“We Could Be Heroes”
Doomed Love in Romeo and Juliet and the Music of David Bowie and Bon Iver
Throughout the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the idea of Romeo and Juliet’s love being doomed by the everlasting feud between their families was evident from the very first time they met. This key theme of doomed love ultimately led to the tragic deaths that these two characters experience. In modern times, this common theme can be interpreted in a fair amount of the music that plays on the radio. However, none of us realize it because the true meaning of the song is often times diluted by heavy instrumentals or is misunderstood because no one takes the time to dissect the lyrics. This fact is true to the songs “Heroes” by David Bowie and “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver, because both portray the same issues and struggles that Romeo and Juliet faced. These iconic songs are able to connect to Romeo and Juliet because they capture the essence of the pain and sadness of two people who were bonded together by true love but in the end are torn apart once fate takes its toll over each warring relationship, destroying it in the process.
The song “Heroes” and the story of Romeo and Juliet are able to relate to each other because both demonstrate a love that may not work out yet they still have hope despite all the signs against them, thinking that their love can get them through any situation. There was a time during The Cold War when the Berlin Wall stood, separating east and west Berlin which caused great harm and disunity for the German people. However, throughout the song it was made clear that amidst of all this fighting, there were two people portrayed in Bowie’s song as lovers who wanted to be together more than they cared about the chaos of the war that was surrounding them. While it may have seemed like the world was tearing these lovers apart and that they were destined to fail, they showed their determination of how much they wanted their love to persevere even if it seemed impossible. In line 24–26 of “Heroes”, Bowie provided vivid imagery to the listeners of a violent scene with guns firing above the heads of these love birds as they proved that they will not be tore apart by other people’s war, “I, I can remember (I remember) standing, by the wall (by the wall) and the guns, shot above our heads (over our heads) and we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall)”. A full on war might be occurring right next to them but these two people could not be pulled apart because no matter how much trouble their relationship might have been in as long as they had each other their love could not be stopped. In the opening line of “Heroes”, Bowie sang the powerful opening of “I, I will by king and you, you will be queen though nothing will drive them away, we can beat them, just for one day”(line 1–4). The narrator was expressing his want to be the king of his own world with his queen by his side, away from the repressive environment both of them were living in, even if it is only for one day. However, during that one day they would defy all the odds that were holding them apart, showing that their love could overcome any obstacle. Romeo and Juliet had the same hopeful outlook of their love even though they knew that they were born to be enemies. When Juliet gave the infamous speech on the balcony in act 2.2, we are able to see how deep her emotions ran for Romeo,“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name, or if thou wilt not, be sworn my love, and I’ll no longer be a Capulet” (2.2 39–39). Juliet was expressing that she would give up her own last name, her identity, to be with Romeo even though they barely knew each other, showing how much she truly loved him. Another example of Romeo and Juliet taking extreme measures to see each other is when Romeo climbed over the wall to see Juliet after the party in act 2.2, knowing very well that if he were caught he would most likely be killed. Romeo risked his life to see Juliet after only meeting her for a brief moment at the party showing that he was not just looking for a ‘rebound’ from his previous relationship but he really wanted to be with her. Although coming to Juliet’s house can be seen as a sweet and romantic gesture, the idea that in order to be with Juliet, Romeo had to scale up an orchard wall can be interpreted as the start of a doomed relationship. Both characters had to keep their love a secret from their families and friends, lying to everybody they cared about. They had to sneak around to see each other, almost living double lives. While these red flags of impending trouble were waving right in front of Romeo and Juliet’s faces, they remained happy that they finally were together and to further show the strength of their relationship Romeo asked Juliet to marry him in act 2.2, “Th’exchange of th love’s faithful vow for mine” (2.2 134). Romeo and Juliet’s relationship and David Bowie’s song “Heroes” are both able to capture the idea of a troubled relationship that is hanging on by the thread of hope that their love will be enough to survive the difficulties to come.
Bon Iver’s touching song “Skinny Love” represents the tragic ending and realization that Romeo and Juliet both have when they realize their love will not prevail which crushes all of the hope and the faith that they had in it. The phrase ‘Skinny Love’ is a metaphor for a relationship that is malnourished and has no ‘weight’ behind it to survive, meaning that it is going to fail one way or another. Bon Iver’s song is written from the perspective of him knowing that his relationship is not working but is still holding onto it, begging for it to continue. He wants the relationship to end up okay and is trying to tell his partner what they need to do in order for it to go back to normal but is accusing them of not putting back the effort that their love needs to be salvaged. Lines 21–28 he angrily said “I told you to be patient, I told you to be kind, I told you to balanced, I told you to be kind…” as if Iver’s partner could not even follow through with such a simple task that would have saved their relationship. As the song continues, the hope to recover their love slowly dies away and when Iver sings the line “staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer” (line 4) an image of someone washing their hands after fighting with their partner pops into the mind of the listeners. Wall panels are made up of wood veneer and if you were to punch one it would most likely cut your hand. He must have gotten so frustrated during their argument that they hit the wall, causing his hand to start bleeding. The feeling of hopelessness that the singer is experiencing while trying to save the relationship became more and more obvious as the song continued. The singer then realized that he can not save something that has already been broken and all he can do now is stand back and look at the wake of destruction the relationship had caused. The line “Come on skinny love what happened here?” (line 17) portrays how Bon Iver felt about the lost relationship. He was wondering why he let it get so bad and chaotic, what lead to it to fail so miserably, and how did things slip away so quickly. In the end, Romeo and Juliet’s love story also came down to the same ending of wondering how everything went wrong so fast. There was a moment in time when they were both happily married in act 2.5 but that happiness did not last long. Right after their marriage, Romeo killed Tybalt in act 3.1 marking the start of the tragic path of Romeo and Juliet’s fate. Juliet knew that her husband had murdered her own cousin. She had her doubts about standing beside Romeo through it all, “Shall I speak ill, of him that is my husband? Ah, poor my lord, what tongue shall smooth thy name.” (3.2 106–107), but despite the crime he committed, her love for him prevailed and she came up with a plan to be with her true love. As the play continued, Juliet’s hopes of being able to run away with Romeo evaporated away into nothing as she is faced with the fact that he had killed himself because he thought that she had died in the midst of her plan. Juliet’s emotional turmoil as she came to terms with the fact that her love was officially over was expressed in the last line she spoke, “O, happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rust, and let me die” (5.2 174–175). Juliet would be happier dead than alive having to deal with the fact that her true love was dead and as she laid there in her family’s vault looking at her lover’s lifeless face she does the last thing she can do to be with her Romeo; kill herself. Romeo and Juliet’s love was strong but neither of them could stop the fact that their relationship took a turn and quickly fell apart. “Skinny Love” and Romeo and Juliet tell the story of two lovers who wanted the best out of their love. They tried to fix it before it could break completely but could not stop the fact that some epic loves are doomed to fail.
To conclude, the play Romeo and Juliet and the songs “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver and “Heroes” by David Bowie are all examples of hopeful love that you would think would end happily. However, in all three cases fate pulled the lovers apart and they all came down to a devastating end.
Abstract
While researching for the perfect songs to connect back to Romeo and Juliet the idea to do “Skinny Love” by Bon Iver and “Heroes” by David Bowie suddenly popped into my brain and I knew I had to write about them. These two songs have a very significant meaning to me and after listening to them very carefully I found out that they also relate a lot to the issues that Romeo and Juliet were facing throughout the play. I wanted to figure out the deeper meaning behind every single verse in both songs since at first listen it does not sound sad or as heartbreaking as you would think after you read through the lyrics. In order to get to the place I was at while writing my paper, I had to read through the lyrics multiple times and look at references to discover the ‘true meaning’ behind the confusing parts of the songs. I also had to do some history research since “Heroes’ is written based on the historical Berlin Wall. I was able to learn a lot about how similar Romeo and Juliet’s doomed love related to both songs. I am able to confidently say that these songs are much more depressing than I originally anticipated, especially “Heroes”. The idea of two lovers craving to be with each other but being separated by something they can not control is a devastating topic that requires a lot of detailed descriptions and explanations to fully understand. I was able to put into perspective that there were a lot of songs that I had no idea connected back to the premise of Romeo and Juliet because they are not being understood correctly. To conclude, the Romeo and Juliet project helped me understand how to really dive into what I am listening to on the radio or on my playlists and gives me a broader perspective on how common the theme of ‘doomed love’ can really be in modern day music.
Work Cited
“Bon Iver- Skinny Love.” Genius, genius.com/Bon-iver-skinny-love-lyrics
“Bon Iver- Skinny Love Meaning.” Lyric Interpretations, www.lyricinterpretations.com/bon-iver/skinny-love.
“David Bowie- Heroes.” Genius, genius.com/David-bowie-heroes-lyrics.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. New York, NY, Barbara A. Mowat Paul Werstine. Folger Shakespeare Library.
