![]() ![]() In his article ‘Warren Zevon’s The Wind and Ecclesiastes: Searching for Meaning at the Threshold of Death’ (2006) Browning Helsel approaches the album as a work of life review, in which the songwriter is contemplating on his ‘dirty life and times’¹, self-critiquing, making amends and coming face to face with the inevitable, all to eventually give meaning to his existence. During my research, I came across two particularly interesting approaches to ‘The Wind’, one by hospice chaplain and scholar Philip Browning Helsel (2006), and another by music critic and author Steven Hyden (2018). Somewhere between noticing the knowledge opportunity and the similarity of my personal situation, I became deeply invested in studying Zevon’s last surge of inspiration and potentially adding a small piece towards understanding this death provoked creative impetus. Doing so, he indulged fans and scholars, granting us unprecedented access to one’s final creative journey. Zevon, a life-long provocateur, surprised audiences by sharing the news of his diagnosis on national TV and shooting an hour-long documentary following the recording process of the album. We usually learn about it after the artist’s passing and thus it’s impossible to understand the creative intentions and the creator’s motivation behind its making. ![]() The making of a swan song is a mysterious endeavor, a subject to which ‘others’ have very limited access. A year prior, he was diagnosed with a terminal form of lung cancer and decided to pledge his remaining time in the writing and recording of his final album. The infamous Chicago-born songwriter enjoyed a long career, spanning from the late 1960’s until his death in September 2003. In April 2021, and while preparing to deal with the painful imminent loss of a terminally diagnosed loved one, I was writing a musicology essay on Warren Zevon’s 12th studio album, ‘The Wind’. ![]()
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