written by Gretta. His knack for orchestration adds a huge musical sophistication to Gretta's powerful lyrics.
- Adam Levine as Dave Kohl.
- James Corden as Steve, Gretta's best friend who has been living in New York as a struggling musician when Gretta looks him up upon her arrival.
"Coming up Roses"
"Coming Up Roses," sung by Keira Knightley
(1) When you were asleep
(2) And I was out walking,
(3) The voices started to speak
(4) And they wouldn't stop talking.
(5) There were signs all around,
(6) It really got my mind racing.
(7) You were right all along
(8) Something's gotta change
(9) Hold on, Hold on, they're not for me.
(10) Hold on, cause everything's coming up...roses...roses.
(11) Now we're back on the street,
(12) For a song that's worth singing.
(13) The bloody nose of defeat,
(14) While your victory bell's ringing.
(15) My whole life's turned around
(16) For this thing you keep chasing.
(17) You were right all along,
(18) But it's me who's got to change.
(19) Hold on, Hold on, they're not for me.
(20) Hold on, Cause everything's coming up...roses.
(Hold on, Hold on) Aaahhh
(Hold on, Hold on) Aaahhh
(Hold on, Hold on) (Hold on, Hold on) Aaahhh
(Hold on, Hold on) Aaahhh (Hold on, Hold on) Aaahhh
(Hold on, Hold on)
Hold on, Hold on, they're not for me.
Hold on, cause everything's coming up... Roses.
(21) (Everything's coming up roses, Everything's coming up
roses,
(22) Hold on, Hold on) Roses (Hold on, Hold on, Everything's
coming up,
(23) Hold on, Hold on, Everything's coming up,
(24) Hold on, Hold on) Roses (Hold on, Hold on)...
(25) Roses
My thoughts:
Before my literal analysis, I just want to say that this bouncy,
upbeat little tune was a breath of fresh air. Knightley's voice is perfect for this -
she can carry a tune and has some nice flourishes but (as she admits) she's
really not a singer and had to undergo some training to do what she did here.
Still, her clear and confident rendering in an almost-girl-next-door way made
this song very poignant.
Line 1: The "you" being referred to throughout this
song is Gretta's best friend, Steve, at whose humble abode she crashes after walking out on
her cheating boyfriend. In the movie, it's easy to regard Steve as somewhat of
a clownish character who genuinely, unselfishly cares about Gretta. But as this
song will show, he's deceptively far from that. The name "Steve" by
the way means "crown, wreath, victorious." And the name "Gretta" means "pearl" or "child of light" - see Footnote 1.
Line 1: "When you were asleep" - even great teachers
have to sleep sometime, which is when their assistants continue with the
lessons - lines 3 & 4:
So what were those voices actually saying? I think: "Trust this music exec who looks like a bum. He really seems to believe in you," and "it's you who has to change - so stop blaming the boyfriend who just cheated on you."
(3) The voices started to speak
(4) And they wouldn't stop talking.
So what were those voices actually saying? I think: "Trust this music exec who looks like a bum. He really seems to believe in you," and "it's you who has to change - so stop blaming the boyfriend who just cheated on you."
(5) There were signs all around,
(6) It really got my mind racing.
As for these "signs," they could have been as leading and specific as in the movie "I Origins," when frequent and unusual occurrences of the number 11 lead Dr. Ian Gray to a billboard that, in turn, leads him to his wife of a former lifetime. Or these "signs" could simply have been the whole world suddenly looking like a much cheerier and hopeful place than it had seemed not so long ago.
As for these "signs," they could have been as leading and specific as in the movie "I Origins," when frequent and unusual occurrences of the number 11 lead Dr. Ian Gray to a billboard that, in turn, leads him to his wife of a former lifetime. Or these "signs" could simply have been the whole world suddenly looking like a much cheerier and hopeful place than it had seemed not so long ago.
Lines 7 & 8, and 17 & 18, summarized in line 18: "But it's me [Gretta] who's got to change."
That's a huge Buddhist theme: "If you want your external circumstances to change - especially the negative things that come your way - you've got to change first (that is, become more enlightened)." Put another way: "All change starts from within."
That's a huge Buddhist theme: "If you want your external circumstances to change - especially the negative things that come your way - you've got to change first (that is, become more enlightened)." Put another way: "All change starts from within."
Lines 9 & 10: "They're not for me" refers to the
roses which represent Gretta's turn of fortune after she starts recording her
album with Dan Mulligan's help. This is a bit complicated, so bear with me.
Yes, in one sense, the roses are for her but they're a mixed blessing. Roses
are beautiful but they have thorns - so one could say all earthly desires which
are fulfilled (success, recognition, wealth) may be considered to be beautiful
things but have downsides as well (thorns) unless the recipient of good fortune
has "changed" as referred to in line 18.
When Gretta says, "They're not for me," she means, "They're not what I really long for." I think she really wants another kind of flower - the Lotus Flower, which is a Buddhist symbol of enlightenment. The roses are nice - most people would be ecstatic to see "everything's coming up roses" in their lives. But Gretta longs for a better, more meaningful flower in the form of the Lotus. This is explained in lines 15 & 16:
When Gretta says, "They're not for me," she means, "They're not what I really long for." I think she really wants another kind of flower - the Lotus Flower, which is a Buddhist symbol of enlightenment. The roses are nice - most people would be ecstatic to see "everything's coming up roses" in their lives. But Gretta longs for a better, more meaningful flower in the form of the Lotus. This is explained in lines 15 & 16:
(15) My whole life's turned around
(16) For this thing you keep chasing.
This "thing you keep chasing" is Steve's persistent
search for enlightenment, which he has tried over the years to share with
Gretta. He succeeds when she claims, "My whole life's turned around [by the
power of] this thing you keep chasing."
There's an interesting point in the movie when Steve is
preparing a couch for Gretta to sleep on, and he asks her on which end she wants
the pillow placed. She's noncommittal, but I think it's important that he's
that deferential to her and is trying to get her to think about such things.
Most people don't think about this at all, but sleep positioning is very
important.
Another interesting point is the odd positioning of Steve's own bed - it's so high up, he'd practically have to be able to fly to reach it (hmm, food for thought, since highly accomplished bodhisattvas are able to do exactly that, though he is wise enough not to give Gretta a demonstration, making up some barely plausible explanation as to how he manages to get to his bed).
[This comment I added on March 22: I was surprised at the large collection of musical instruments in Steve's apartment. Gretta noticed this and mentioned it to Steve, who said he got them at super bargain prices from studios which were upgrading and had to get rid of current inventory. But I had a thought: Even though Steve was a solo street musician, while alone in his apartment he could play with an orchestra using the instruments he had lying around. In the Lotus Sutra, it mentions instruments that play themselves not needing a musician to play them. This gives further proof that Steve is a highly-advanced Bodhisattva, though his humble nature hides this identity.]
[NOTE: Line 15 is unclear the way Gretta sings it, but the on-line sources all say it should read: "My whole life's turned around." But...those are the same sources that incorrectly render line (13), as I'm about to point out below.]
Another interesting point is the odd positioning of Steve's own bed - it's so high up, he'd practically have to be able to fly to reach it (hmm, food for thought, since highly accomplished bodhisattvas are able to do exactly that, though he is wise enough not to give Gretta a demonstration, making up some barely plausible explanation as to how he manages to get to his bed).
[This comment I added on March 22: I was surprised at the large collection of musical instruments in Steve's apartment. Gretta noticed this and mentioned it to Steve, who said he got them at super bargain prices from studios which were upgrading and had to get rid of current inventory. But I had a thought: Even though Steve was a solo street musician, while alone in his apartment he could play with an orchestra using the instruments he had lying around. In the Lotus Sutra, it mentions instruments that play themselves not needing a musician to play them. This gives further proof that Steve is a highly-advanced Bodhisattva, though his humble nature hides this identity.]
(11) Now we're back on the street,
(12) For a song that's worth singing.
The "song that's worth singing" is this very song
("Coming up Roses") since it is so laden with meaning that can benefit so many people. They are "on the street" recording
it with the band Dan has cobbled together. As for "Now we're back on the street," I think Steve, as a street musician in NYC, was also that back home in England. And he had coaxed Gretta back then, who really wasn't a performer, to join him to overcome her shyness.
(13) The bloody nose of defeat,
(14) While your victory bell's ringing.
Gretta bears the "bloody nose of defeat" by having failed to
see the immaturity of her ex-boyfriend, while Steve's "victory bell [is]
ringing," by virtue of the fact that Gretta finally "gets it" -
I've got to change. By the way, all of the on-line lyrics sources I checked
render line (13) as "The blur that knows a defeat." But when
listening to the song as it's performed in the movie (and on YouTube), what's
really being sung is "The bloody nose of defeat."
[I just hate it when on-line sources don't get it right.]
[I just hate it when on-line sources don't get it right.]
Lines 20 through 24 (including the unnumbered lines) feature
children singing (the parts in parentheses). In the movie, the children were
innocent (wink, wink) bystanders who were nearby playing basketball so noisily that the
quality of the recording of this song was threatened. So Dan walks over to
negotiate with them - trying at first to bribe them with money and cigarettes.
Then he asks them, "Say? Can you sing?" Next thing we see, the five
or six kids are huddled around a microphone singing point/counterpoint with Gretta.
Of course, no 8- or 9-year-old child is going to be singing, with any kind of believable authority,
"hold on" in the usual sense which means "hang in there." But
they could well be reinforcing for Gretta her own wish to "hold on [to the
hope of obtaining the Lotus Flower]."
(22) Hold on, Hold on) Roses (Hold on, Hold on, Everything's
coming up,
(23) Hold on, Hold on, Everything's coming up,
I thought it was a nice touch that the line "Everything's coming up" (sung by some of the kids) is interrupted by "Hold on, Hold on" (sung by the other kids). This is an elegant way of saying "hold on" for the Lotus Flowers, that it shouldn't automatically be assumed that "everything" that comes up will only be roses.
As a Buddhist, I saw those children as being protective entities who "happened" to be playing basketball but were really there in support of Steve's mission to help his best friend.
As a Buddhist, I saw those children as being protective entities who "happened" to be playing basketball but were really there in support of Steve's mission to help his best friend.
Line (25): "Roses" This is spoken by Gretta almost sadly, as if
saying, "Roses aren't good enough."
I walked away from this bouncy little tune thinking,
"Gretta's going to be alright."
"Lost Stars"
UPDATE: This link has a far better interpretation of "Lost Stars," but I won't delete this earlier material (below) since it has some merit:
http://ind4prez2012.blogspot.com/2014/09/lost-stars-revisited.html
"Lost Stars," - the version sung by Keira Knightley, though Adam Levine also sang a version in the movie - with almost-but-not-quite the same lyrics (which turns out to be important).
http://ind4prez2012.blogspot.com/2014/09/lost-stars-revisited.html
"Lost Stars," - the version sung by Keira Knightley, though Adam Levine also sang a version in the movie - with almost-but-not-quite the same lyrics (which turns out to be important).
(1) Please don't see just a girl caught up in dreams and
fantasies.
(2) Please see me reaching out for someone I can't see.
(3) Take my hand, let's see where we wake up tomorrow.
(4) Best laid plans sometimes are just a one night stand.
(5) I'll be damned, Cupid's demanding back his arrow.
(6) So let's get drunk on our tears and
(7) God, tell us the reason, youth is wasted on the young.
(8) It's hunting season,
(9) and this lamb is on the run searching for meaning.
(10) But are we all lost stars trying to light up the dark?
(11) Who are we? Just a speck of dust within the galaxy?
(12) 'Woe is me' if we're not careful turns into reality.
(13) Don't you dare let our best memories bring you
sorrow.
(14) Yesterday I saw a lion kiss a deer.
(15) Turn the page, maybe we'll find a brand new ending.
(16) Where we're dancing in our tears and
(17) God, tell us the reason, youth is wasted on the young.
(18) It's hunting season,
(19) and this lamb is on the run, searching for meaning.
(20) But are we all lost stars trying to light up the dark?
(21) I thought I saw you out there crying.
(22) I thought I heard you call my name.
(23) I thought I heard you out there crying.
(24) But just the same,
(25) God, tell us the reason, youth is wasted on the young.
(26) It's hunting season,
(27) and this lamb is on the run, searching for meaning.
(28) But are we all lost stars trying to light up the dark?
(29) Are we all lost stars trying to light up the dark?
My
thoughts:
I was amazed to learn that songwriting credit for this piece was shared by four different people. That must have been some fine-toothed comb they used when crafting these lyrics.
This song is "our song" - that is, written by Gretta for her boyfriend before their breakup in the States, back when they were living in England. So this song predates "Coming up Roses."
This song is "our song" - that is, written by Gretta for her boyfriend before their breakup in the States, back when they were living in England. So this song predates "Coming up Roses."
There's a
lot in this song that is just lyrically fantastic, but lines (28) and (29) gave
me pause:
(28) But are we all lost stars trying to light up the dark?
(29) Are we all lost stars trying to light up the dark?
This might be the scientist within me speaking, but there is no
such thing as a "lost star." All of the stars in the heavens are
where they are supposed to be due to strict and inviolable laws of physics.
Now, anyone who's read Stanislaw Lem's "Solaris" - which features a
planet with a will of its own that can violate its orbital path supposedly "dictated"
by its proximity to a twin star system - will disagree with me. So I will admit
this much: If a star has a will, then it can end up "lost."
Otherwise, it's where it's supposed to be due to factors it has no will nor power to control.
Also, stars don't "try...to light up the dark." They
merely give off their light, which (over time) reduces their substance until
they are a much-reduced shell of their former selves.
However, if Steve is able to share with Gretta the Buddhist "bible" known as "The Lotus Sutra," she will read about the Buddha
being able to emit a beam of light from between his eyebrows which lights up
18,000 Buddha worlds in the eastern direction, making visible to the Great
Assembly all of the activities taking place there and allowing them to hear all
of the words being spoken in all of those places.
That is what an Enlightened One can do - which Gretta and any
other seeker of the Way can also do, as revealed in "The Lotus Sutra." With one important difference: Giving off
light depletes a star, whereas the light given off by a Buddha, which helps to
enlighten others, doesn't "deplete" the Buddha at all.
Line 2:
"Please see me reaching out for someone I
can't see." Of course, she can "see" her boyfriend Kohl, but not entirely - not
for all of what he is, which includes the weakness that made him cheat on her
later.
Line (5): "I'll be damned, Cupid's demanding back his arrow."
Judging by how their relationship ended, looks like Cupid was on to something here, seeing what Gretta couldn't see. Looks like Cupid was acting in the role of a Buddhist protective entity. Gretta's response? Line (6): "So let's get drunk on our tears..." Tears blind people, but sometimes people in love (or who are heavily infatuated) prefer such blindness. Much to their later sorrow.
Line (9): "and this lamb is on the run searching for meaning."
Adam Levine's version is "and the lambs are on the run..." He pluralizes "lambs" and, I think, removes himself from their group. His version of this song and hers are as different as night and day. He goes into vocal acrobatics toward the end trying to wow an adoring audience, while to her this song is something highly personal. Tell you what: If my girlfriend had written this song for me, I'd have a lot of questions to ask and praises to offer.
(8) It's hunting season,
(9) and this lamb is on the run searching for meaning.
It's a nice touch to see such a role-reversal - for lambs to be doing the hunting. And the "hunting" isn't to end in a killing but in an obtaining of meaning.
It's a nice touch to see such a role-reversal - for lambs to be doing the hunting. And the "hunting" isn't to end in a killing but in an obtaining of meaning.
(14) Yesterday I saw a lion kiss a deer.
(15) Turn the page, maybe we'll find a brand new ending.
If you saw a lion kiss a deer - even if only in your mind - then you're quite the visionary. But as for finding a brand new ending, you can't just "turn the page" - you've got to write that ending yourself. That's what "Coming up Roses" meant in its line, "But it's me who's got to change." If you just "turn the page," you'll only find the ending that someone else wrote.
Final note:
I was glad to see that this movie ranked #73 for the year. Too
bad the POS called "The Expendables 3" came in at #57, but what are
you gonna do? The battle against bad taste, though, will become
more winnable if more movies like "Begin Again" appear on the scene. Stats are
according to Box Office Mojo, as of today (8/26/14)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Steven
Searle, Just another member of the
Virtual
Samgha of the Lotus and
Former
Candidate for USA President (in 2008 & 2012)
Footnotes:
Footnote 1:
Ancient Persians thought that pearls were formed when oysters came to the water’s surface to look at the moon, and a drop of dew formed in their shells which was turned to pearl by the moon's beams. This romantic story has given the meaning ‘Light's Creation’ to the names [Gretta/Greta]:
Ancient Persians thought that pearls were formed when oysters came to the water’s surface to look at the moon, and a drop of dew formed in their shells which was turned to pearl by the moon's beams. This romantic story has given the meaning ‘Light's Creation’ to the names [Gretta/Greta]:
Contact me
at bpa_cinc@yahoo.com
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