Win Butler: The Past

By. Sarah Alemu

Win Butler is a master of capturing the past in song. Not just specific events of the past,
but how these events shaped who we were, who we are, and most importantly, who we will
become. The past is a delicate subject because it can easily be falsified by nostalgia; however
Butler strays away from nostalgia by criticizing the wrongs of his past, rather than longing for the
seducing memories of his past. Butler criticizes how his youth was made dark by the
overprotective nature of those who cared about him. This criticism is captured within the songs
The Suburbs and Half Light I, as they speak of the sheltered life Butler lived, and how that
influenced his view towards authority and the loss of his individuality.
One of the main issues that Butler tackles in these songs is how authoritative figures
such as parents and teachers restrict freedom of youth for the sake of safety. Safety is obviously
an important factor, but where does authority draw the line? Teenagers arent children, but they
arent adults eitherthey can be reckless, but responsible. And how are they to learn about life
if they never get to experience anything new? Authority [hides] the ocean in a shell, and the
ocean is a vast expanse, filled with both harmless and harmful life. There are the calm dolphins
and the harmless clownfish, but there are also the aggressive tiger sharks and the scary
anglerfish. But how will teenagers get to see the beautiful coral reefs if authority is fearful of the
harmful beings that inhabit the ocean. As adolescents make the transition from child to adult,
they will have to learn how to fend for themselves, because when they reach adulthood there
wont be anyone constantly looking over their shoulder to ensure their safety with everything
they do.
Being under an overprotective shadow can motivate teenagers to defy authority as can
be seen in the line lock us up safe and hide the key, but the night tears us loose from Half
Light I. The curiosity to explore the unknown is one that all teenagers bear as they begin to
develop an adult-like perspective on life and society, and a desire to explore and gain

knowledge. Butler uses the night to describe adulthood. Adulthood is unpredictable and you
never know what is out there in the real world, kind of like how you never know what creatures
are hidden within the night, because your are unable to see them. The journey to adulthood is a
journey which society and life guides us through. There is no definite moment in life where one
becomes an adult, but once adulthood is reached, there is no turning back. Having his freedom
suppressed was a pressure of society that drove his desire to grow up and be freed of the
locked up life he lived. His desire to become an adult pushed him further along the path of
adulthood, and [tore him] loose of the restraints present in his adolescent years.
It is in the nature of parents to feel the need to protect their child, but the desire for
safety prevents youth from experiencing life and being able to truly feel alive. And the
responsibility that parents have for their children is also carried by community members such as
teachers, police officerseven neighbours. It is carried out by the desire that humans have to
care for those who may be unable to care for themselves due to lack of knowledge and life
experience. But this brings up a great contradictionauthoritative figures (who have
experienced life) show their concern for the safety of youth by restricting them from
opportunities to gain knowledge through experience.
In the first verses of The Suburbs you told me wed never survive, and Half Light I
You told us that we were too young Butler speaks to authority through apostrophe by referring
to them as you, and shows how they were always shutting him out. Apostrophe is used to
speak of someone who is absent as though they were present, which shows Butlers desire for
the restrictions placed by authoritative figures to be absent. Saying that theyll never survive in
the great big world, and that they were too young makes youth inclined to want to know why. Is
there any truth to what their parents say, or is it just an attempt to keep their kids on a tight
leash? Youth tend to have a mind of their own and the restrictions of their freedom fills them with
a rules are made to be broken mindset.
In The Suburbs, the earlier mentioned line of suppression is followed by grab your

mothers keys were leavin, a line of rebellion, and rebellion appears in Half Light I with and
in the half light we run. This shows how curiosity and defiance fuels youth to do something they
know they arent supposed to do. Both lines from their respective songs use the first person
plural with we which shows that the youth arent acting on their own, but as a group. With his
forged freedom comes a loss of individuality, and the formation of a mob mentality.
In The Suburbs this mob mentality is lost as the song progresses, and is replaced with
a presence of individuality. It is very much a reflection on Butlers personal thoughts and depicts
Butlers thoughts as an individual, and not as part of a group, as can be seen in the line can
you understand why I want a daughter while Im still young. I wanna hold her hand and show
her some beauty before all this damage is done. To wish for a child when youre still young is
generally frowned upon by society, but Butlers reasoning behind that desire is to let someone
live the life he wished he could have liveda life where daughters are treated the same as
sons, and this comes across as a personal desire through his use of I. To have a daughter,
and show her the real beauty of the world is something that he wants. Butler targets females
because he understands that they are the most suppressed, because if its too much to ask,
then send [him] a son shows that he believes that all children need more freedom, but in
mentioning having a son if its too much to ask for a daughter, he is showing that he wishes to
be able to show females a world of equality prior to showing that to males, as males generally
have more freedom than females.
The Suburbs ends with a variation of a line that is repeated throughout the song, which
is Sometimes I cant believe it, Im moving past the feeling, and the final line In my dreams
were still screaming. Dreams emphasize the individuality within this song, as dreams are
unique to one another, and they are essentially manifestations of our true desires. Butler is
referring to the unjust restrictions of their freedoms as it, but he is slowly moving past the
feeling of anger towards the oppressive figure of authority in his life. Butler sees himself and
the group of people he associates himself with as stuck in the oppressed life they live, and

seeking for help, hence them still screaming. In saying that they are still screaming, Butler is
showing the audience that it is an ongoing conflict, one that lasts the duration of the song and is
brought up in other songs from the album.
While The Suburbs primarily depicts Butlers personal perspective, Half Light I depicts
a reflection of the ideas of the group. In Half Light I Butler primarily writes in the first person
plural, and the lyrics aid in depicting a shift from individual thought to the ideas shaped by a mob
mentality. This shift even comes up within the musicality of the songs themselves. The lyrics of
The Suburbs are sung by one singer at any given time, and this reflects the aspect of
individuality, but with Half Light I you can hear that the vocals are layered, and there are at
least two singers singing, which adds to the mob mentality created by the lyrics of the song.
Butler grasps onto the negative aspects of his past, and through his criticisms he reflects
upon the emotions he had felt in adolescence and transposed them into his music. In avoiding
nostalgia Butler delivers a unique perspective on youth. He removes the desire to go back in
time, and replaces it with reflection of what it felt like at that time of his life. Butler recognizes his
personal loss of individuality, and how it was shaped by the sheltered life that authority figures
created for him. Through his songs Butler is saying that the past should reflected upon, and not
decorated in a nostalgic fashion. Reflection is more powerful and accurate than recreating the
past in a more desirable manner.