Act V: Hymns With the Devil in Confessional - The Dear Hunter
Track List:
Regress
The Moon/Awake
Cascade
The Most Cursed of Hands/Who am I
The Revival
Melpomene
Mr. Usher (On His Way to Town)
The Haves and Have Naught (Ft. Gavin Castleton)
Light
Gloria
The Flame (Is Gone)
The Fire (Remains)
The March
Blood
A Beginning
Once more
Well this is a bit bittersweet, I am excited to hear what happens with the boy. I thought about it more after my listen last night and I think that the boy has acted with the best of intentions but has been deceitful in his actions. I would consider him a chaotic good character in D&D. I am really wondering what happens here. Do the boy and the preacher continue to amass power? Does anyone else that the boy has left behind show back up? Did the boy and his half brother’s partner make things work out between them? I am also a bit sad because this is the end of the experience. I really have enjoyed my daily exploration into the life of the boy and his story from his birth to a prostitute after being assaulted by a john, to being discarded from his home upon his mother’s death, to finding and losing love, to the war, to perhaps killing his father and assuming the role of his half brother, and now to a position of power that was facilitated by lies spun by his mother’s pimp. Will this be the story of the boy’s downfall and the crashing of a house of cards?
Regress
Obviously this is directed to the boy but I'm not sure by who. He is being abandoned by someone. It ends rather ominously.
The Moon/Awake
The boy realizes that he has managed to get himself into quite a quandary. He assesses where he is and what he has done and realizes that his younger self wouldn’t approve. He wonders if he will be able to be redeemed for his actions.
Cascade
It appears the boy is still reflecting upon his situation. He wants to get out of the situation that he has created for himself but doesn’t see how. At the same time it appears that he is still being controlled or at least is acting as a pawn for the preacher.
The Most Cursed of Hands/Who am I
This song is really well done, all of the songs have been really well done but this one is really amazing. The song is describing a hand of poker. It appears to be a metaphor for the relationship between the boy and the preacher. The boy bested the preacher and was told he could live as he wanted, he could have his freedom. Yet he doesn’t understand how he is able or should function out from under the thumb of the preacher and can’t move on.
The Revival
So this is the priest celebrating that he has control over the boy and it’s been prosperous for each of them.
Melpomene
Either the boy has encountered Ms. Leading again and still has feelings for her or he is talking to his/his brother’s partner. I want to say it’s Ms. Leading as he is talking about his youth and the lyric “mislead” is in the song.
Mr. Usher (On His Way to Town)
Swing song and a new person? Mr. Usher. He almost seems like a mob enforcer or a hit man.
The Haves and Have Naught (Ft. Gavin Castleton)
So a conversation between Mr. Usher(?) and the boy. Mr. Usher proposes using the boy’s political power to use the people of the city, specifically the lower class, for profit beyond what he and the preacher already have. The boy is hesitant and feels it’s not right for the people of the city.
Light
It seems the boy is a father. The boy acknowledges his shortcomings, his history, and his aspirations to do good. The song almost seems like a goodbye with hope that he sees his son again. Perhaps the boy realizes that Mr. Usher’s plan is going to happen with or without his involvement and there will be a power struggle.
Gloria
I searched for “e dolore magna gloria” and there is a lot of debate that I think would further spoil the story for me if I seek further. But it looks like it is something about glory from pain. The boy appears at peace with the current situation. It’s unclear what has led to this acceptance.
The Flame (Is Gone)
This appears to be a plan by Mr. Usher to break the boy completely and make him a pawn, similar to the way the preacher has. I suspect he wants to either kill the boy’s spouse, child, or Ms. Leading if she isn’t the spouse.
The Fire (Remains)
A vocoder seems like a weird choice given it’s not been used at all until now. The boy has set a building on fire. I am guessing the brothel. He either plans on dying in the fire or allowing his assumed identity to die and starting anew.
The March
The preacher has turned the congregation on the boy because of his actions and has heralded them to avenge his burning of the church. I don’t know if the church and brothel are one in the same.
Blood
The boy seems to have been caught by the congregation and he confesses everything to them.
A Beginning
This is the boy’s death? Or maybe not…
Well now
So there was a lot going on there. I do think that could be the end of the story. The boy seems to die at the hands of the preacher’s congregation with the last song. I guess we have a lot of loose ends. Are his son and wife safe? What happens with the power struggle between the preacher and Mr. Usher? What happened to Ms. Leading? I really have enjoyed this journey and have encouraged others to listen as well. I suppose now I will actually look up meanings and other fan’s thoughts on this. I also plan on exploring The Dear Hunter’s other albums and projects, not sure if they will be explored as part of this project of an album a day or in my leisure. Yes I still find ways to consume music beyond listening to an album a day.
