A Playlist for Billy Budd

A Playlist for Billy Budd

Billy Budd, the protagonist for which Herman Melville’s short story Billy Budd is named, is the subject of ill-fated events which take place on the British naval warship HMS Bellipotent. Though he is a pious, almost perfect man, his one flaw of stuttering combined with the suffocating evil that surrounds him (embodied in his sinister shipmate, the master-of-arms John Claggart) sadly brings him to his demise, at the price of his own life. Throughout the story, Melville constantly alludes to Christian themes, often making it seem as if Billy himself is of divine origin. It is truly saddening that Budd cannot even comprehend or defend himself against true evil, which makes his trial and execution somewhat of a sacrifice for the betterment of mankind. Even in the face of death, Budd’s true piety continues to shine through all the way up until his last moments, greatly affecting all who witness his execution.

Ambulance LTD – Ocean [Velvet Underground cover]

Here come the waves
Down by the shore
Washing the soul of the body
That comes from the depth of the sea

Here comes the ocean
And the waves down by the sea
Here comes the ocean
And the waves, where have we been?

The setting of the tale is aboard the HMS Bellipotent as it floats across the Atlantic. Consequently, the Ocean is where Billy Budd makes revelations about life, death, sin, and forgiveness. It is only appropriate that this song applies to Billy since the ocean does, in effect, momentarily wash his soul away from his body. Marcus Congleton, the lead vocals of Ambulance LTD, presents his soothing voice effortlessly, almost as a calm tide washing to and from the beach, or perhaps the slow, sleepy lull of a calm ocean. Though the instrumentation barely constitutes as “rock,” the moments of loud beats that periodically occur, to me represent foreshadowing of Billy’s troubles, just as the quiet droning out of sound at the end of the song serves to visualize a ship sailing away. Billy is not completely redefined as a character, (in fact he retains his morality) but in a matter of days on his voyage, his soul grows older, wiser, and hardened at the hands of the evil Claggart.

Coldplay – God Put a Smile on Your Face

Where do we go nobody knows?
Don’t ever say you’re on your way down when
God gave you style and gave you grace
God put a smile upon your face

When Budd first sets foot on the ship, the crew immediately takes liking to him. He is seen by the majority of the men as an almost eerily perfect man; he is handsome, mysterious, and impressive, seemingly primitive and untaught by social institutions. Because of this, he doesn’t really know how to behave in social situations and certainly knows nothing of sin. The notion that he might be of divine creation surfaces when he replies “Please sir, I don’t know” when a fellow shipmate asks where he was born. He does know he was found in a wicker basket, possibly Mellvile’s attempt at an allusion to Moses. However, Budd exhibits at least one form of mortality: he has a speech impediment, which later causes great tension. Because he is so perfect, this song is appropriate in explaining his seemingly divine creation. I particularly like this song because Chris Martin, lead vocals of Coldplay, presents a calm yet defiant voice, and while paired with the high tempo of the guitars and drums give a message of happiness and hope, and perhaps the notion of a divine light.

People are strange when you’re a stranger
Faces look ugly when you’re alone

This song is perfect to describe what Billy Budd feels like when Claggart is consistently and inexplicably ruthless to him. For some reason, the music and Jim Morrison’s low, guttural vocals remind me of being in an unfamiliar town, or being in an uncomfortable situation. The squeals of the guitar solos make the inference of Billy feeling a small pang of fear when he sees Claggart, additonally representing that when the two men are together the tension in the air is so thick that everyone around them can notice it. Even though he knows Billy is innocent, Claggart falsely accuses him of conspiracy to carry out a mutiny. Not surprisingly, he goes as far as to attempt persuasion for others to collaborate with his false claim. Whereas Billy could be seen as a perfect being, the naturally depraved Claggart totally embodies evil. Because Budd has no concept of sin, he does not understand why Claggart hates him. To Claggart, Billy is “strange” because of his perfection, and to Billy, Claggart is strange because of his inherent hatred towards him.

Weezer – Peace

All these problems on my mind,
make it hard for me to think.
There is no way I can stop,
my poor brain is gonna pop….
I need to find some peace.

Billy, because of his innocence and good heartedness, wants to facilitate a peaceful existence between he and Claggart despite Claggart’s consistent ridicule. He doesn’t understand why they can’t be friends, which is why he “needs to find some peace” between them. In one instance, Billy is eating soup in the dining room when he accidentally spills it. Inadvertently, it spills on Claggart’s shoes as he passes by, but instead of reacting in his normal short temper, Claggart simply (almost jokingly) remarks about the accident and continues his way. Billy incorrectly interprets the event as proof that Claggart now approves of him, but Claggart is merely leading him on. Weezer’s “Peace” is perfect for this situation because throughout Rivers Cuomo’s pleading and defiant voice, paired with the loud instrumentation during the chorus is reminiscent of how badly Billy wants peace between he and Claggart.

Pinback- Fortress

Stop, it's too late
I'm feeling frustrated
I see no sign of fortress
I see no sign of fortress

The true climax of the tale is the moment in which Billy is confronted – in front of Captain Vere no less- and falsely accused by Claggart of planning a mutiny. In this moment, Billy’s fatal flaw of stuttering changes his life forever. Because he cannot successfully defend himself of the ridiculous accusations, he becomes frustrated and furious at the situation, causing him to lose his ability to speak under such great stress. Pinback has done a good job at describing this tense situation. The emphasis put on the words of “Stop, it’s too late” is exactly what mindset Billy is in. He has reached the point of no return due to Claggart’s harassment; it is almost as if there is now no chance of a peaceful compromise. The constant background tempo provided by the strumming of a bass guitar, best described as what I imagine a horse galloping would sound like, keeps the song somewhat tense, too. It is a constant, nervous reminder that a solution must be found and a fortress be attained. The tension building, Billy cannot find a “fortress” to retreat from the pressure being put on him to admit to a crime he did not commit.

I don't wanna talk to you anymore
I'm afraid of what I might say
I bite my tongue every time you come around
'Cause blood in my mouth beats
Blood on the ground

In addition with the previous song, the music of Incubus’s “Blood on the Ground” is also a perfect song that can be used to describe Billy Budd during the point which he encounters Claggart on the ship deck. Immediately, Brandon Boyd vocally asserts his frustration, backed up by the climax of drums and guitar to represent aggression. The moments which sound more like narration than singing are helpful because I imagine Billy Budd being able to use that defiant, angered voice in a conversation with Claggart. The moment before Billy snaps and defends himself physically against Claggart, he actually does not want to use his force. He would rather defend himself verbally, though it is impossible (as we have seen) during this moment because during such tension he cannot articulate his feelings; the impediment of stuttering prevents him from expressing himself. Though he wants to resolve the situation, Billy would rather let out his frustration by biting his tongue instead of having to resort to spilling Claggart’s “blood on the ground.”

Time, time, time, time, time to understand the horror
Time, time, time, time, time to understand the monster

The sinister music and ghoulish voice that RJD2 opens up this song with perfectly describes Billy’s emotions right before his physical altercation with Claggart. It is perfect how at the beginning of the song it is completely quiet, and then all of a sudden a giant crash of cymbals and trumpets occurs; if we imagine Billy’s aggression in a linear form we could rightly compare it to that specific line of music: unstirred for a long period of time and then without warning the anger surfaces. I particularly enjoy the dialogue between two personalities during the middle of the song - in effect, it is a person having a conversation between his split identities. In relation to Billy Budd, the two voices serve to represent the inner dialogue he has within himself between his overwhelming aggression and the urge to control it. Although he is not a monster, Billy does experience an uncontrollable urge to express himself physically – and because he is a strong man, his strength could be considered “monstrous.” When he resorts to his fist instead of his tongue, he might have seemed like a monster to both Claggart and Captain Vere when his peaceful demeanor unexpectedly changed to one of fury. Ultimately, he delivers to Claggart a swift punch to the forehead, killing him instantly as the horrified Vere looks on.

Sometimes you see that I'm mad
No one can always be an angel
When everything goes wrong you see something bad
I'm just a soul who's intentions are good
O' lord, please don't let me be misunderstood

The first few lines of this song represent how Billy feels after he inadvertently murders Claggart. The unidentified person singing clearly has a heartbroken voice, longing to be understood, exactly how Billy feels. He only wanted to hit him enough to subdue him, like an incident when he had an altercation with his shipmate Red Whiskers. Undoubtedly, Billy is regretful for his actions against Claggart and did not want the situation to end up with a man dead. He had good intentions all along, and wanted to befriend Claggart, but the constant belittling caused him to lash out unexpectedly and uncontrollably when he could not articulate his defense. Truly, Billy feels (and is) misunderstood.

Travis – Pipe Dreams

I read it all, every word
And I still don’t understand a thing
What had you heard? …
Id pray to God if there was heaven
But heaven seems so very far from here

A lot like the Common’s “Misunderstood,” the band Travis also represents Billy’s emotions as he is awaiting the trial for not only killing Claggart, but for the potential planning of a mutiny. With all of the actions around him happening in a confusing whirlwind, Billy is very confused with the situation at hand, unable to even look upward for God’s guidance. He understands he did something wrong, yet does not know why such bad fortune happened to him. Throughout this song, Fran Healy’s voice is sad and earnest, representing a voice of confusion and in the need of guidance. It is especially appropriate to Billy’s situation due to the Christian themes within the song, plus Healy’s saddening voice accurately represents Billy’s emotions.

Citizen Cope – Salvation

Sign the dotted line please…
Now Judas answer me
"Since I was the age to speak
Haven't you been listening?"
Salvation

Given that the conflict between Billy and Claggart takes place in front of Captian Vere, Vere hears Claggart’s accusation that Billy is planning a mutiny. Although Vere knows that Billy is innocent of conspiracy of mutiny and unintentionally killed Claggart, he cannot go against the law and must put him on trial regardless; both murder and mutiny were felonies and any allusions to the former were never taken lightly. However, because of his innate goodness, Billy refuses to let anyone testify for him as to not implicate other criminals, therefore no one can prove him innocent - even though they all know he is. He is willing to sacrifice himself to facilitate salvation of the individuals who knew of Claggart’s plan to falsely accuse Billy. Billy is put on trial and with no defense, he is sentenced to “hang at dawn.” Although Citizen Cope’s voice is very soothing and dominates the song with little help from instruments, the message he presents is loud and clear. In light of Billy’s current situation, Cope’s words seem to give the impression that though Billy is innocent, he is doing the right thing by providing the salvation for many others. In this instance, Melville is again bringing a religious element to this story, in effect comparing Billy with Jesus Christ.

Bob Marley – Redemption

Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery;
None but ourselves can free our minds.
Have no fear for atomic energy,
'Cause none of them can stop the time.
How long shall they kill our prophets,
While we stand aside and look? Ooh!
Some say it's just a part of it:
We've got to fulfill the book.

The final words that Billy yells before he is executed are, “Long live Captain Vere!” This greatly effects the emotions of all aboard and they all echo his words without any hesitation. Even though Vere is the one who sentences him to death, Billy holds no resent and stands bold and unafraid. His execution is one unlike any other that the individuals have witnessed. As he is dropped from the gallows, the ship rocks and his body seems to float upward, towards Heaven, for a moment before falling again. In addition to proving his divine and goodhearted being, he hangs without any sign of stress, uncommon because involuntary, disturbing convulsions were commonplace in hangings. Dawn breaks as Billy hangs, and each witnesses solemnly takes a piece of the broken mast from which he was hung. These lyrics are completely appropriate to Billy; many, at the end, see him as Christ like and prophetic due to his “heavenly” departure from earth. Though they all had to “stand aside and look” as he was killed, the “book” was rightly fulfilled through Captain Vere’s ultimate justice. It is appropriate to end this playlist with Bob Marley’s voice because his voice is peaceful and happy even when he is presenting a very serious message. The music is fairly upbeat and serene, fitting the peaceful exit from earth that Billy experienced.

CONCLUSION

The songs on my playlist were chosen based on how Billy’s story pans out- not only in terms of the actions that occur, but more focused on the emotions that are felt. The music specifically correlates with the actions that are happening in Billy’s life, from the moment he sets voyage to the moment he is executed. They follow a bell curve pattern; very mellow music at both the beginning and end, contrasted with suspenseful, loud music during the points of conflict and violence. I believe they represent his life quite accurately.