Propaganda – A Secret Wish & Poe (E10)

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Synth Pop. New Wave. The mid-80’s. Germany. Trevor Horn. 

That pretty much says it all. Add in a dash of Edgar Allen Poe… and you have the full picture of Propaganda’s critically acclaimed record entitled “A Secret Wish.”

We study the lyrics of the catchy hit Duel and it’s ‘evil twin,’ Jewel. We dive into the poem A Dream within a Dream – by Edgar Allen Poe. And we talk a bit about the band and the success of this album.

My special thanks to Navé for the remarkable rendition of A Dream within a Dream in this episode!

Tracks included in order of appearance.

A Dream within a Dream

Edgar Allen Poe, 1849

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow —
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?  
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand —
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep — while I weep!
O God! Can I not grasp 
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

Additional Resources

• Edgar Allen Poe Museum
• LitChart – Dream Within a Dream
• Twice 5 Miles featuring James Navé
• Twice 5 Miles Radio (Fertile Ground: Conversations Worth Having)