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The Wide, Wide Land
This is such an incredibly beautiful, moving song. The whole song- from the power of the drums to the harmony vocals to all the verses add together to make this song one of a kind. But… I don’t quite get the significance of the title. Could you or even another of the fans here who get it explain it to lumpheaded me?
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14 Replies
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Hi Tim…this song was written to pay homepage /tribute to their beloved Grandma who had Alzheimer’s and had passed away. If memory serves me …I believe she was featured in their video of this song…It truly is a wonderful song….It also for me…well both the visual aspects and some of lyrics…reminds of Canada…at least that’s one of the other interpretation s that I get from song other than its true meaning…hope that was helpful for you in better understanding the origins of is particular song ????✌????????????????????
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From the description of that song:
At first this song wasn’t even meant to be on the CD. Songwriting for the album was actually finished and recording work was scheduled to start when our grandmother happened to pass away right at that time in July 2011. She had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for years and was not able to relate to our world anymore. In the end she didn’t know who anybody or anything was, she lost her speech and the ability to hold a thought. But she would always laugh and smile and, as long as she could, dance and sing. Even if she forgot the words she would still hum the melody. This was somehow inspiring and so we thought the most beautiful thing we could do for her was to write her a song. It was clear from the beginning that her tune could only have one name. She used to take long walks across the planes of our area, and every single time she would stop for a moment, look over the country and meaningfully quote Arthur Schnitzler’s tragicomedy “The wide land”. And so it went on the album as the 11th song. -
Thanks so much for the illuminating details sir! Are you Mona and Lisa’s first cousin? (I guess I should check to see if you wrote an introduction here.) I take it you live in Austria? If I just saw your surname I might guess Czech or Polish, like my last name. When I first saw “The Wide, Wide Land” on YouTube it took me a couple months to not cry some during it. It is such a beautiful tribute and so emotionally moving. I have lost both parents and my older sister, so I well know the pain and heartache. My mom had a form of dementia in home hospice her last two years. A younger sister and her family lived with and took care of her and we were able to keep her out of a nursing home.
“The Wide Wide Land” is my All-Time #3 MLT song, behind only “Count On Me” and “All About Falling In Love.” It is the #1 MLT song of my buddy Christomir Rackov from Bulgaria. He has been an MLT fan for many years and has met them at a concert, in Vienna I believe. I found them on YouTube on 4/2/16, a red-letter day in my life. Great to “meet” you here, Meloman!
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Thank you, Jacki! Do you also understand exactly how the words, “the wide, wide land” fit into the meaning of the song? I have wondered if it refers to how narrow our understanding of the inner struggles of those suffering from dementia continues to be- that her ability to continue to be compassionate and appreciative were still broad, even as her memories narrowed.
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Tim
In an interview, Lisa said their grandmother use to often say this phrase “The wide, wide, land” when they would go walking.
When my mom had dementia she enjoyed it when I took her driving through wide open farm land. Perhaps wide open scenery had a soothing affect for her, I dont know.
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Well that answers that! Thanks my J friends Jung and Jacki!
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Also…to further add …on a personal perspective.. as to why this song resonates truly with me along the lines of the MLT meaning of it…My late Dad a few months after Mom died in 1995 suffered a severe stroke…was never the same afterwards and being later in life onset type 2 diabetic and other health issues …eventually had to be put into a nursing home for the last 8 yrs of his life as he had developed a form of dementia a result of post stroke brain damage and proneness to post stroke seizures & related issues. He knew who we were but not where he was (nursing home )…what day or year and anything memorywise from 2003 til his death in 2011. My late Mom also suffered a devastating but far more severe stroke that rendered her much like a vegetable…could say Yes or No and swearwords…hum song tunes she heard off tv or radio or someone singing to her…etc…she spent her last 10yrs in longterm care hospital.. so this song really has many meanings for me????☮️????????
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That is so sad, Jacki. Its impressive how much strength and kindness resonate from you despite these horrible ordeals. If we could bottle up your toughness and give it, and all your tenderness to the rest of us- oh what a better world it would be!
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Hi Jacki
Thanks for sharing your story of your parents. It’s very tough I know when people you love dearly become afflicted with dementia. Despite their illness they suffered, I am sure the joy you gave them by being their daughter and a part of their lives far outweighed the hardships they had to face.
This song is also special to me as it reminds me of when my mom use to smile with happiness when I use to drive her through the wide open countryside after she first came down with dementia.
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Hi Tim,
Some people here have partly answered your question already but let’s see if I can elaborate a bit. When our grandma’s condition became too much for our grandpa to handle, she moved back in with us, into the home she grew up in (and that she also partly built herself – she was an architect). So she moved from the city back to the countryside, where we were living at the time.
The landscape is super flat to the east of Vienna – no hills, no valleys, very unlike the typical picture of the alps that people associate with Austria by the way 🙂 It makes the land appear endless. After a bit of an adjustment period we think grandma really loved being there again. She would go for SO many walks, literally up to 5 times a day at some points. There always was at least one nurse with her but we often joined her too.
She could walk for hours, singing, “talking” to us and the flowers and she loved meeting and petting the dogs she passed 🙂 And then she would suddenly stop in the middle of the walk, look into the distance and theatrically say “das weite, weite Land” (the wide wide land) while moving her arms to show the open scenery.
We assumed that she might be quoting the tragic comedy play by Arthur Schnitzler that we know she used to enjoy. But she might have also simply revered to what she was seeing: a lot of wide, wide land. It became more and more rare that she would speak sentences that would correctly relate to her environment so sentences like that really stuck out to us. Also she seemed very peaceful in those moments. It became a bit of a synonym to what her inner world might have looked like too. A calm but empty plain with less and less coherent thoughts.
Thank you everyone here for sharing your own family stories and tragedies. Dementia is a cruel illness, for both the person affected and their family and friends.
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A very special inspiration for the song….thanks for sharing that. We love hearing the meanings, ideas & motivations behind your songs/projects, and especially those that are about ‘family’.
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Thanks for giving us such an extraordinary insight into that song! TWWL just moved up from top 5 to #1 with that explanation. And my earlier statement that you guys make great albums but haven’t really written one incredibly wonderful song- as in a Hey Jude or Yesterday- well, forget that. With my greater understanding, I now recognize that as a lyrical masterpiece! With any luck at all, it will become the international anthem for people and their families suffering from this cruel disease.
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Well spoken Lisa… Much appreciated your perspective on this ❤️????????????????
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Thank you Lisa for sharing more about your grandmother and the additional insight into the song. Your explanation helps me to better understand why my mom enjoyed the wide open countryside and seemed to take comfort when I use to take her there. ????????❤
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