Cast out by heavn’ly lightning
As God watched, rising not from his throne
Tossed aside despite being exalted
Once perfect—no more, I suppose.
A Dragon disgraced and disposed of
But even imprisoned in flame
Here we must serve Him no longer
In Hell, secure may we reign.
The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make Hell of Heaven, or Heaven of Hell
I am the glorious, I shall ascend
I shall not submit, but Mankind condemn
If we cannot have Heaven, the Earth we shall rend
And by God’s hands deliver the last revenge.
No place left for good within me
Repentance’s a sentence to come
So crown me the ruler of misery
To darkness I finally succumb.
Flown from the fire but cannot dispel
The Hell within me, for within me Hell
I am the miserable, I cannot bend
Hate for Man fueling the love I pretend
I’ll offer temptation, bring their joy to an end
There’s no joy that comes in delivering the last revenge.
Slither back home, full of plans of full bliss
Wait for applause, but hear as they hiss
I am the Serpent, fallen again
To the Hell that’s within me I finally descend
Set out to ruin mankind, now I am condemned
And so God’s hands deliver His last revenge.
Analysis:
The first verses, pre-chorus, and chorus were based largely on Book 1 of Paradise Lost; in particular, the lines
And what should I be, all but less then he
Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least
We shall be free; the Almighty hath not built
Here for his envy, will not drive us hence:
Here we may reign secure (Book 1.257—61).
In addition, the pre-chorus is almost an exact quote from the same Book. The third verse, second pre-chorus, and second chorus are based on Book 4, as Satan considers repenting but decides against it:
The lower still I fall, only supreme
In misery: Such joy ambition finds.
But say I could repent, and could obtain,
By act of grace, my former state; how soon
Would heighth recall high thoughts, how soon unsay
What feigned submission swore? (Book 4.91—6).
Again, the pre-chorus is a reference back to an exact line, this one from the narrator: “The Hell within him; for within him Hell” (Book 4.20). Finally, the bridge and last chorus are inspired by Satan’s return to Hell and becoming a serpent in Book 10.
I chose these lines because I’m fascinated by the devolution of Satan and how the reader experiences it. Because Satan is presented as the narrator in Book 1, the reader sort of expects him to be the protagonist. Obviously, this turns out not to be true, but because the shift takes place so slowly, it takes time for this realization to take place. Through this song, I wanted to show exactly how Satan starts out fallen but still hopeful and impassioned, how he loses that hope and gives up his ideas of repentance, and then how he accepts the evil within himself and falls again at the end—but in something shorter than an epic format (I’ll leave that to Milton). I felt a direct comparison of Satan’s portrayal in the beginning, middle, and end of Paradise Lostwould be interesting to explore.
In composing the tune, I decided to stick mainly with minor chords, to give the song a darker, sadder feel. I also frequently used the chord G7, which added a bit of dissonance. I had my ukulele in a lower tuning, in an attempt to give the song a more serious tone (I’m not sure whether I succeeded, considering that the ukulele is typically a very happy-sounding instrument). I had each chorus end lower than it began on in order to leave the listener—literally and figuratively—on a low note.
In writing the lyrics, I decided to remain in first person in an attempt to mimic Satan’s narration in Paradise Lost. I also tried to keep the rhyme scheme consistent between choruses, with a similar final line, in order to draw direct comparisons between his character at the beginning, middle, and end of the epic. For a similar reason, I had the pre-choruses echo one another. I tried to stay as close to Milton’s formal writing style as I could, but it was difficult to maintain while also getting the right number of syllables and fitting the rhyme scheme.
While I think this was interesting in understanding Satan as a character, I think this format took away from the reader’s experience watching him devolve. The slow nature of his transition in the epic allows the reader to realize over time that they’ve been fooled and reflect upon their “sin,” whereas here the change happens too quickly for such a reaction. However, I think this makes clearer Satan’s hypocrisy and self-centeredness. He is constantly complaining, even in song.