Pompeii

Jasmine Thompson's rendition of 'Pompeii' is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of loss, resilience, and the human tendency to seek solace in denial. The song's title and recurring imagery of a city in ruins evoke the ancient city of Pompeii, which was famously destroyed by a volcanic eruption. This metaphor serves as a powerful backdrop for the lyrics, which delve into the emotional aftermath of a personal or collective catastrophe.

The opening lines, 'I was left to my own devices / Many days fell away with nothing to show,' set a tone of isolation and stagnation. The protagonist feels abandoned and aimless, as if time has passed without any meaningful progress. This sense of inertia is compounded by the imagery of 'walls tumbling down' and 'great clouds roll[ing] over the hills,' symbolizing the collapse of a once-stable environment and the encroaching darkness that follows.

The chorus poses a poignant question: 'But if you close your eyes / Does it almost feel like / Nothing changed at all?' This line captures the human desire to escape reality by retreating into a state of denial. By closing their eyes, the protagonist attempts to momentarily forget the devastation around them. However, the repeated question, 'How am I gonna be an optimist about this?' underscores the difficulty of maintaining hope in the face of overwhelming despair.

The song also touches on themes of guilt and responsibility, as seen in the lines, 'Oh where do we begin? / The rubble or our sins?' This suggests an internal struggle to reconcile with past actions and their consequences. Ultimately, 'Pompeii' is a poignant reflection on the challenges of coping with loss and the fragile nature of optimism in the aftermath of disaster.