Pagan Poetry
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"Pagan Poetry" is a song recorded by Icelandic singer
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
for her fourth studio album '' Vespertine'' (2001). It was released as the second single from the album on 5 November 2001, by
One Little Indian Records One Little Independent Records (formerly One Little Indian Records) is an English independent record label. It was set up in 1985 by members of various anarcho-punk bands, and managed by former Flux of Pink Indians bassist Derek Birkett. In t ...
. It was a moderate commercial success, the single peaked at #38 in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and #15 in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.


Lyrics and recording

The song's lyrics, written by
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
, describe the parallels of sexual pleasure and emotional fulfillment found in romantic relationships, both of which are important to her. She recognizes the conflict between the two, wanting both a physically satisfying and faithful relationship while being wary as she is unsure if they can both be obtained. By the end of the track, she realizes the love she has for her partner, wanting to commit to him fully. "Pagan Poetry"’s content also features many metaphors, with the concept of ''pagan poetry'' itself representing the emotional complexity of the subject. Björk had always wanted to work with
music box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...
es, but was waiting for the right occasion. Until then, she had been collecting them and wanted to write her own songs in them. According to her, the music box company were not very excited in the beginning. "They'd made wooden boxes for eons and I wanted see-through plexiglass. They couldn't get their head round it - they were like 'Why?' They wanted to make the plonky sound softer with wood but I wanted it as hard as possible, like it was frozen. In the end, they said it was the best thing they'd ever done". Björk then featured the music box into the song's composition. The song is written and recorded in C sharp minor.


Critical reception

Heather Phares of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
said of "Pagan Poetry" that it "shares a spacious serenity with the album's quietest moments" and included this song as a track pick, while ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' wrote that in the song, Björk "deploys the implied heaven of Zeena Parkins harp and a flotilla of music boxes with an Asian-teahouse touch." ''
Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...
'' stated that "'Pagan Poetry' sounds like the prelude to a particularly exotic sexual interlude," and Saul Campbell from ''7'' magazine called the track "terrifying" and an album standout. In March 2006, on the Spanish edition of ''Rolling Stone'', "Pagan Poetry" was ranked #38 by Spanish music professionals and experts on a list of the best songs of the 21st century. ''
Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...
'' placed the song at #227 on its list of "The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s."


Music video

The accompanying
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
for "Pagan Poetry" was directed by Nick Knight, who had previously photographed the cover image for her third studio album ''
Homogenic ''Homogenic'' is the third studio album by Icelandic recording artist Björk. It was released on 22 September 1997 by One Little Indian Records. Produced by Björk, Mark Bell (British musician), Mark Bell, Guy Sigsworth, Howie B, and Markus Dra ...
'' (1997). The video is described as being about "a woman preparing herself for marriage and for her lover". It features highly blurry and stylized images of explicit sex from Björk's personal footage, including
fellatio Fellatio (also known as fellation, and in slang as blowjob, BJ, giving head, or sucking off) is an oral sex act consisting of the stimulation of a human penis, penis by using the mouth. Oral stimulation of the scrotum may also be termed ''fellat ...
and
ejaculation Ejaculation is the discharge of semen (the ''ejaculate''; normally containing sperm) from the penis through the urethra. It is the final stage and natural objective of male sexual stimulation, and an essential component of natural conception. ...
, and images of large needles sewing pearls to skin. The second half of the video features Björk in a dress designed by
Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen (brand), Alexander McQueen label in 1992 and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His ac ...
. The upper portion of the dress consists of pearls piercing her skin, which is shown throughout the first half. The video ends with a shot of a Corset piercing. The video had three stages of shooting: A video-shoot of piercings, a private video-shoot handled by Björk, and a film-shoot of Björk. The piercings video and film-shoot were done in a day in June 2001 in Knight's studio in London. The studio gave a "northlight" look and had a rawness to it that matched the subject matter, photography director Simon Chaudoir said. Five young women who were into subculture and piercings were cast for the video. Knight directed Chaudoir to shoot the piercings by and getting as physically near as he could while maintaining a close, macro focus on a wide-angle lens. "It was one of the most difficult things I've ever filmed because I felt I was on the verge of throwing up. I liked to actually only watch it by the video monitor rather than with my eyes as it were because it was just too much", Chaudoir said. Björk also pierced her own ear at the shoot, but all other piercings were the cast girls'. Tired of music videos which featured the singer looking to the camera and lip-synching throughout, Chaudoir suggested having Björk lip-synch and look into the camera only for some of the last lines. He also suggested using a track so they could move closer to her as she sings these lines or move closer before she sings them—"so it's like a reveal of her". There was no script, so some improvisation made it to the final cut. Blue-screening and CGI work were not involved, "Basically what I was asked to do and what I thought I'd be able to do is more or less there. It would have benefited from being simplified down to a much more bold and direct visualization of what she was trying to do. I think we were too subtle in that", Knight said. The video was banned by
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
in the United States, but was eventually shown in unedited form on
MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, through PMN’s MTV Entertainment Group Subdivision. The channel launched initially as an all-music ...
in a presentation of the "20 Most Controversial Music Videos". The music video was placed sixth on the "20 Of The Most Controversial Music Videos Ever" list by ''NME'', which described it as "scarier than her dead swan dress or when she punched that photographer". It was also included on the list by ''Rolling Stone'', "The 15 Most NSFW Music Videos of All Time", and was considered by ''Slant'' the sixth best music video by Björk. The dress was shown in Björk's MoMA retrospective in 2015. It was sold as part of Kerry Taylor Auctions "Passion for Fashion" sale in London, in June 2016.


Live performances

In 2001, Björk performed "Pagan Poetry" on the ''
Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'' with a Greenland women's choir, harpist, and electronica duo
Matmos Matmos is an experimental electronic music duo formed in San Francisco and based in Baltimore. M. C. (Martin) Schmidt and Drew Daniel are the core members, but they frequently include other artists on their records and in their performances no ...
.


Track listing

UK CD1 and Australian CD single # "Pagan Poetry" (video edit) # "Pagan Poetry" (
Matthew Herbert Matthew Herbert (born in 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, Wishmountain, and DJ Empty, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. ...
Handshake Mix) # "Aurora" (
Opiate An opiate is an alkaloid substance derived from opium (or poppy straw). It differs from the similar term ''opioid'' in that the latter is used to designate all substances, both natural and synthetic, that bind to opioid receptors in the brain ( ...
version) UK CD2 and Japanese CD single # "Pagan Poetry" (album version) – 5:17 # "Domestica" – 3:25 # "Batabid" – 2:26 UK DVD single # "Pagan Poetry" (video) # "Pagan Poetry" (Matthew Herbert Handshake Mix) # "Aurora" (Opiate version) European CD single # "Pagan Poetry" (video edit) # "Pagan Poetry" (Matthew Herbert Handshake Mix)


Charts


Year-end charts


Release history


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links


"Pagan Poetry" webpage
on bjork.com
Uncensored video
on showstudio.com
The Light of Love – The making of the Pagan Poetry video
on bjork.com {{Authority control 2001 singles 2001 songs Björk songs Music video controversies One Little Independent Records singles Polydor Records singles Song recordings produced by Björk Songs written by Björk