Postpunk voordat punk bestond. Heart of Darkness ontleende titel en thema aan Joseph Conrad’s klassieke novelle, maar werd ook geïnspireerd door het verwoeste, gedeïndustrialiseerde landschap van het Amerikaanse Midwesten in de jaren ’70 (de Rust Belt). Als David Thomas zingt “I get so tired it’s like I’m another man / And everything I see seems so underhanded / And I don’t see anything that I want”, dan beschrijft hij niet alleen de existentële leegte en duisternis van het menselijk bestaan, maar ook wat hij vanuit het raam van zijn woning in Cleveland zag.
Maybe you see further than I can see
Maybe things all just look differently (Maybe you see further than I can see)
Maybe I’m nothing but a shadow on the wall
Maybe love’s a tomb where you dance at night
Maybe sanctuary is a electric light
I get so tired it’s like I’m another man
And everything I see seems so underhanded
And I don’t see anything that I want
And I don’t see anything that I want
Image, object and illusion go down to the corner
Where none of the faces fit a human form
Where nothing I see there isn’t deformed
Where in a secret lab works Doctor Moreau
And no private eye’s gotta tell me it’s a long goodbye
I get so tired it’s like I’m another man
And everything I see seems so underhanded
And I don’t see anything that I want
And I don’t see anything that I want
Looking into…
Looking into…
Looking into…
Looking into the…
Looking into the heart of…
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
Looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the…
I’m looking into…
I’m looking into…
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the (heart of darkness)
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
I’m looking into the heart of darkness
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By Sonictruth – Own work, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8050799
