🌋 finding a song in a volcano
erebus and terror
I am back to writing geology songs, and my newest target is another volcano (yes, we’ve already got one volcano song). There’s something that really draws me in about this one, and I think I can peer into it and find a good song there. But first, lets get some facts!
The southernmost active volcano in the world sits on an island, nestled in an Antarctic bay.
Mt. Erebus is a stratovolcano, which means it’s different from the ever-flowing shield volcanoes of Iceland and Hawaii, with lava that gurgles out in streams. Stratovolcanoes are like Vesuvius and Mt. St. Helens — silent, dark, and explosive. Since 1972, perhaps even earlier, the crater of Mt. Erebus has hosted a ruby — a lava lake, coal-black and scored with red hot scars of what lies underneath.
So, how to go about writing a song?
When thinking about the way I can use a volcano as a song metaphor, I always jump to anger first. Or the feeling of holding something in when you just want to explode. This time round I’d like to find a way to write about this volcano in a subversive way, not to do with fits of passion or anger.
So let’s try and find another angle.
What I like about Mt Erebus is its name. For two reasons.
Erebus and Terror
Firstly, Mt Erebus was named after the HMS Erebus, the ship that first sighted the volcano on an Antarctic expedition. Erebus the ship had two major expeditions: one to the Antarctic and one to the Arctic. Both these expeditions it did with its sister ship, the HMS Terror. In fact, next to Mt Erebus sits another volcano, named Mt Terror. These burning mountains sit at the bottom of the world, and at the top of the world sits the wreckage of their namesakes. Famously, neither HMS Erebus or Terror returned from the second expedition, becoming trapped in frozen waters in the Canadian Arctic, the crew eventually perishing.
I actually watched the TV series about the Arctic expedition (also known as the Franklin expedition), an adaption of the Dan Simmons novel which weaves horror and the supernatural into the story. So when I think of the Terror and Erebus sailing past the volcano, I picture actors Ciaran Hinds and Jared Harris at the helm of each ship.
In doing some research I found that the HMS Erebus is in the news right now, as underwater archaeologists have recovered a leather diary from the ship. It might hold the parts of the story which were lost.
Son of Chaos
The name Erebus comes from the primordial Greek deity. In Greek mythology, Chaos existed before anything else. Chaos was a void, full of everything and nothing at the same time. It either existed above the Earth, or below it, just above the abyssal underworld. The ancient poet Hesiod wrote of Chaos, saying that from it sprung five children: Erebus (Darkness), Nyx (night), Eros (Love), Gaea (Earth) and Tartarus (underworld).
Erebus is deep darkness and shadow. Although known as a Greek deity, it wasn’t a person more than it was just a thing, not to be worshipped, but just known as being one of the building blocks of life a we know it.
I love the phrase ‘primordial deity,’ because I think volcanoes also have that energy. Fearsome things which create and destroy, that have seen a billion sunsets and sunrises. Things which can blot out the sky in an instant.
So, how can I find a way to create a song out of all this? Tune in next week to see what I write about!
things i liked
✶ this tweet got me thinking about who I’d cast as numbers 1-20
✶ i love this design for Serbian money! More money that looks like this!
✶ I was reminded today of how good this song is even though it’s from the most unremarkable movie:
✶ watched the movie Green Room for the first time the other week and, apart from having my heart in my mouth half the time, really enjoyed it
✶ same cannot be said for Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe (soz)
that’s all for this Thursday! Happy weekend and have a good one. Here’s a prize for you.
Olivia 🌋