Katrinah Josephina - an interesting song
When I first time I heard this song I was frankly taken aback by the sheer magic of the music. Then I wanted to start digging into meanings for the song and it seemed to convey this interesting story of a girl and her life with her alter ego. Then slowly, my interpretation of the song took life, took a wholesome form. This story haunted me and has been something I’ve been inspired by. It has been so beautifully masked and covered and the philosophy of the song is so appealing.
The song :
Lyrics to the song :
Katrinah Josephina is no longer so they say
She disappeared one year ago and not a trace remains
All the theories are just hearsay as to why she disappeared,
Some say she was abducted and some say she drowned in fear.
And what a joy it is to be the only one who knows,
Katrinah Josephina journeys 90 leagues below.
She's singing the praises of angels and sages.
(Oh when the pills wear off, the symptoms will return)
(You may have found relief - the cause has still yet to be learned.)
As a child she was quite mystified in searching for the soul,
So with spade in hand she soon began to dig a little hole.
One league and 15 years she ventured down her tunneled plight,
And was greeted by a troupe of dancing demons stanced to fight.
Each demon bid her, "Say our names, as our names you should know,
But til such time your chains will bind us follow where you go!"
And what a joy it is to be the only one who knows
Katrinah Josephina soon identified her foes!
Yes she's still singing the praises of angels and sages.
(Oh when the pills wear off, the demons will return)
(Unless you're brave enough to face the ruler of their world.)
After years upon the surface higher learning taught her well,
That the value of the human soul's a dollar earned in hell.
So one year ago upon this night she dragged me to her hole,
Her waist was roped, "Don't dare let go!" Her voice resounded from below...
Keep singing the praises of angels and sages.
'Cause when the pills wear off...
My interpretation of the song :
When the narrator sings this song, it is a year after her alter-ego whom she calls ‘Katrinah Josephina’ has ‘disappeared’ from the surface. A variation of this might be the idea of a schizophrenic, but I find multiple personalities more appealing as it suits the ‘growing girl’ much better.
As a child, the narrator’s alter-ego (probably born out of early trauma) was a curious girl who had a million questions about the life seen around her. And so, Katrinah Josephina - the narrator’s alter-ego was in a mission of soul-searching. For fifteen years she searched for the meaning of the human soul. She found the good and the bad in the human soul. She made quite a revelation for herself and fond herself growing in philosophical clarity. She appreciated the good things in life and her personal ‘angels’ and ‘sages’ were the people who understood what Katrinah and the narrator were going through.
And then was stopped by the white coats and so, the “rehabilitating” narrator was made to take pills to keep her ‘symptoms’ at bay. But probably the pills just made Katrinah take refuge in the narrator. And when they wore off, she had to come out to face the ruler of the ‘demon’ world (the desire for humans to impose control over fellow humans). Katrinah Josephina soon realised what the doctors were trying to do. She could see what the ‘demons’ of the superficial world, the ones with the drive for control over other humans, were trying to do.
And for her friend, the narrator and herself, years of learning about the meanings set by the society served well. They realised that the value of the human soul was “a dollar earned in hell” - probably referring to the pain that a human soul puts other people through; a dollar earned in hell will have to be earned by inflicting pain on the people going through hell. It was clear that the ‘demons’ wanted to drive away Katrinah from the narrator’s mind and this would be a painful experience to both of them.
Together they decided to set Katrinah on a journey for deeper insights. “Don’t dare let go” sounded Katrinah as the narrator fought within herself to wear a mask of a single person.
And ever since Katrinah set on a journey for deeper meaning, the narrator had been taking pills continuously to keep Katrinah in her tunnel of inquisitiveness. And if the pills wear off, Karinah would have to return to the surface and thus, inhibiting her incomplete search for the need for the human desire for control.
As long as Katrinah stays in the tunnel, society will continue to believe that she’s dead. And some say she was abducted (by the pills and the treatment) and some say she drowned in fear (of the doctors). But all these theories as just hearsay, like the very science of psychological medicine is, how would they ever know if Katrinah has really disappeared from the narrator’s mind?! And it pleases the narrator to know that Katrinah is still alive and has gone far in her journey of soul-searching. And Katrinah is singing the praises of her ‘angels’ (the pills and the people) who have helped her live on.
The song has greatly questioned my philosophy of life. Are we right in controlling others. Are we correct in “treating” someone for a “mental illness”? If the human mind finds pleasure in doing what it does, what gives us the right to shock it into an alternate state. Just because most of us claim that we share a state of mind, does it mean that we have the right to try to bring others to the same state. Bringing this argument out of the “mental illness” circle. Are we ever right in trying to ‘correct’ anyone for anything they do? It brings me back to my previous post about the society’s definitions of right and wrong (click to go to the previous post). Katrinah and the narrator are typical victims of our misguided definitions of a wrong in society. And like many of the other victims of the society, they have also learnt the art of wearing a mask for the society but unleashing the inner beauty of their creation when the society turns their back to them.
When I first time I heard this song I was frankly taken aback by the sheer magic of the music. Then I wanted to start digging into meanings for the song and it seemed to convey this interesting story of a girl and her life with her alter ego. Then slowly, my interpretation of the song took life, took a wholesome form. This story haunted me and has been something I’ve been inspired by. It has been so beautifully masked and covered and the philosophy of the song is so appealing.
The song :
Lyrics to the song :
Katrinah Josephina is no longer so they say
She disappeared one year ago and not a trace remains
All the theories are just hearsay as to why she disappeared,
Some say she was abducted and some say she drowned in fear.
And what a joy it is to be the only one who knows,
Katrinah Josephina journeys 90 leagues below.
She's singing the praises of angels and sages.
(Oh when the pills wear off, the symptoms will return)
(You may have found relief - the cause has still yet to be learned.)
As a child she was quite mystified in searching for the soul,
So with spade in hand she soon began to dig a little hole.
One league and 15 years she ventured down her tunneled plight,
And was greeted by a troupe of dancing demons stanced to fight.
Each demon bid her, "Say our names, as our names you should know,
But til such time your chains will bind us follow where you go!"
And what a joy it is to be the only one who knows
Katrinah Josephina soon identified her foes!
Yes she's still singing the praises of angels and sages.
(Oh when the pills wear off, the demons will return)
(Unless you're brave enough to face the ruler of their world.)
After years upon the surface higher learning taught her well,
That the value of the human soul's a dollar earned in hell.
So one year ago upon this night she dragged me to her hole,
Her waist was roped, "Don't dare let go!" Her voice resounded from below...
Keep singing the praises of angels and sages.
'Cause when the pills wear off...
My interpretation of the song :
When the narrator sings this song, it is a year after her alter-ego whom she calls ‘Katrinah Josephina’ has ‘disappeared’ from the surface. A variation of this might be the idea of a schizophrenic, but I find multiple personalities more appealing as it suits the ‘growing girl’ much better.
As a child, the narrator’s alter-ego (probably born out of early trauma) was a curious girl who had a million questions about the life seen around her. And so, Katrinah Josephina - the narrator’s alter-ego was in a mission of soul-searching. For fifteen years she searched for the meaning of the human soul. She found the good and the bad in the human soul. She made quite a revelation for herself and fond herself growing in philosophical clarity. She appreciated the good things in life and her personal ‘angels’ and ‘sages’ were the people who understood what Katrinah and the narrator were going through.
And then was stopped by the white coats and so, the “rehabilitating” narrator was made to take pills to keep her ‘symptoms’ at bay. But probably the pills just made Katrinah take refuge in the narrator. And when they wore off, she had to come out to face the ruler of the ‘demon’ world (the desire for humans to impose control over fellow humans). Katrinah Josephina soon realised what the doctors were trying to do. She could see what the ‘demons’ of the superficial world, the ones with the drive for control over other humans, were trying to do.
And for her friend, the narrator and herself, years of learning about the meanings set by the society served well. They realised that the value of the human soul was “a dollar earned in hell” - probably referring to the pain that a human soul puts other people through; a dollar earned in hell will have to be earned by inflicting pain on the people going through hell. It was clear that the ‘demons’ wanted to drive away Katrinah from the narrator’s mind and this would be a painful experience to both of them.
Together they decided to set Katrinah on a journey for deeper insights. “Don’t dare let go” sounded Katrinah as the narrator fought within herself to wear a mask of a single person.
And ever since Katrinah set on a journey for deeper meaning, the narrator had been taking pills continuously to keep Katrinah in her tunnel of inquisitiveness. And if the pills wear off, Karinah would have to return to the surface and thus, inhibiting her incomplete search for the need for the human desire for control.
As long as Katrinah stays in the tunnel, society will continue to believe that she’s dead. And some say she was abducted (by the pills and the treatment) and some say she drowned in fear (of the doctors). But all these theories as just hearsay, like the very science of psychological medicine is, how would they ever know if Katrinah has really disappeared from the narrator’s mind?! And it pleases the narrator to know that Katrinah is still alive and has gone far in her journey of soul-searching. And Katrinah is singing the praises of her ‘angels’ (the pills and the people) who have helped her live on.
The song has greatly questioned my philosophy of life. Are we right in controlling others. Are we correct in “treating” someone for a “mental illness”? If the human mind finds pleasure in doing what it does, what gives us the right to shock it into an alternate state. Just because most of us claim that we share a state of mind, does it mean that we have the right to try to bring others to the same state. Bringing this argument out of the “mental illness” circle. Are we ever right in trying to ‘correct’ anyone for anything they do? It brings me back to my previous post about the society’s definitions of right and wrong (click to go to the previous post). Katrinah and the narrator are typical victims of our misguided definitions of a wrong in society. And like many of the other victims of the society, they have also learnt the art of wearing a mask for the society but unleashing the inner beauty of their creation when the society turns their back to them.
5 comments:
Hmm, interesting interpretation. I saw the song a bit differently as a coming of age song.
Katrinah Josephina is the narrator as a young child (up until 15 years old) until she became an "adult" narrator by 16 years old. I saw the song as dreading the loss of child innocence (soul searching, rather) to coming of age and the drugs she now takes to recapture the innocence she's left behind. "When the pills wear off" she forgets about poor Katrina - she needs to take them to remember to be carefree and see the wonder in life. The child faced the demons when she was younger with ease because of her innocence, but now she has more trouble because she's actually grown up now and makes it more complicated. The real demons make her feel worthless - a dollar can't buy you much anymore.
What do you think?
@anonymous :
Intersting way to look at it.. Though I do have a few questions for you..
a) Why is the narrator "joy"ful when she says she is the only one who knows about Katrinah?
b) The other question I have is that the song seems to indicate that the narrator and Katrinah lived side by side and at one point. Katrniah disappeared. Which your interpretation doesn't seem to explain.
c) Who are you? :D
a) Secrets are fun as a child. The secret that her child-like self is not lost is precious to her. Do you show everyone at work all that you are?, Even to your friends and family? I bet there are particulars of your personality you keep to yourself, just for yourself to know. This would also tie into the excitement of KJ identifying her foes. The narrator is rooting her herself too, very supportive as opposed to self-destructive.
b) In needing to be an adult you often loose the child in yourself. It doesn't mean you're a different person, just matured. If people remark that you're not the same person they used to know, that could be another example of this identity switch. Say you used to get straight A's in school, top of your class, and now you barely attend school. People might refer to that good student as someone who's disappeared.
c) Obviously a fellow fan of the song. I was looking up meanings to the lyrics on Google and your post came up.
Something we've both overlooked in discussion are the biblical references in the lyrics, but I'm relegating them to Sunday school references that have been internalized, as most children mainly see white and black, good and evil, angels/sages and demons. No shades of grey are mentioned, thus adding to my idea of two "ages" to the points of view.
It seems to be a very interesting way to look at it too!! Thanks for referencing me to this view point.. The idea of black and white fading to gray seems like a brilliant explanation in itself!!
It's like giving the song a whole different persona. I am sure there are more interpretations of the song that others might make. But like I said, it is a very interesting song that seems to have infinite possibilities of interpretations and philosophies surrounding it..
Thanks for the comment, I really appreciate your view of the song, it is very appealing too!!
My vision about Katrinah Josephina
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kiizvj7KtsU&feature=youtu.be
Post a Comment