Ides of Gemini are releasing their new album "Woman" today (April 28th) to celebrate we asked vocalist Sera Timms to tell us about the song "The Rose". Here is the story:
J came up with the title of this song, and I originally wasn't sure what I'd write it about. I believe it was based on a woman who was called "The Rose", but I don't remember who it was. When I was seeking inspiration for this song, a piece of artwork was mentioned to me called The Rose by Jay De Feo which is a piece that the artist spent 8 years on and it wasn't finished until she was evicted from her apartment, and they had to remove it with a forklift because it was so big and heavy. I like this idea of trying to perfect, or find something for so long, and picturing her alone in her apartment day after day sculpting, painting, and carving seeking to find the right form, and then after all of that precious solitary toiling, one's art is forced out into the world with a literal forklift. There could be nothing less suitable for a rose than a forklift. So I had this idea of something very fragile within oneself: A rose in the heart. An artist seeks to see oneself through a gigantic painting, like zooming into one's own heart. Through the myopic lens of the rose, a monolithic piece of colored dust must be evicted into the public eye, and turned into spectacle before being neatly placed in a sterile room and called art.
I then was reading about War of The Roses, and found a tragic story of two princes who were locked in the Tower of London during a power struggle for the throne, and then disappeared so as not to be able to inherit power. This got me thinking about systems of power because these two princes of course had mothers who had their hearts broken by the loss of these children, but they also subscribed to and lived in a monarchal power model which values temporal power over human life. They benefitted greatly by the power and riches they got from living in this system, yet lost that which was closest to their hearts, their roses.
Anytime we externalize what is sacred to us we risk losing it. Anytime we place a value on an object or human which is connected with our heart, and our joy, we corrupt that connection that originally brought us so much joy. The system is the machine, the forklift, the contractual obligation, the eviction, the quantification of an object or person whose essence belongs in the heart, the eternal rose. This is an act of heresy to the deepest self. Like many, I have quantified and attempted to possess those people and things which appeared as princes or roses to me. I've learned that only the essence of the external rose can be grasped and only for one moment which exists eternally within. Life is an alchemical vessel of experience not meant to enthrone matter but instead to enthrone the experience of matter which is forever the rose.
Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the album right here!
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