Seasons & Narcissus — Bastille Lyrics

The song "Seasons & Narcissus" is inspired by Ovid's epic poem "Metamorphoses." Echo, cursed by the Goddess Hera to repeat words, becomes infatuated with Narcissus but fails to win his love. As a result, he rejects her, but her infatuation intensifies. Out of anger, Echo's fellow nymphs pray to Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, to punish Narcissus for rejecting Echo. Nemesis curses Narcissus to fall in love with his reflection, enchanted by his own image in a pool of water. Enchanted by his own image, Narcissus wastes away and dies. Grief-stricken, Echo repeats after Narcissus once more when he's wavering the farewell to his reflection, going into hiding and wastes away until her death. For both Echo and Narcissus, love becomes madness, obsession, and infatuation, a curse that drives them ultimately to their deaths. The artist chose to visually represent Narcissus in his self-image obsessed craziness, using a scene from Dario Argento's "Opera" film. The look and feel of the video were inspired by the brightness and colors of the film, as well as the madness in the desire to be wilfully lost in nature. The final video was shot with a brilliant team of people on a cloudy and temperamental day in July at a modernist boathouse in the countryside just outside London. The artist's other hand was sat out of shot in a bowl of ice on his lap.

Song Details and Analysis

• Album: "&" (Ampersand)
• Producers: Mark Crew & Dan Smith
• Release Date: July 26, 2024
• Genre: Pop
• Tags: UK Pop

Exploring the meaning of "Seasons & Narcissus" by Bastille

Overview of Themes

Seasons & Narcissus is a playful yet introspective exploration of self-love, vanity, and the ephemeral nature of relationships. Inspired by the myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with his reflection, the song delves into a romance that borders on self-obsession, echoing Narcissus's mythical tale. Bastille’s Dan Smith blends the changing seasons with Narcissus's tale to illustrate love's evolution from infatuation to something deeper or self-destructive. Through this lens, the song questions if love is ever truly "real" or simply a projection of one's desires.