Track 2: "Illuminations"

Podcast

Sep 1

Welcome to I Owe You an Explication, I’m your host, Sean Della Croce and today we’re discussing the song “Illuminations”.

Stream Illuminations here: https://ffm.to/qqk1jjd

Cover Image by Alex Crawford

All songs written and recorded by Sean Della Croce

Produced by Alan Deremo

What this Song is About

Something I love about the word Illuminations is that it has more than one meaning. There is, of course, the straightforward definition: to shed light on a thing. And then there is the Illumination I learned about in Catholic school: to embellish or decorate a manuscript.

Illuminated manuscripts were gorgeous works of arts that emerged from monastery culture in Europe in the 13th-15th centuries. They were hand-written books. If you've ever seen a fairytale where the first letter of the first sentence is large and ornately decorated, this is an example of an illumination. This art form went out of style with the invention of the printing press as you might imagine, but I can't help but dwell in the nostalgia.

So in the context of this song, the lyrics serve to create a visual cue. In my minds eye, I picture the love story from the song being illuminated as song progresses, and all the while, the narrator knows how it will end. I hope this is a different sort of take on the unrequited love song. I don't know about you, but there have been times in life where I made a wrong choice or a painful decision, knowing full well what the outcome would be. So in the song, the narrator is in love, probably with someone they shouldn't be, and maybe the love is mutual, but it will never work and the illuminations here are all of the painful flourishes that give the narrator hope. A glance, a smile, a touch. Oh dear.

The Lyrical Crux

Lyrically, I think chorus of this song really stands on its own and fulfills the promise of the title.

"I know every outline, I know every curve, of every letter that makes its way into the word. And illuminations make it worse"

This is just another way of saying "been there, done that" I know how this is going to end, and the beauty that these moments hold makes their impermanence worse.

Music Notes

This song is a beautiful example of the work of Alan Deremo, who produced this record. He can really do so many things very well, as you will learn as the series goes on. But the musical landscape he created in this song is really beautiful. Between the piano, steel guitar, bass, and percussion, I think it just glows.

Closing Reflections

When I really think about it, this song emerged from doubt and to me, by the end, that resolves into presence. We don't always do the right thing and nothing lasts forever, but I think it's good to forgive ourselves, and sometimes life is just a series of different chances.