Like that excellent Sam Mendes film, the video has much to say about the prohibition of American society. It's a beautiful image of rebirth, and perhaps the highlight of the video, as Wainwright sits on his bed American Beauty-style and red petals consume the room. After the fiery inspiration things don't just persist, they actually get better. Here the thorny plant is blooming, but the roses are only released into the world through Wainwright and his music. But the fact that this is a rose bush, and not a mere shrub, is an important distinction.Ī popular quote from that story of Moses in Exodus 3:2 is "yet it was not consumed," in reference to the persistent life of the bush. In Exodus, Moses is informed of his divine calling byway of the fire, and here the inflamed roses push Wainwright towards taking the crown. The silencing of certain groups in society, including the gay community, is in many ways the fire that ignites the burning bush. Thus the image of a silenced Gaia is entirely appropriate as Wainwright's muse - and a particularly helpful tool in understanding this video beyond its Christian context. Over time Gaia lost out to the patriarchal tendencies of society, but in early mythology she was a far more prominent figure. His latest album cover features a close-up on a sculpture of Gaia, the Greek goddess (mother earth), which is part of a larger work, "Athena Attacking the Giants," in Berlin. Wainwright has claimed no religious affiliation, but rather a general fascination with "spiritual" aspects of life. The struggle he faces may appear a bit pretentious, but the video merely matches the ambitions of the song - "I got a life to lead America." The crown on the wall actually seems to represent his inner "Jesus" - or the potential for greatness in every human being - and his ascent to the thrown is simply a recognition of responsibility to that potential.
Wainwright sits below it, studying the woven chaplet hanging from a nail, while an open book rests in front of him. But three years removed from that album, the Baptist steps into the lead role for his video "Going to a Town" - the first single from his forthcoming Release the Stars.Įsteemed director Sophie Muller wastes no time getting to that point, prominently featuring a crown of thorns in the opening sequence. Throughout that track from his fourth album, Want Two, he makes illicit jokes, takes a dig at certain strains of Christianity and references his own role in this impending revolution - as "Rufus the Baptist". On 2004's "Gay Messiah," Rufus Wainwright sings sarcastically of a "coming" savior. Rufus returns after a 3-year hiatus with a gorgeously somber song, and a brilliant Sophie Muller directed video.