How does a great novel get even better?

Do you read? A question that any person should answer yes to without hesitation. Reading stimulates our brains, relieves stress, improves memory, provides free entertainment and the list goes on. The benefits of reading are numerous, but one benefit that is often overlooked is the ability a great novel has to enhance other experiences, specifically in this case, SONGS.

A great novel attaches more meaning to a good song and makes it great for those who have also read the novel.

Mumford and Sons burst onto the musical scene in 2009 with their debut album, Sigh no More. It took me a while to get around to listening to the album, but when I finally did, I abused it. I constantly listened through the entire LP, but right from the start it wasn’t The Cave or Little Lion Man that grabbed my attention. Rather it was the 2nd last song on the album, Dust Bowl Dance, that I had on repeat.

The entire build up of the drums and the complete desolate sound of the piano and the banjo made this song amazing, I fell in love with the desperate and hopeless story conveyed by the lyrics and set about Google to find out what it was about or on what it was based. This led me to the most tragic yet the best novel I have ever read — The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

The Grapes of Wrath tells the utterly depressing story of the Joad family during the dust bowl in Oklahoma and their fight for survival as they make the Journey west to California, the hope of a better life and work in their hearts. This hope however is in vain as upon arrival the cheap labor on offer is exploited by the rich.

What struck me about the song is how well it captures the emotions experienced by the main protagonist, Tom Joad. Emotions best expressed by the following two quotes:

“And the little screaming fact that sounds through all history: repression works only to strengthen and knit the repressed.”

“and in the eyes of the people there is the failure; and in the eyes of the hungry there is a growing wrath. In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.”

Emotions that I remember and re-experience everytime Marcus Mumford shouts:

“Well you are my accuser, now look in my face
Your oppression reeks of your greed and disgrace
So one man has and another has not
How can you love what it is you have got
When you took it all from the weak hands of the poor?
Liars and thieves you know not what is in store
Well, there will come a time I will look in your eyes
You will pray to the God that you’ve always denied
Then I’ll go out back and I’ll get my gun
I’ll say, “You haven’t met me, I am the only son””

That is the great thing about hearing this song now, after I have read this Pulitzer prize winning novel. Every time I hear the song I am transported back to that first experience of reading this truly amazing work of literature.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is another utterly depressing Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It tells the story of a man and his son (simply known as the man and the boy) and their southward trek across a post-apocalyptic wasteland America. The universe in which the story takes place is utterly depressing and humans have lost almost all sense of society and humanity, except for the man and the boy. They carry the fire.

Editors’ song, No Sound but the wind is based entirely on this book (Ignore the fact that the song was used on the soundtrack to one of the twilight movies — these books are nowhere near the quality to even be considered inspirational). In fact, the title of the Song “No Sound but the wind” is taken directly from the book.

A recurring theme in the book is the insistence of the boy to be the good guys, to take the morally correct action. This is seen each time he asks his father if they are the good guys, because they carry the fire.

“Help me to carry the fire
We will keep it alight together
Help me to carry the fire
It will light our way forever”

The father however knows that life in this harsh and unforgiving setting sometimes requires him to do terrible things to stay alive.

“If I say shut your eyes
If I say look away
Bury your face in my shoulder
Think of a birthday
The things you put in your head
They will stay here forever
Our blood is cold
And we’re alone, love
But I’m alone with you”

Essentially the book is about the unwavering love of a father towards his son and how he would do anything to keep him safe. An utterly desolate and depressing journey, but an amazing piece of literature.

“All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes.”