"High Hopes" by Kodaline, Wednesday, March 24, 2022

Last week I taught a lesson on Irish music to my students. I played examples of Celtic instrumental music. I showed videos of River Dance. I played sad songs like "The Parting Glass" and "Danny Boy." Then I played some famous Irish artists like Enya, U2, and The Cranberries. Then I played Kodaline's "High Hopes." When I asked my students which they like the best, they said Kodaline. Well, that's kind of a stupid question. There are times when I want to listen to Celtic bagpipes and jigs. There are times I want to go out and have fun an Irish pub and hear Celtic-punk rock. There are times I want to listen to U2, and it's certainly not the same day I want to listen to Enya, but those days happen too. But like my students, I think Kodaline's first album fits more into my everyday listening habits.

BROKEN BOTTLES IN THE HOTEL LOBBY. While In A Perfect World is a great everyday listen, you have to be careful watching the music video for "High Hopes." It's a beautiful love story between an older man and a somewhat younger woman. The couple meets when she runs away from her wedding and she saves him from trying to kill himself in his car. They begin their relationship when he takes her to his meager cottage.  The two build their relationship, but the tone of the video changes when they are lying in bed and he notices the scars on her back. Then, as the guitar solo starts, the couple is shot by a man carrying a shot gun. The two are in a pool of blood.  The man wakes up in the hospital and sees her bed is empty. At the end of the video, she hugs him from behind.

I KNOW IT'S CRAZY TO BELIEVE IN STUPID THINGS. Lead singer Steve Garrigan wrote "High Hopes" after a bad breakup. I think the graphic nature of this video is meant to be metaphorical. The woman saves the older man from his destructive ways. They fall in love but when he discovers her scars, the relationship reaches levels of problems that lead to another person/outside factor "shooting"  both partners. And the end of the video could either mean she left him and he's remembering her, and the embrace is just holding on to memories, or it could be that she left for a while but comes back to him. Either way, the video is a bit shocking, so I didn't play it for my students. 




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