Unthought Known

Ed at the Global Citizens festival, Sept 26th, 2015:
"Just so happens, four or five years back, between about four, five in the morning, in a room overlooking Central Park right over there in that corner (points), I was still awake at four in the morning. I saw the most beautiful evening sky over Central Park. The streets were empty, the stars were out which was very rare... I'd never seen it... and then, I should have been getting some sleep, but I started scribbling lyrics. It felt like you couldn't walk out of there, I couldn't go to sleep because there was magic happening in front of me. And then I got to see the sunrise over this beautiful part of this great city. When I woke up in the morning, I thought it was going to be a bunch of scribble (which it was) but I was actually able to record a bit of it, and then it was kinda nice to play it back. It wasn't the *worst* thing I'd ever done... It could never capture what I saw that night, but to have the opportunity to play it from the middle of the thing that inspired it, is something I would have never anticipated."

Now. This is cool in and of itself. But if you look up what the term "Unthought Known" means, here's what you find.

"Unthought known is a phrase coined by Christopher Bollas in the 1980s to represent those experiences in some way known to the individual, but about which s/he is unable to think.
At its most compelling, the unthought known stands for those early schema for interpreting the object world that preconsciously determine our subsequent life expectations.[1] "

And then it hit me. Ed grew up in the Chicago area, as did I. There is a HUGE bias in that area against New York. It's not even something you think about, you just accept it.

The song is (in part) about coming to terms with our preconceptions, and realizing that they may be wrong after all, and it's okay to change your opinions, with the specific context of Ed realizing that NYC isn't the shitty nightmare he'd been lead to believe growing up.
"So now, I drink wine." - Milwaukee, WI 10/20/14
"How fortunate were we that we were born in Chicago..." - Rosemont, IL 5/14/15
"The irony is that maybe someday they'll find exactly that... maybe that's a good thing." - Rosemont, IL 5/15/15
"[Unthought Known] wasn't the *worst* thing I'd ever done..." Central Park, NYC 9/26/15
"Cómo se dice 'really high'?" - Mexico City, DF 11/28/15

Comments

  • justamjustam Posts: 21,410
    I was really happy to hear that story about unthought known because I had always found it a rather confusing song. Now I know it's not a song with a mixed mood/message.
    &&&&&&&&&&&&&&
  • ldent42ldent42 Posts: 7,859
    I loved hearing that story cuz I've always really liked that song. I've defended it on here I think. So it's nice to know there's a connection there lol
    NYC 06/24/08-Auckland 11/27/09-Chch 11/29/09-Newark 05/18/10-Atlanta 09/22/12-Chicago 07/19/13-Brooklyn 10/18/13 & 10/19/13-Hartford 10/25/13-Baltimore 10/27/13-Auckland 1/17/14-GC 1/19/14-Melbourne 1/24/14-Sydney 1/26/14-Amsterdam 6/16/14 & 6/17/14-Milan 6/20/14-Berlin 6/26/14-Leeds 7/8/14-Milton Keynes 7/11/14-St. Louis 10/3/14-NYC 9/26/15
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  • ozgurkdozgurkd Posts: 434
    I always found those lyrics magically beautiful. Sometimes even just a word or maybe even a sigh gets you and you weave your own story, perhaps one that would change the next time you hear those lyrics, or the word. I think after seeing northern lights, and this many times now, anything that makes me fly out of the earth and look at it and the universe makes me feel good. Whenever I see the aurora, I feel we are in those spheres which sprinkle snow when you turn them upside down. As if someone will any minute turn us upside down and I will embrace my smallness with smile. Anyway, I think I really love this song, so thanks Eddie...
    Living is no laughing matter: you must live with great seriousness like a squirrel for example - I mean without looking for something beyond and above living, I mean living must be your whole occupation.
    Nazım Hikmet
  • I thought unthought known was the highlight of their set at the global citizen festival. I really heard that song in a different light that night that I never had before.
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  • Versus13Versus13 Posts: 193
    Wow, that is an awesome story. I have been to New York once and fell in love with the city. It is sweet to think that Eddie came up with such a beautiful song in such a beautiful city. Unthought Known is a powerful song and i always wondered what the lyrics were about. There are some brilliant lyrics in this song and it is cool to hear how they came about. It also makes me want to go back to New York City!!!! :)
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  • Versus13Versus13 Posts: 193
    Global Citizen Festival 2015 has got to be the best version of this song that I have ever heard!!!!!
    Pittsburgh, PA 10/11/13
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