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Subj: Kaspar Hauser
Date: 96-06-03 13:58:22 EDT
From: alee@sci.mus.mn.us (Ahree Lee)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv1.law.emory.edu

Hey there!

Did anyone else see the article on a new movie about the mystery of Kaspar Hauser in the Arts and Leisure section of this Sunday's New York Times? The reason I mention it is because the song "Wooden Horses" on Solitude Standing is subtitled "Caspar Hauser's Song." I never knew or could find out who Caspar Hauser was, but after reading this article I realized that this is the same guy!

For those of you who don't know about him or didn't read the article, Kaspar Hauser is a guy who mysteriously appeared in a German village at the age of about 19 or so, completely wild, unable to speak, but able to scrawl his name when given a piece of paper to write on. He was thought to be the crown prince of Germany, switched at birth with another child so that the line would die out and someone else could get the throne. There is an older film about the whole thing--I don't remember what it's called, but it's mentioned in the article--but the article was mainly about a new film that a German filmmaker is working on now (or maybe is already done? I'm writing this without the article at hand).

What I wonder and hope some of you in the group can answer, is if the details mentioned in the song "Wooden Horses" are actually part of this whole story, or were made up by Suzanne as part of the greater reality of the song. I'm referring to the lines "I came out of the darkness/ holding one thing/ a small, white wooden horse/ I'd been holding inside" and "I want to be a rider like my father/ were the only words I could say."

Also, does anyone have a clue about what Suzanne's interest in this story is, and how she got interested in it? It may be pretty minor, but I thought it would be interesting to know.

- Ahree

P.S. This is my first posting since joining the group last month--hi everyone!

Subj: Kasper? Kaspar? Caspar? Casper? Hauser
Date: 96-06-03 19:51:18 EDT
From: 75351.553@compuserve.com (Wayne Lovett)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv1.law.emory.edu (unknown)

Thanks for your most interesting posting, Ahree.

>There is an older film about the whole thing--I don't remember what it's called

*Every Man for Himself and God Against All* (directed by Werner Hertzog 1975) also known by an alternate title as *The Mystery of Kasper Hauser*

>What I wonder and hope some of you in the group can answer, is if the details
>mentioned in the song "Wooden Horses" are actually part of this whole story, or
>were made up by Suzanne as part of the greater reality of the song. I'm
referring to >the lines:
>
>I came out of the darkness/ holding one thing/ a small, white wooden horse/ I'd
>been holding inside" and "I want to be a rider like my father/ were the only
words I >could say.

(The following paragraph is part of an anonymous essay I came across on the net)

"Hertzog relies on images of animals interwoven throughout the narrative to create meaning. Herzog uses these animals to reinforce Kasper Hauser's journey from wildness to civilization. Horses are a central animal in the film. When Kasper is first introduced, he is "chained in a cavern" playing with a toy horse. Because Kasper is confined in the cellar and restrained, he in essence is an animal; He grunts and snorts. Kasper is a part of the uncivilized animal kingdom. The toy horse serves as the "archetypal symbol of loosed energy" and because Kasper is playing with it, he too becomes a symbol for wildness and uncivilization. Kasper's bond to this untamed world is reinforced as he speaks his first word, "Ross", horse."

There is a reference to Kaspar Hauser in the book * An Anthropologist on Mars * by Oliver Sacks where he compares a color-blind painter's fondness of dusk and night to that of Kaspar Hauser.

Night Vision anyone? The CD booklet for Solitude Standing says, Inspired by the poem, "Juan Gris" by Paul Eluard..........

I am relatively new to this list so apologies for repeating anything that has already been discussed.

Best wishes,
Wayne

Subj: Re: Kaspar Hauser
Date: 96-06-03 17:39:37 EDT
From: algranti@club-internet.fr (ALGRANTI JO)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@law.emory.edu

Hi, Ahree. Welcome to the list.

A few months ago, we've already talked about Kaspar Hauser, and you can find pieces of even earlier discussions about it somewhere in the Web (in the "message board" section I think). But I think that this mailing list should be a real discussion and that we shouldn't bother wondering if what we want to talk about has already been discussed.

So here's what I know, from a German movie I saw called Caspar Hauser (It was about 2 or 3 years ago, and maybe it's the one you read about) and from what I recall about last discussion: Suzanne didn't make up anything: Caspar was locked and tied in a basement, with only a little window, and he only had a small white wooden horse to play with. Then when he grew up, a man helped him out. All this time Caspar was always sat down on the floor and never talked to anyone, so when he came out, he couldn't talk nor walk. For a few days, the man who helped him out carried him on his back and had him repeat "I want to be a rider like my father" as an exercise. But it was a strange movie and I didn't understand everything. So maybe "I want..." was actually the only thing he could say when he came out. Then one strange thing about Caspar was that when you put out the light he would automatically fell asleep. I think that explains the "I know I have this power". And he's a threat to the power so there are men after him "I'm afraid I may be killed" (and he did get killed).

>What I wonder and hope some of you in the group can answer, is if the
>details mentioned in the song "Wooden Horses" are actually part of this
>whole story, or were made up by Suzanne as part of the greater reality of
>the song.

In his basement, Caspar became like a doll and you can find the same theme in "As A Child", about feeling unreal. Suzanne said in some interview that she used to look at her dolls and they seemed real to her, and then she would look at herself and she didn't.

>Also, does anyone have a clue about what Suzanne's interest in this story
>is, and how she got interested in it?

Nothing about Suzanne is minor.

>It may be pretty minor, but I thought
>it would be interesting to know.

David.

Subj: "Night Vision"
Date: 96-06-04 00:03:28 EDT
From: Unique212@aol.com
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
CC: algranti@club-internet.fr

Hi folks,

Wayne Lovett (any relation to Lyle, by any chance?!!) asked:
< by the poem, "Juan Gris" by Paul Eluard..........>>

I happened to come across the poem a while back, in the sheet music for some Francis Poulenc songs, but don't have the translation. David Algranti, or any of our French friends, would you kindly translate? Here it is. I'm using an English keyboard, so the accent marks have been left out...

Juan Gris

De jour merci
de nuit prends garde
De douceur la moitie du monde
L'autre montrait rigueur aveugle
Aux veines se lisait un present sans merci
Aux beautes des contours l'espace limite
Dimentait tous les joints des objets familiers
Table guitare et verre vide
Sur un arpent de terre pleine
De toile blanche d'air nocturne
Table devait se soutenir
Lampe rester pepin de l'ombre
Journal delaissait sa moitie
Deux fois le jour
Deux fois la nuit
De deux objets un double objet
Un seul ensemble a tout jamais

Subj: Re: Kaspar Hauser
Date: 96-06-05 20:28:52 EDT
From: chduryea@husc.harvard.edu (Christopher Duryea)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: alee@sci.mus.mn.us (Ahree Lee)
CC: undertow@serv1.law.emory.edu

>
> For those of you who don't know about him or didn't read the article,
> Kaspar Hauser is a guy who mysteriously appeared in a German village at the
> age of about 19 or so, completely wild, unable to speak, but able to scrawl
> his name when given a piece of paper to write on. He was thought to be the
> crown prince of Germany, switched at birth with another child so that the
> line would die out and someone else could get the throne. There is an older
> film about the whole thing--I don't remember what it's called, but it's
> mentioned in the article--but the article was mainly about a new film that
> a German filmmaker is working on now (or maybe is already done? I'm writing
> this without the article at hand).

The film in question was made by Werner Herzog in, I think, the 70's. I forget the exact title and year. I can only assume that this film in some way sparked SV's interest, and inpsired the song. Sorry, that's all I can think of off the top o' my head on this.

This is my first posting since joining the list, so howdy gang! Hearing lots and lots of good comments on everyone's "other" musical favorites. When I have time I'll post my own. Also--I'll post an account of my first encounter w/ SV's music. I think that could be the next contender for the group discourse.

Anyway, ttfn
chd

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