Very cool song from a one hit wonder band - Hum.

Hum - Stars

[Lyrics deleted for copyright reasons. - Ed.]



Also a poem by Robert Frost.

Stars

How countlessly they congregate
O'er our tumultuous snow,
Which flows in shapes as tall as trees
When wintry winds do blow!--

As if with keeness for our fate,
Our faltering few steps on
To white rest, and a place of rest
Invisible at dawn,--

And yet with neither love nor hate,
Those starts like some snow-white
Minerva's snow-white marble eyes
Without the gift of sight.

-Robert Frost (1913)

A poem by Emily Bronte

Ah! why, because the dazzling sun
Restored our Earth to joy,
Have you departed, every one,
And left a desert sky?

All through the night, your glorious eyes
Were gazing down in mine,
And, with a full heart's thankful sighs,
I blessed that watch divine.

I was at peace, and drank your beams
As they were life to me;
And revelled in my changeful dreams,
Like petrel on the sea.

Thought followed thought, star followed star,
Through boundless regions, on;
While one sweet influence, near and far,
Thrilled through, and proved us one!

Why did the morning dawn to break
So great, so pure, a spell;
And scorch with fire the tranquil cheek,
Where your cool radiance fell?

Blood-red, he rose, and, arrow-straight,
His fierce beams struck my brow;
The soul of nature sprang, elate,
But mine sank sad and low!

My lids closed down, yet through their veil
I saw him, blazing, still,
And steep in gold the misty dale,
And flash upon the hill.

I turned me to the pillow, then,
To call back night, and see
Your worlds of solemn light, again,
Throb with my heart, and me!

It would not do--the pillow glowed,
And glowed both roof and floor;
And birds sang loudly in the wood,
And fresh winds shook the door;

The curtains waved, the wakened flies
Were murmuring round my room,
Imprisoned there, till I should rise,
And give them leave to roam.

Oh, stars, and dreams, and gentle night;
Oh, night and stars, return!
And hide me from the hostile light
That does not warm, but burn;

That drains the blood of suffering men;
Drinks tears, instead of dew;
Let me sleep through his blinding reign,
And only wake with you!


This is public domain

Stars I think they are eyes, blinking in deep somnolence to midnight nocturne. a sheet of argus spanning skies from edge to edge, soon swallowed by dawn. flames to the cold moon; celestial attendants to their marble queen. or, perhaps, seraphs emblazoned in indigo. night’s vigilantes casting mosaics onto the placid faces of silent, glass lakes. Then, like a dream, they leave no trace of their faint faint existences.

In Claude-Michel Schönberg's musical Les Misérables, "Stars" is a scene sung by Inspector Javert in soliloquy.

The exact location of the scene varies by cast and medium (because, at the time of this writeup, there have been several different casts, recasts and at least one Hollywood movie) but the sentiment is always the same: Javert sings about his intention to catch Jean Valjean at all costs:

There, out in the darkness
a fugitive running
fallen from God
fallen from grace

Javert expresses his near obsession with catching this fugitive who, in his eyes, is a criminal because he broke the law and not because of the intentions and/or consequences of his actions (see:Deontology, Consequentialism). Valjean is an agent of chaos and that is the greatest crime in Javert's eyes. In order to make his point, he refers to the stars as an (incorrect, see below) example of how the universe is somehow fixed and follows strict, unchangeable rules:

You know your place in the sky
You hold your course and your aim
And each in your season
Returns and returns
And is always the same

Thus Javert sees himself as an agent of order, who swears to bring Valjean to (his own particular view of) justice.


Pretty much every major character in Les Misérables has their own solo. For the other ones, see:


Of course, in the 21st century we know that the stars are not "fixed" in the sky, but are constantly moving along with our own sun and solar system. However, these changes are imperceptible in a single lifetime as it takes millenia to detect even the smallest movements. At this moment I'm not sure of the astronomical knowledge of the early 19th century and thus I can't say if this was even common knowledge to the layman then. It's easier to describe Javert as someone who most likely would make this comparison even if he knew about this non-fixed universe (also because it would be a lot harder to write a song using perfectly fixed physical phenomena--if they even exist)

The song comes on
Makes me think
Of you
Transports me to
Your arms
Lost in the stars
Of your intense
Blue Eyes
I have let go
Of everything
I used to know
I have fallen
To a new self
Breaking the chains
Holding me back

"I'm lost in your stars
By the light of the dark moon
Just be as you are, just do as you do
By grace and devotion
By lettin go, lettin go overything
By breath as it takes you
By the light of the dark moon
I'm lost in your stars"

- Ayla Nereo 2019

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