POTF – Who the fuck is Tony???
Today is November 30th and it would seem that I lost two Facebook followers in the course of the month. OMG! OMG! OMG! What should I do? Why did this happen? How can I get them back? Blah, blah, blah… Well, I am not the one asking that, in case you were wondering… I am no genius when it comes to marketing my own writing since I write for the sake of it, mostly. You could argue that I am bitter since I am starting the post with a fact which, in truth, I don’t give a *beep* about.
So, what is today’s post about? Poets of the Fall, who else… and yours truly… and life.
Fun fact about me, when I say I’ve got nothing to say this morning, it actually means that I have things to say but they might not be politically correct to let out of my head – ever. So, what do you think? Loosely put what goes through my mind right now… disappointment, annoyance, trust issues, rolling eyes, arms up in the air like “what the f***?“… no, no that is really too negative… besides, this was yesterday in my car. Today, I started with a surprising photo which made my day… not only because it made me smile, but for it made me laugh…
Who are you?
Since I last wrote on Misfit at Heart, I’ve been wondering about you guys… my readers and who you are. This is a true mystery to me because I am stunned that so many of you, in all anonymity and from all over the world, take the time to read what I write. It is a humbling fact around which I cannot wrap my head. So, thank you for that. Yet, I know that, like me, you just cannot help being curious about a very meaningful mystery: “Who the fuck is Tony???” (Credit featured picture to Prowlers of the Fall: Reloaded, used with permission).
I’ve been toying with the meaning behind the song Once Upon a Playground Rainy on another post, with the help from one of you actually, but I did not figure out who Tony is. I suppose that we were numerous enough to ask therefore reaching the band somehow with that question, since – as you can see – the featured photo says it all… did they answer it during the first show in Germany, I don’t know. This is the charm I like so much about mysteries when they are meant to remain thus. But really, who is he? A figment of Marko‘s imagination or a real person? Patience… we might get an answer yet, for now though, it seems that Marko is not willing to reveal his secret and to quote him, through Prowlers of the Fall: Reloaded, “it will remain a secret forever“… now you have it folks… but don’t despair, we should never say never after all.
Beyond the mystery
I like to see the best in people… I am human though and I can bad-mouth some people now and then, it’s called venting, but I want to believe that people don’t have an ulterior agenda when they talk to me. It is a fantasy world onto which I am clinging because life is tough enough to distrust every single person one meets. I never learn though, so what is it about me that pushes me towards the inevitable? The world is insane and I don’t like it… so I try to forget, put aside the indelible state of things, and focus on silly mysteries to wash away the weight of a world that has gone bonkers. “Who the fuck is Tony?“… he cannot be a bad person if he built a shack. I don’t know, does this make sense to any of you? Oh golly, this has become a bit morose again…
Lighten up
Laughter is the best medicine and this is how I started my day, I might as well hang on to it… There was a song playing (yes, from Poets of the Fall) which lifted my spirit as I drove home yesterday. I don’t really remember which one it was, other than it was from Clearview. I can recall the feeling though, through the tiredness of the day my heart pounded cheerfully in my chest, drawing a smile on my face. Help me out, here! Which song was it? I know… The Child in Me. Go figure… I think I do… but that will be for another post.
Don’t forget, on December 5th, World Wide Listen to Poets of the Fall Day… you’ll have some reading to do here too. Poets of the Fall Day
The post will be published on December 5th at midnight (Finnish time).
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2 Comments
Eric
Came across this while Googling the answer myself (side note: Any idea who Jeremiah Peacekeeeper is? I read once a reddit post I can’t find now the went psychotically in depth on their songs and concluded there is an imaginary puppet show that all the characters are from)
Anyway, my personal opinion is a pretty mundane, but still kinda nice one. He’s a relative or friend of the family. I think Marko though up this song while watching a niece/nephew/group of kids at a family gathering/etc playing. I think he likely either asked the people involved if he could write a song about it or maybe drafted up a rough draft on the spot and asked them for permission. And maybe they gave it on the grounds that he not talk about them and maybe even change the to-be Tony’s name. This would be perfectly reasonable in my opinion.
Anyway, I don’t have anything to base this on and I don’t know if you’ll see a comment on an 8 year old post, but I do personally like the idea that he just penned this song while watching some kids of friends/family playing. POTF is such a perfect blend of deep and simplistic.
I haven’t looked at the rest of this site, I may later. But I’ll leave you with 2 interesting tidbits. Did you know Labyrinth from Clearview was supposed to be used for Quantum Break, but there was a last minute label issue that couldn’t be resolved in time? And second, I find this very fun, there is a theme in my favorite album Temple of Thought. Something that appears in many of the songs in one way or another. Water. If you never noticed, give it another listen and count how often he references water or sailing in some way.
Claire Perez
Hi Eric,
Thank you for your comment 🤗. Yes, this is the eternal question of who Tony is, isn’t it… what has amused me around the question was that the band used it during the beginning of their tour at the time… even made a freakin’ sign 😂… “who the fuck is Tony?” To me, however, it is more of a rethorical question really 😜 It does not really matter who he is… just like the real intent behind the song isn’t THAT important… what is important is what YOU, as the listener get from it. The way Marko writes is very purpose oriented, especially since this is part of the larger picture created with all 9 studio albums. It may be that what you describe as inspiration to the song, happened that way. But I don’t think the subject of the song is just that 🙃.
Yes I knew about The Labyrinth 🤩 too bad it did not make it to the game though.
When it comes to Temple of Thought and the underlying theme of water that you mentioned, I am not sure I see/hear it, but I will give it another listen for sure 😊 as you got me curious.
Jeremiah Peacekeeper is a fictional character that Marko has created to tell his stories through… but to understand who Jeremiah is, you have to go through the lore of the trilogy of trilogies by Poets of the Fall. As all the album have been linked and woven together, through words, timelines etc. Even I don’t know all the fine lines… but I take what I get, and how I identify to it. Then I write… it does not make me more right than you or anyone else… my interpretations engage only me…
It would be cool to get the original intent right now and again, but I don’t believe Poets are creating this way. I think that they write songs in a way that is meant to cover certain subjects that matter to them and anything private they pour into the songs, we’ll never know what it is or where it is really… but it is a clever way to say something important, illustrate it with particulars that will remain vague, and in the end lift people up through the day.
But again, you should believe what you will because it is what Poets of the Fall are about ❤️.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you’ll find other interesting articles.