Sinead O'Connor and Clones
In case you haven't heard, Sinead O'Connor passed away yesterday, at the age of 56. I literally stopped my car when I heard the news. I have loved O'Connor's music for many years, and have been heartbroken to hear about her battles with mental illness and other tragedies that have filled her life. May she rest in peace.
There's plenty of punk singing, pop music from her, but where she truly shone was traditional Irish singing, especially sean-nos, where her voice is both ethereal and full of unyielding pain.
Where do clones from Star Wars fit in here, you ask?
When O'Connor delved into sean-nos, it was not romantic Rather, it followed the pain of many who left or were taken form their homes to serve in war, and have tried to find their ways home or remember what they could beforehand.
While writing about the clones (and the Belters) in Far Past the Ring, I listen to that album a lot.
This is one of my favorites, The Moorlough Shore, and the lyrics remind me so much of many of the clones in Star Wars. One could argue that it seems like it was written by someone who loved a member of the GAR, who left or died in battle:
"And he was my only joy And ever since I saw his face I have loved that soldier boy"
The whole album is full of whispers and cries, with many of them having ties to the history of soldiers, colonialism, and missing loved ones. O'Connor was a fierce critic of authority, and for her fans, we loved that Celtic Valkyrie for that.
I do not know if O'Connor ever watched TCW or TBB, but I would have loved to hear her opinion on the shows. Of orphaned men of color who were aged too early, thrown into battle, their rights taken away, and their memories and lives forgotten by the universe that they served.
So many have opined about the last scene of TCW, and about Vader/Ashoka, but to me, the heart of the show is this helmet, and this shot. The clones were humans that were stripped down into tools and subsequently treated the same way.
And as I listen to O'Connor's music in her memory, I wish she would have made a sean-nos song about this scene, about these fictional people, these soldiers who were not meant to be human, but who lived, loved, and died for others.
RIP, Sinead. Your voice continues.
