Upon the next stage, a spotlight is focused on a mammoth bronze sculpture of two snakes entwined. Their bodies are wrapped around each other in an intimate embrace, and their tongues touch suggestively. The deep, somber boom of a standing bass leads into a twelve-string guitar’s plaintive moan, and as the music swells, a stunning, statuesque woman steps out from behind the statue, her fierce and regal face in profile. The spotlight dims to a deep amber-red, and shines a dark, sanguine light onto her, tinting her long, wild hair the color of blood. She sings:
Sunday is gloomy, my hours are slumberless.
Dearest, the shadows I live with are numberless.
Little white flowers will never awaken you,
Not where the black coach of sorrow has taken you.
Angels have no thought of ever returning you.
Would they be angry if I thought of joining you?
Gloomy Sunday.
She turns, and abruptly faces left. Her features are coarser, more masculine, and you notice the rough, dusky shadow of an evening beard on the singer’s face. On this side, the hair is cropped short, and as s/he sighs and begins the next verse, you hear the voice deepen to a weathered, sorrowful baritone.
Gloomy is Sunday; with shadows I spend it all.
My heart and I have decided to end it all.
Soon there’ll be candles and prayers that are sad, I know.
Death is no dream, for in death I’m caressing you.
With the last breath of my soul I’ll be blessing you.
Gloomy Sunday.
The singer turns to face the audience, and your senses reel. On the left side, the features are sharp, but feminine. You can see the curve of her breast, the soft fullness of her hips, the arch of her fine brow. On the right, it is the body of an Adonis, muscular and commanding. You see that a thick seam runs down the center of the body, stitched roughly.
Though the vision is disconcerting, the warmth and passion in the singer’s voice swells inside your heart, and you are spellbound. Enraptured, you realize that though the gender is opposed on either side, one soul binds the whole.
Dark, moody, and bittersweet: black currant, patchouli, tobacco, cinnamon leaf, caramel, muguet, and red sandalwood.
skjaere –
This is one of my favorite BPAL scents. I have a 5 ml bottle which I purchased in 2007 (I have a bad habit of putting away my stash and forgetting about it), and 14 years later, the scent is as true as ever. Freshly applied, it is sharp and mildly intoxicating, with a eucalyptus note. It fades to something warm and green, with good staying power. An excellent springtime perfume. 5/5
yashendwirh –
Sharp acerbic scent in the bottle that warms up slightly on the skin and imparts a chypre-like note. Very very lovely green, light scent that’s perfect for a green-fresh spring or summer scent. I actually feel this would be a good unisex scent, but it airs on “pretty.”
obviouslightning –
On me this scent went to a darker scent fast. The Minty scent faded very quickly, leaving a lot of floral and woods behind. I love the description of this because it is exactly what it smells like, giving the idea that I was lost in a witch’s garden after I apply it
MsCharmingandAlarming –
To me this is summer in a bottle. It starts of sharp and almost cool and then it gently fades into a this almost tropical humid scent. There’s earth and green growth there. It’s almost as if they’ve bottled an oncoming summer storm in a lush garden.
Janice –
This might be my second favorite, next to Black Annis. A classic, clean scent that smells like spruce and tree sap.
Gloame –
This scent is so green! It’s a wonderful spring/summer scent with a lovely balance of new growth and the earth that growth came from. Smells like laying in a garden. I would wear when I want to feel more connected to nature and it’s sunny out.