I chose a verse from the song “Thistle & Weeds” by the

band Mumford and Sons. Throughout this song, there is an

overall feel of breaking down, which is produced by the

constant crescendo leading up to the powerful lyrics “I will

hold on, I will hold on hope.” It feels as if the lead singer

is constantly being broken down by drought, but he is still

holding on hope to keep living. Throughout the song, he is

prompting the sky to open up and give him something to live

for with the words “Rain down, rain down on me.” Although the

song refers to plants, I also thought that it pertained to

other various items that could be broken down. I did take some

more literal photographs because I felt that they captured the

feel of the song the best, however some of the photographs are

of random objects. Nonetheless, all of the photographs

represent something that has become damaged due to drought or

disuse making the objects appear more feeble. I also shot most

of them from a high angle, to make them seem weak and

powerless, except, of course, for the last shot which is

representing the rebirth of life. I shot this from a close

up/low angle to make the object appear more important and

strong in the face of all the drought and decay surrounding

it.

“But plant your hope with good seeds

Don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds

Rain down, rain down on me

Look over your hills and be still

The sky above us shoots to kill

Rain down, rain down on me

But I will hold on,

I will hold on hope”

The visual aesthetic that I felt pertained to this song was

that of Dorothea Lange, whose photographs during the Great

Depression were all black and white, showing the breakdown of

society and all different types of people in our country. I

felt that her style of photography matched the feel of this

song because this song is a bit depressing but also makes the

listener feel for the object that is being broken down. Just

like you can see the emptiness in the faces of the people

Lange photographed, you can feel the emptiness and despair in

the voice of the singer, throughout this song.

Migrant Mother-Dorothea Lange