The Spirit of the Hawk
| The Spirit of the Hawk | |
|---|---|
| Rednex | |
| publication | February 28, 2000 |
| length | 3:57 |
| Genre (s) | Pop , dance , world music |
| Author (s) | Axel Spreading , FAF |
| Producer (s) | FAF |
| Label | Jive |
| album | … Farm Out! |
The Spirit of the Hawk is a song by Swedish Country - Dance band Rednex in 2000. The second single from her second studio album ... Farm Out! was written by Axel Behre and FAF and produced by the latter.
Music and lyrics
The Spirit of the Hawk is a Eurodance style pop song that, compared to the rest of the band's work, has no country elements, but is strongly influenced by traditional Indian music. The refrain is sung by a shamanic choir , the verses are performed by the singer Whippy . After the third chorus, a famous speech by Chief Joseph is recited by a male voice (the speaker is different in the video and album versions; the text is the same). For the rhythm of the song, both artificial, static bass drums, typical of the Eurodance genre, as well as organic, classic native American hand drums and a cuíca are used. The sound is electronic keyboard sounds worn in each case before the first verse and after the bridge is a harmonica - Solo to hear. The song ends with a fadeout as the singer repeats the last words of the speech, “fight no more”.
The song has kept a man from the perspective of the beloved content, which for the freedom and love in the war pulls. In the first stanza a scene is described in which the two stand on a large hill and (presumably metaphorically) fly away. Only in the second verse do the warlike backgrounds that lie above the relationship become clear. The excerpt from Chief Joseph's speech revolves around the fact that his tribe and himself have been weakened by the fight against the conquerors and have no more shelter and food available, which is why he decides not to fight any further. These last words, “I will fight no more”, are abbreviated by the singer at the end of the song, creating a new meaning: “Fight no more” is now to be understood as an invitation to end the war. The lyrics of the song are partly deliberately kept grammatically incorrect.
Music video
The music video begins amid a Native American tribe dancing around a fire. However, one of them sits in the group with a melancholy look. He goes into a tent and observes predictions in the smoke, in which a face appears to him while he murmurs the words of Chief Joseph thoughtfully. In the meantime, two young Indian girls are collecting feathers in a mountain landscape , which they tie under the arms of one of the two so that they symbolize wings . When the child jumps off a rock, it begins to fly and turns into a hawk , which is watched by everyone present. Suddenly a bridge to the present is built when the bird flies into a modern American city . In comparison, this seems cold-hearted and impersonal. A man in a suit and briefcase treats a beggar extremely roughly , whereupon his plastic cup filled with small change falls to the floor. When the hawk girl flies by, the people seem influenced by her aura and pause for a moment. At the end the Indian is faded in again in front of the smoke, who now sees the bird in it.
What is striking about the video is its color scheme: the scenes that take place among the indigenous people and in the mountains are kept in rich, warm colors, while those of the big city are shown in a cool and low-contrast manner. When the falcon flies past in the latter environment, the people get a much brighter color and stand out from the background.
success
Charts and chart placements
The Spirit of the Hawk was a huge commercial success in some European countries. It reached the top of the charts in Germany and Austria and made it into the top ten in Sweden and Switzerland . In Germany the song was the second most successful of the year 2000, in Austria the third most successful. In Germany it was awarded triple gold, in Austria with platinum and in Switzerland with gold.
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
|
1 (27 weeks) | 27 |
 Austria (Ö3)
|
1 (28 weeks) | 28 |
 Sweden (GLF)
|
10 (16 weeks) | 16 |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
|
3 (32 weeks) | 32 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Album credits. Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Lyrics. Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
- ↑ music video. Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Charts. Retrieved March 16, 2019 .
- ↑ German annual charts 2000. Retrieved on March 16, 2019 .
- ^ Austrian annual charts 2000. Retrieved on March 16, 2019 .
- ^ Rednex - The Spirit of the Hawk chart placement Germany. GfK Entertainment , accessed on September 22, 2019 .
- ^ Rednex - The Spirit of the Hawk chart placement Austria. In: Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien, accessed September 22, 2019 .
- ↑ Rednex - The Spirit of the Hawk chart placement Sweden. In: swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien, accessed September 22, 2019 .
- ^ Rednex - The Spirit of the Hawk chart placement Switzerland. In: Hitparade.ch. Hung Medien, accessed September 22, 2019 .