Nate Smith, performing as Saint Pacific, channels the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan in his new single and video, ‘Carl Jung’, which was released on August 4.
The track is from his upcoming album, ‘Blue’, and is accompanied by a lyric video, whose visuals were created by Ixchel Marina.
Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung founded analytical psychology, a generalised method of investigating archetypes and the unconscious, as well as into a specialised psychotherapy. How does this relate to Saint Pacific’s song? Well it’s simple really, and it’s found in the opening lines of the first verse:
Carl Jung says, there’s a place we go / full of shadows we somehow know / Says it’s a dreamland we sometimes see / like an old fashioned movie show
The song goes on about dreams of past loves, and the idea that the happy memories are best to remain in the past; that it’s better that they don’t meet again – given the singer keeps mementos of the person in a box, it makes sense that he doesn’t want to meet up again, and risk the possibility of the good times not happening again.
With a vocal that is equal parts Springsteen, Petty, and Dylan, yet at the same time 100% all Saint Pacific’s own, they’re sad, drawn out, and melancholy, set against a sweet country melody. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, country music and Jungian analysis, but perhaps all country songs owe a debt to Jung, with their heartrending tales of loves lost, never to be found again.
The lyric video for ‘Carl Jung’ is very dreamlike, opening with winged eyes flying across a misty sky, followed by a hot air balloon. The balloon is the linking feature of the clip, turning up over and over – symbolic of the singer not being able to let go of the past – no matter how often the scenery changes, the balloon is still there. The winged eyes make a return too, reminding us that it’s a dream rather than a memory, and perhaps also letting us know that not everything we can think of is real.
‘Carl Yung’ is out now, and you can watch the lyric video below.
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