Avalanche
"Avalanche" is the first song off of Act II of The Smashing Pumpkins' 2023 rock opera, ATUM. The child's voice at the beginning is Billy Corgan's daughter, Philomena Clementine, saying "I hope someday we'll find out what happiness means," followed by a computerized voice repeating the line. It is the first time she's appeared on a studio recording. Corgan said he didn't want his daughter to later in life feel jealous that her brother, Augustus Juppiter, appeared on a studio recording ("Wyttch" from CYR) when she did not.[1]
Corgan described the songwriting process for "Avalanche" to be very frustrating. Unlike most of his songs, "Avalanche" features a triple chorus that descends rather than leading to an crescendo. This made him unsure of the song's potential, and he ultimately rewrote it roughly five times before engineer Howard Willing convinced him that it should be kept.[1]
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
(performed by Osirah, then Ruby)
By this time, Osirah and Nighthawk have left the Dream Dream amusement park with Ruby the robot and are in a field of sunflowers. They're preparing to do a live broadcast of whatever message from Shiny is stored on the hard drive that's plugged into Ruby, hoping it will eventually go viral. As dawn breaks, Nighthawk is setting up the background for the live stream, as Osirah stares out over the field of sunflowers singing "Avalanche." Ruby (who is now in part Shiny's consciousness) notices Osirah and joins in on the song as a duet, singing of their "mutual circumstance." For the first time, Osirah feels an emotional connection to Shiny, only it is through Ruby the robot.[1]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
Don't get me wrong
This a'int so hard
Youth arms my shield
As wish does charge
Don't get me wrong
I aim desires
I aim these qualms
As if they'd journey where you are
We'll set 'em on fire
We'll set 'em on trial, for laughs
To arc right back where you are
Oh, dopplegang
Gee, love kids strange
As odd as achin' on
This cybernaut in chains
It looks like a dream
But feels like a fright
To lay on his beams
To sail on the night
We'll prey on his authors
And stamp out their kind, but slowly
Don't get me wrong
This dirge subsides
As fate augers us
By hint, and by slight
I aim these zeroes
I aim their mark
To fear these angels on the march
We'll set 'em on fire
We'll set 'em on trial, for lark
To reach right back where you are
But you don't feel
Where real meets real
Where souls stand rich enough
To challenge what's revealed
It looks like a dream
But feels like a fright
To lay on his beams
And sail on the night
We'll beg on assassins
To rub out their kind, but slowly
Don't get me wrong
Availability
| Title | Notes | Type |
|---|---|---|
| ATUM | Act II | Studio |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Corgan, Billy. "Avalanche (with Austin idol)". Thirty-Three (Podcast). Retrieved December 27, 2022.
External links[edit | edit source]
- "Avalanche" at SPFC