Short Video Idea - 'The Pan Within', The Waterboys
A significant song for me through my life has been ‘The Pan Within’ by The Waterboys. I always envisaged a video in my head when listening to the song. One day whilst driving on a four hour journey home from Liverpool I was thinking through my project. This track came on and I had a lightbulb moment - I could use this as a soundtrack for a short video clip to portray my project. The lyrics lent themselves to my purpose.
“Come with me on a journey beneath the skin’
This was inviting the listener to come on this exploration to go to deeper levels than the visible outer shell. So not looking at the colour of skin but peeling that layer away to the hidden treasures beneath. It could mean that under that skin we are all the same. It could mean that we are more than what is visible on the surface level. For me I related this line to my project and meaning the journey when meeting someone new to you. When you talk and move deeper and deeper into the person’s being as learn more about them and peel away the layers to get to the core of who the person is, and how they were formed through their layers of life journey to where they are now.
“We will look together For the Pan within”
For my project I am inviting people from diverse communities to participate in my workshops/interventions. The purpose of these interventions is to “look together for the pan within’ - to jointly explore the food, culture and stories that they hold using the process that I have devised. I felt the word Pan was appropriate being a cooking equipment. I wondered what the word actually meant in the song?
In an interview with Mike Scott I learnt that:
Mike Scott: Pan is one of the Greek gods of course. He’s the god of wild places, of wild creatures. He also has a lusty animal side to him. And we all have a bit of Pan inside us. Because Pan is also the word for 'all'. So Pan is inside all. Pan is an archetypal life-force, personified as this Greek god with the legs of a goat and the torso of a man and the horns on the head. And we all have that life force in us. So we all have Pan inside. So the Pan within is that part of us that is that archetypal founding life force.
When I read the paragraph I feel that the message is that we all have shared elements inside us despite the outer shell being different. That we all have a mixture of elements that shape our form. ‘He’s the god of wild places, of wild creatures’ - To me wild means the exciting unknown that has not been normalised. It is exactly this that I am trying to unearth through my interventions. I am trying to find each individuals ‘exciting unknown’ story. I am using the topic of food the help peel away the layers to reveal this.
“Close your eyes. Breathe slow we'll begin”
I imagine this as that moment when you are just about to start my workshop/intervention. You just need to close your eyes, take a deep breath and launch yourself into the journey. By closing your eyes methphorically you are allowing me to guide you through an unknown landscape. Slowing the breathe to release anxieties and relax into it. Then begin the guided journey of sharing through food, culture and storytelling.
“Swing your hips. Loose your head and let it spin“
I would hope that when well into the session that you would be incredibly relaxed. That the rhythm would allow you metaphorically, to release yourself and dance to the beat of the self exploration.
“Put your face to my window. Breathe a night full of treasure,
The wind is delicious, Sweet and wild with the promise of pleasure”
By allowing yourself to enter my window, my workshop becomes an open space amongst the woods where you can have the space to breathe, reflect, learn and share. With hopefully the journey providing understanding and validation.
“The stars are alive
And nights like these
Were born to be
Sanctified by you and me
Lovers thieves fools and pretenders”
Given the right environment and moment we can have the space to allow ourselves this moment - not for others but for the love of yourself. To share your story. We have all been Lovers, thieves, fools, and pretenders. some of these elements may be the story that the workshop uncovers.
“And all we gotta do is surrender”
By surrendering to my journey you are throwing off the chains and releasing yourself to be open to discover your “Pan within”.
The Pan Within
Come with me
On a journey beneath the skin
Come with me
On a journey under the skin
We will look together
For the Pan within
Close your eyes
Breathe slow we'll begin
Close your eyes
Breathe slow we'll begin
To look together
For the Pan within
Swing your hips
Loose your head and let it spin
Swing your hips
Loose your head and let it spin
And we will look together for the Pain within
Close your eyes
Breathe slow we'll begin
Close your eyes
Breathe slow we'll begin
To look together
For the Pain within
Put your face to my window
Breathe a night full of treasure
The wind is delicious
Sweet and wild with the promise of pleasure
The stars are alive
And nights like these
Were born to be
Sanctified by you and me
Lovers thieves fools and pretenders
And all we gotta do is surrender
Come with me on a journey
Under the skin
Come with me on a journey under the skin
And we will look together
For the Pain within
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Michael Scott
The Pan Within lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc