Revision as of 05:43, 27 February 2022

Samples/Lyrics

An image of the Horned God associated with the Wicca religion, as seen on the Gundestrup Cauldron.

• At approximately 2:10, a back-masked voice is heard saying "a god with horns" twice to the sound of a crackling fire and a distant church bell. This is sampled from an episode of Desperately Seeking Something^[1] about the Wiccan religion, which is also sampled numerous times in 'Dawn Chorus.' The episode quotes a poem called The Pipes of Pan, written by Viavianne Crowley in her book Wicca: The Old Religion In the New Age:

  • • The Pipes of Pan
      In caverns deep the old Gods sleep
      But the trees still know the lord
      And it's the pipes of pan, which call the tune
      In the twilight in the wood
      The leaves they dance to the goat god's tune
      And they whisper his name to the winds
      And the oak trees dreams of a god with horns
      And know no other king.

• Slowed flute from "When the Music Starts to Play" by The Incredible String Band.^[2]
• 4:08 - looped voice saying "take my hand", "to land", or "too late"
  • On the 2002 website, "take my hand" appears in the scene "seven forty seven". If you fly up to a suitable "pillar" you'll hear it a bit more clearly on its own.
• [sandrail] suggests there may be a voice saying "come help me" during the backmasked speech.

Cultural References

Many other works, in music as well as other media, feature the Horned God. Some notable examples are:

• The music of Coil.
• The Sláine series of comics/graphic novels.
  • Slaine originally came to prominence in the comic 2000AD.
  • The most notable nods to Wicca are in the eponymous Horned God cycle.

Comments

• [BIBIO] has made very perceptive observations on this track, and some others:
  • On colours: [BIBIO] notes that the "yellow" in Alpha And Omega seems to repeat continuously at a lower volume; that Music Is Math has a faint voice which could be saying "purple", and that playing the end section at half-speed results in what sounds like "red" being repeated. With the "orange" in Aquarius, they might be trying to cover the range of rainbow colours.
  • Repeated allusions to flying (in this and other albums): an aeroplane drone in an eagle in your mind; corsair as a type of plane; comments about going to high altitudes for inspiration; Kid For Today possibly containing a looped aeroplane drone throughout the track; an interview picture of BoC in an airfield with planes ("the secret life of Boards of Canada photo). Also the interactive scenes on the BoC website: the introductory scene is of aeroplane contrails, and many of the other interactive scenes are flight simulators. Chinook is a kind of helicopter, among other things.
• [Leo B] pointed out that the second occurrence of the phrase is at 2:16 in the track. 216 = 6×6×6. Given all the other references of this kind (such as the album length of 66'06" (666), it is at least plausible that this is no coincidence). However, see below on whether the time IS 66'06".
• From the Spanish language Mondosonoro interview (see the links page), which BoC say that they were really pleased with the beat in this track, which sounds like a taut tope being pulled across the hull of a wooden ship.
• [Wikao] notes the sound heard immediately as the track begins may be that of cork being harvested.

Video

External Links

• Wicca
• The Horned God
• Modern faces of the Horned God - an article focusing on modern interpretations of belief in this ancient tradition.

References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEq1hBJrguI
2. ↑