Song Lyrics for Harvest Moon by Neil Young
When we
were strangers
I watched you from afar
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart.
I watched you from afar
When we were lovers
I loved you with all my heart.
Archilochus
“that I, possessing such a wife, should be
a source of joy to spiteful neighbors.
I much prefer you … For you are neither
unreliable nor two-faced, While she in turn is too sharp
And makes many men her friends:”
In
the comparison between the excerpts from the song lyrics “Harvest Moon” by Neil
Young and Archilochus fragment, we can tell how both writers express different
way of loving a woman. First of all, the way they represents love to their
lover differs. Neil Young writes “I loved you with all my heart” using
expression that is straightforward which leads the readers to understand with
no confusion that he in fact is in great love. Whereas Archilochus tell his
lover “I much prefer you” which gives confusion whether he loves her because he
has no choice or he actually loves her. Moreover, the composers’ passion towards
their woman is indicated differently. Neil Young quoted “When we were strangers
I watched you from afar” meaning that he has been attracted by the woman he is
in love with even before they were actually in love. He had wanted the same
lover ever since until he had succeed in getting her. However, Archilochus
claimed love because he decided that daughter of Amphimedo, whom was going to
become his wife, was “that I, possessing such a wife, should be a source of joy
to spiteful neighbors”. It can be analyzed as he is giving an excuse to love
the other woman that he is speaking to. Finally, because of that uncertainty of
love from Archilochus, the truthfulness love from the woman is not guaranteed. He
kept reasoning his love saying “for you are neither unreliable nor two-faced”
without an effort to allure his partner. On the contrary, we can analyze that
Neil Young has attained his love, receiving full of love, as he indicated “when
we were lovers I loved you with all my heart”. From the parts of lyrics we
could identify the different styles of how writers performed love.
Great thoughts here, though I thought that the analysis of Archilochus could have been clarified by a better sense of who was being address. Always think about the breakdown of each line - as in Young's lines, the first couplet being about observing from a distance, the second about actually having her - the passage you site is a quotation comparing the addressee to the other woman. The passage primarily concerns the other woman, who he deems unfavorable. What does he say about her?
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