Hope in Pompeii
Reflections on Bastille in History and the Present
C. N. Vujanovic
‘AND THE WALLS KEPT TUMBLING DOWN IN THE CITY THAT WE LOVED’. Time Capsule on Spotify is undoubtedly a great way to spend a rainy Saturday. When you hear that song you’ve always listened to, it transposes a sense of nostalgia into the dreariness of the day.
For me, Spotify recently reminded me of Bastille’s Pompeii and I felt the exact feeling I have just described: nostalgia, cheerfulness, and reflectiveness. Yet, in this reflection I was reminded of the impact that the past has on the present. Pompeii is not just the cool name of a song, but it was an ancient city on the Italian Coast that was draped in the warm blanket of a volcano in 79 AD.
In this context those lyrics I mentioned just before start to make a bit more sense. ‘And the walls kept tumbling down in the city that we loved’; through a volcanic eruption a city was reduced to nothing more than rubble. Yet by the same token, mixing the cheerful tone of the song with lyrics like, ‘Great clouds roll over the hill bringing darkness from above’, is slightly paralysing. On the one hand, I want to feel happy when I am listening to the song; however, the subject matter is pure darkness.
In fact, the chorus to the song, ‘How am I going to be an optimist about this?’ references the tragic death of tens of thousands. Although, in the modern day, we are not under the imminent threat of a warm and suffocating blanket, the chorus’ question is highly relatable.
When we are at our lowest, we ask ourselves: ‘How am I going to be an optimist about this?’ It is a question that pierces through the mist of aeons deeply resonating with us. While The Chainsmokers (the artists) explain that the song is based on the conversation of two individuals who have been encased in molten lava for decades, the final question asked offers a solution.
Photo from Pompeii of individuals encased by the lava. Source: Google.
That, ‘If you close your eyes / Does it almost feel like nothing’s changed at all?’ On that dreary Saturday when I heard this song, it invited me to sit in the silence of the rain and reflect on how we cope with life’s upheavals. The line invites us to find solace in the midst of the storm of life, suggesting that closing your eyes, looking inwards, taking a deep breath, and then opening your eyes can help you realise that perspective is all we need to see that the world really has not changed all that much.
A dreary day in Sydney. Source: Google.
The ancient themes that I hear every time I listen to this ballad show me that yesterday, today, and tomorrow are the same. We are still grappling with the same problems and questions – of life and love and loss. As a Christian, I see this mix of Classical history and modern music as a reminder of the timeless nature of our human experience.
Whether it is a sunny or sullen Saturday, I can sit, considering, ‘How am I going to be an optimist about this?’ and be reminded of the value of placing my hope in life outside of this world. I realise that this may not apply to everyone, but I think it is a crucial question to ask yourself. When ‘you close your eyes’, when ‘the walls keep tumbling down in the city that you love’, and when ‘great clouds roll over the hill bringing darkness from above’, where do you find your hope?