“Hudson” by Vampire Weekend
The Speaker begins by recounting the story of Henry Hudson, a sea explorer who was mutinied and left adrift on James Bay. The Speaker goes on to address the inability of humans to escape the realities of history or an apocalyptic event.
In the subsequent verses, the writer talks about loyalty as well as the crimes perpetrated against Native Americans. The chorus captures the central idea of the track which is mainly about certain overambitious leaders including Columbus, Hitler, Machiavelli, Nietzsche, among others who justified all sorts of means in order to carry out their visions.
Released on May 14, 2013, this track was produced by Rostam and Ariel Rechtshaid. It’s composition was done by Ezra Koenig. Vampire Weekend included it as the eleventh track on their 2013 album titled “Modern Vampires of the City”.
Who was Henry Hudson?
Henry Hudson was a famous English navigator and sea explorer. He has been credited for discovering present-day Canada and other northeastern parts of the United States in the 17th Century. His quest to find an alternate route to Asia led to the discovery of these lands.
In 1609, he made a stop in North America for a group of trading companies known as Dutch East India Company. The strait which lies between Nunavik and Baffin Island, was named after him (Hudson Strait) after he became the first European to spot it. In 1611, he, together with his son and seven other crew members drifted from their original team which led to their disappearance and death.
