Aesthetics for Birds

Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art for Everyone

Neil Sinhababu on Celebration Guns

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S1WBP91YKA]

This is entry #47 in our 100 Philosophers, 100 Artworks, 100 Words Series.

Philosopher: Neil Sinhababu, National University of Singapore

Artwork: “Celebration Guns”, Set Yourself on Fire, Stars

100 words: 

During the 2004 depths of the War on Terror, Amy Millan ended this song with a lullaby for its victims. Lyrics include:

And then the next day, how will you know your enemy? 
By their colour or your fear? 
One by one you can cage them in your freedom 
Make them all disappear.
And this expression of responsibility: 
This morning’s paper’s ink stains my fingers
My hands grow darker everyday. 
With the time for preventing the needless horror of so much foolish war long past us, the dirgelike violin expresses the sorrow of looking back on so much tragedy.

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