The Origin of Love
Encyclopedia
"The Origin of Love" is a song from the stage show Hedwig and the Angry Inch
and subsequent film
written by John Cameron Mitchell
and Stephen Trask. Stephen Trask wrote the song, which is based on a story from Plato
's Symposium.
.
According to the speech, long ago, human
s were composed of two people stuck back-to-back, with two faces and eight limbs. Male-male humans came from the Sun
, female-female humans from the Earth
and male-female humans from the Moon
. The gods, out of jealousy, split them in half. Now, throughout our lives, we are always trying to find our "other half", and sexual intercourse
is the only means we have to put the two halves back together; this desire to be one person again is what we call "love
". However, it is impossible to fully rejoin two people because it is our soul
s and not our bodies
that most desire to be reunited.
picture book. If you read the lyrics out loud, they read like a picture book."
While taken from the story within the story in the Symposium, the song deliberately jumbles deities of different cultures (such as Zeus
, Osiris
, and Thor
.) It puts forward Hedwig's idea that humans have pre-destined soul mates, and that she is seeking hers, Tommy Gnosis. At the end of the film Tommy addresses this idea in the reprise of the song Wicked Little Town
, arguing that no cosmic force controls our destiny ("And there's no mystical design, no cosmic lover preassigned.") and suggesting that she needs to move on.
According to the Internet Movie Database
, the vocals for this song as it appears in the film were recorded live.
The animation
that accompanies the song in the film version was drawn by Emily Hubley
.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (musical)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band fronted by an East German transgender singer. The text is by John Cameron Mitchell, and the music and lyrics are by Stephen Trask. The musical premiered in 1998 and has been performed throughout the world in hundreds...
and subsequent film
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (film)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a 2001 American musical comedy-drama film based on the stage musical of the same title about a fictional rock band fronted by an East German transgender singer. The film was adapted and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who also portrayed the title role...
written by John Cameron Mitchell
John Cameron Mitchell
John Cameron Mitchell is an American writer, actor, and director. He is best known for his motion pictures Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus and Rabbit Hole.- Early life:...
and Stephen Trask. Stephen Trask wrote the song, which is based on a story from Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's Symposium.
Origins
In the Symposium, a party is being held in which a series of speeches are given paying homage to Eros, the Greek god of love. "The Origin of Love" is taken from the speech given by the playwright AristophanesAristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
.
According to the speech, long ago, human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s were composed of two people stuck back-to-back, with two faces and eight limbs. Male-male humans came from the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, female-female humans from the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
and male-female humans from the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. The gods, out of jealousy, split them in half. Now, throughout our lives, we are always trying to find our "other half", and sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
is the only means we have to put the two halves back together; this desire to be one person again is what we call "love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
". However, it is impossible to fully rejoin two people because it is our soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
s and not our bodies
Body
With regard to living things, a body is the physical body of an individual. "Body" often is used in connection with appearance, health issues and death...
that most desire to be reunited.
The song
Trask approached it with ambivalence. Trask says of the song's form: "When I started writing that song, the only way I could think to write it was as a picture book. So I wrote it, all the images in it, and the way the story gets told, as the language of, like, a Dr. SeussDr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
picture book. If you read the lyrics out loud, they read like a picture book."
While taken from the story within the story in the Symposium, the song deliberately jumbles deities of different cultures (such as Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
, Osiris
Osiris
Osiris is an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the underworld and the dead. He is classically depicted as a green-skinned man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers at either side, and...
, and Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
.) It puts forward Hedwig's idea that humans have pre-destined soul mates, and that she is seeking hers, Tommy Gnosis. At the end of the film Tommy addresses this idea in the reprise of the song Wicked Little Town
Wicked Little Town
"Wicked Little Town" is a song from the off-Broadway musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and the subsequent film adaptation. Composed by Stephen Trask, the song is a poetic reflection on the doomed love between two of the characters, Hedwig and Tommy Gnosis.-Summary and context:The original song is...
, arguing that no cosmic force controls our destiny ("And there's no mystical design, no cosmic lover preassigned.") and suggesting that she needs to move on.
According to the Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database
Internet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
, the vocals for this song as it appears in the film were recorded live.
The animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
that accompanies the song in the film version was drawn by Emily Hubley
Emily Hubley
-Work:After more than two decades of making numerous shorts, providing animated segments for documentaries such as Blue Vinyl and the musical feature Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hubley made her first feature, The Toe Tactic. The Toe Tactic had its theatrical premiere at the Museum of Modern Art in...
.
Covers
- On the album Wig in a BoxWig in a BoxWig In A Box: Songs from & Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a charity tribute album featuring versions of songs from the musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch...
(a charity cover of the Hedwig soundtrack), "The Origin of Love" is covered separately by Rufus WainwrightRufus WainwrightRufus McGarrigle Wainwright is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. He has recorded six albums of original music, EPs, and tracks on compilations and film soundtracks.-Early years:...
and Jonathan RichmanJonathan RichmanJonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing...
. - Bonnie PinkBonnie Pink, known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She lived in New York during 1998 and speaks English . She writes and composes all her songs, and plays guitar and piano...
included a version on her cover album ReminiscenceReminiscence (Bonnie Pink album)Reminiscence is Bonnie Pink's first cover album released under the Warner Music Japan label on June 22, 2005.-Tracklisting:#Ordinary Angels#Perfect#Manic Monday#Got Me a Feeling#The Origin of Love#Don't Get Me Wrong##That's Just What You Are...