A Haunting Instrumental
"Etienne," the seventh track on Ethel Cain’s EP Perverts, stands as a bold and reflective instrumental piece. Drawing parallels to the haunting and sparse works of the late Daniel Dale Johnston, the track's dissonant piano work mirrors the empty vastness akin to the designs of Étienne-Louis Boullée, the 18th-century French architect to whom the track alludes. With its eerie and isolated soundscape, "Etienne" echoes the somber and minimal instrumentals of Johnston’s Lazy, emphasizing emptiness rather than emotional catharsis. Ethel Cain forgoes vocals, letting the haunting piano take center stage to evoke a sense of hollow introspection and quiet unease.
Bridging the Artist and the Audience
Though purely instrumental, "Etienne" functions as more than a transition between tracks. Instead, it forms a deeper bond between Ethel Cain and her audience. By the song's end, listeners are left to contemplate the existential weight of their own mortality. The narrative speaks to an unnamed figure, a man who runs tirelessly only to realize the inescapability of fate. It’s a bridge between the artist and her listeners, a moment of shared understanding of fatalism that we all encounter as we navigate the harshness of life and the shadows of our own desires and eventual endings.
Boullée’s Architectural Influence
Ethel Cain's personal connection to Boullée's work is crucial to the song’s foundation. A Tumblr post revealed that the track draws inspiration from Boullée's architectural marvel, the Cenotaph, designed in memoriam for Sir Isaac Newton. Boullée’s work sought to provoke social change through dystopian design, and Cain takes these concepts and applies them to her music, resulting in an auditory experience that reflects the artist’s fascination with the intersection of art, architecture, and life’s transient nature.
Visual and Conceptual Symbolism
The visual and conceptual symbolism extends beyond the music. The ring iconography present in the promotional material for Perverts reflects the spherical structure of Boullée’s Cenotaph. Boullée's “Theory of Bodies” heralds the sphere as the most "beautiful and perfect natural body," an idea that resonates with the cyclical themes of life, death, and rebirth. The light that emanates from within Boullée's Cenotaph mirrors Plato’s allegory of the cave, which Cain subtly invokes, hinting at the difference between belief and true knowledge, and how people often perceive only shadows of reality.
A Profound Artistic Exploration
As Cain further explores Boullée’s work in other forms—referencing it in her merchandise and her YouTube content—"Etienne" is not an isolated homage but a part of a larger artistic conversation. The spoken-word outro adds a haunting narrative, a man running himself into exhaustion in an attempt to die but eventually finding peace. It encapsulates the themes of futility, existential dread, and the eventual acceptance of life that courses through the track, making it a quietly profound addition to Perverts.
Listen to Ethel Cain Etienne
Ethel Cain Etienne Lyrics Meaning Explained
The meaning of Etienne by Ethel Cain is a poignant exploration of despair, resilience, and the unexpected journey toward self-acceptance. Through the song’s spoken outro, Cain narrates the story of a man who, driven by suicidal thoughts, attempts to induce his own death by running to the point of exhaustion. What begins as an act of escape and finality ultimately transforms into a process of healing, as the man’s relentless physical exertion inadvertently rekindles his desire to live. This narrative serves as both a metaphor for human suffering and an illustration of how even the darkest moments can evolve into opportunities for renewal and understanding.
Introduction to "Etienne"
The lyrics of “Etienne” by Ethel Cain, particularly its spoken-word outro, offer a profound narrative that reflects existential struggle, perseverance, and the eventual acceptance of life’s fate. The song introduces a man who is deeply suicidal and decides that the best way to end his life is by inducing a heart attack through physical exertion. The line, "So he decided the best way to end his life was to have a heart attack," conveys a sense of hopelessness, where death is seen as the solution to his emotional suffering. The heart attack represents both a literal and symbolic breaking point—a culmination of his emotional and physical exhaustion.
The Struggle to Escape Life
As the man attempts to carry out his plan, he believes he can induce the heart attack by running a "sizable distance." The lines, "Going as far as he could until he dies / So he set out to run as hard as he could," show that running becomes his chosen method to escape from life’s struggles. His decision to keep running mirrors a futile attempt to take control of his fate. However, despite his exhaustion, the man does not die. The lyrics, "He ran and he ran until he was exhausted and he collapsed / But he didn't die," reflect the ongoing battle between his will to die and life’s stubborn persistence. The act of running symbolizes his struggle against both life and death.
The Repetitive Attempts
The repetition in the following lines, "So the next night he tried the same thing and he ran again / And he still didn't die," demonstrates the man’s continued effort to end his life, but also hints at his growing frustration. The pattern of attempting suicide through running becomes a daily ritual that continues through the third, fourth, and fifth nights. However, as he repeatedly fails to achieve his goal, the focus subtly shifts from wanting to die to enduring through the act of running. His persistence, originally driven by despair, starts to resemble a kind of resilience or survival instinct.
The Turning Point
In the final lines of the spoken outro, a shift in the man’s perspective becomes clear. After running for a week, "He felt so good that he didn't want to kill himself anymore." This moment reveals an unexpected transformation. The physical exertion that was initially meant to lead to death becomes a form of therapy, rejuvenating both his body and his mind. The repeated running, once an escape from life, has ironically restored his will to live. The message is one of hope, suggesting that through perseverance and endurance, even those who feel lost or broken can find a new reason to continue.
Broader Meaning and Conclusion
The broader narrative of the song serves as a metaphor for the human condition. Like the man, we all run from our struggles, whether they be mental, emotional, or physical. The man’s journey reflects our own attempts to escape hardship, but ultimately, running becomes a way of confronting it. The track ends on a note of acceptance, where the listener can see that life, despite its struggles, holds value. As confirmed by Cain, the audio in the outro comes from an old sermon tape from the 1970s and 1980s, further enhancing the spiritual undertones of the song. In this sense, “Etienne” stands as a profound meditation on life, death, and the surprising ways in which we can rediscover hope.
Ethel Cain Etienne Lyrics
[Spoken Outro]
So he decided the best way to end his life was to have a heart attack
He thought he could induce the heart attack by running a very fast way for a sizable distance
Going as far as he could until he dies
So he set out to run as hard as he could
He ran and he ran until he was exhausted and he collapsed
But he didn't die
So the next night he tried the same thing and he ran again
And he still didn't die
So he tried again the third night
And then the fourth and the fifth
And after this had been going on for a week
He felt so good that he didn't want to kill himself anymore
תגובות