With Ado I Do
"With Ado I Do" is the fifth song of Act I of The Smashing Pumpkins' 2023 rock opera, ATUM. The song is purposefully meant to sound "muted" and somewhat bland, as was the intention of the Shiny character in the story of ATUM. As Billy Corgan described it, "it's a pretty song, but it's not meant to be too shiny."[1]
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
(performed by Shiny, but per aged recording)
In the last song, "Embracer", June sent a "digital message in a bottle" on some futuristic message board from her spacecraft to Earth, telling the world that Shiny has taken "The March of Life". Only those who knew Shiny and his music from decades ago would be able to make sense of the message.
Back on Earth, a woman named Osirah who is a member of a hacker group called 'Hopus Dei', along with her friend Nighthawk, are discussing the message and its meaning. Nighthawk suggests they ask an older "stoner hacker dude" known as Dr. Aesh about it. He hears it and instantly recognizes who it is about, and tells the others about the musician Shiny who was exiled into space. Although he acknowledges he wasn't ever a fan of Shiny's music, he produces an old demo tape of his music. "With Ado I Do" is the song on the demo tape, containing Shiny's cryptic message to the world of his experiences just before he left the planet 20 years beforehand.
As explained earlier in the story, when Shiny was exiled into space, he was irreversibly digitally erased from all of Earth, so Osirah and Nighthawk have no means to find more information about Shiny now that they know that is what the mysterious message is about. Osirah listens to the demo tape provided by Dr. Aesh and was unable to make any sense of it. What she doesn't realize is this was Shiny's last ever recording, and it contains a hidden message. Shiny intentionally made the song sound bland so as to not attract the same attention he would have received back in those days of fame.
Osirah, now curious who Shiny is, shares the song online and asks others to interpret it. However as soon as she posts it, it is instantly removed. Believing it to be some sort of computer malfunction, she attempts again, only to see it again removed. It becomes obvious there's some sort of artificial intelligence or automation shielding the world from hearing Shiny's music.
As a hacker, Osirah brings the song to the crystal web and asks the same question, this time noting it was suppressed on the normal internet. As the crystal web doesn't have the same moderation, the song remains online and quickly attracts replies from people all around the world. The people say they remember Shiny and were huge fans of his music. Osirah then replies to June via the message board, not realizing it's a message being sent to space, simply saying "people care."[1]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
eye encircles eye
with chimes that peal of midnight
if done is done
what have we won of midnight?
a wheel's rewind
our lowly tribes
where time slays old allies
and love 'tis crime
yes, love slum as i
to all that was vaunted
all we'd ever sought
hear, god
the prayers of your unwashed
we're lonely where you're lost
hear, friends
this moment spells the end
where serpents wind their wend
hear god, how this ends
with steps apace
i disappear, untraced
this moment heralds break
of a shape and shame
and faced, right head on
is life eternal
in a light you just can't watch
hear, god
the prayers of our facade
we're watched and only watched
hear god, how this ends
hear, friends
this moment's end i lend
from here i'm 'round the bend
hear god, how this ends
Availability
| Title | Notes | Type |
|---|---|---|
| ATUM | Act I | Studio |
External links[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Corgan, Billy. "With Ado I Do (with Willow Smith)". iHeartPodcasts. Retrieved October 11, 2022.