A brief thought on Colouring of Pigeons

One of the best tracks of the Knife’s works in general. To me, the greatest thing about this track is how perfectly accurate it delivers emotions.

I first listened to the song without knowing its reference to Darwin and his book, but the picture of a man treading through lonely adventures and uncovering mysteries floated right up. The sound designs and production created a great sense of epic. The vocal performances from the artists were like three narrative arcs coming from three alter egos of the adventurer, casting lights and complexity onto the adventurer’s inner world. The way how emotion reaches its pinnacle, as the opera singer marches onto high notes, when the whole narrative lands on the adventurer’s returning home, is as if saying, despite all the greatness in the world, no achievements amount to the “delight of once again being home”.

What a touch on humanity! It literally brought me to tears on the first listen.

Then I Googled and learned it’s about Darwin and his voyage. Knowing this explained lots of references, but it didn’t take away or add to the emotions I gained. Realizing that is like an epiphany, a proof that music truly transcends information barriers and can be shared among all humanity when it’s done right.