Hundreds of teens dressed in their best emo attire crowd into a dimly lit Sioux Falls exhibit hall. A room much too large for this function. The stage is set with lights of every color, amps, guitars, pianos, drums, microphones, and a variety of instruments that look like they don’t belong at an indie rock concert. The house lights go off and the stage lights burn brighter causing the crowd to hush. Finally he and his band emerge from the partition meant to act as a backstage. The crowd screams and yells as Conor Oberst, the lead singer and song writer for Bright Eyes, steps toward the microphone.


This Omaha native has racked up a number of fans across the nation with his cryptic lyrics and shaky voice. These trademarks have awarded him the title of the next Bob Dylan. He has spoken out about politics, religion, love, heartbreak, drug use, and depression; taking a radical stance on almost everything. Oberst presents his arguments in a poetic, metaphorical way forcing his audience to really think about the lyrics. Though Oberst has many thought provoking songs and videos, one music video in particular grabbed my interest, Four Winds.

In the video, Oberst is shown with his band performing a concert. The video is in black and white giving it an old, simple feel. The concert is held in a tent for what appears to be a patriotic celebration based on the decoration. The band is dressed in suits. They’re trying to make a good impression on the audience. The crowd is made up of many different types of people; cowboys are standing next to skin heads. This is the general population, those causing civilization to fall. Partway through the song, the crowd gets upset. They don’t want to hear about the fall of civilization; more importantly, they don’t want to hear they are a part of the downfall. Oberst appears to be nervous but he continues, he wants to make his point heard. The crowd begins to throw garbage, and popcorn. As the music swells during the repeated line “she breaks”, the amount of trash being thrown increases until the violin solo. The lights go down when Oberst talks about himself and what he did to make peace with it all. Everything begins to slow down during this reflection, almost as if it’s a dream. Again, at the end of the song when the music swells and “she breaks, she caves” is being sung the garbage increases until the song finishes and the band rushes off stage.

The song is basically about the fall of civilization as we know it. The first stanza is saying many have died trying to protect our social class system. The second, talks about a Mexican girl painted with fifteen cans of spray paint. This symbolizes our nation reaching maturity as fifteen is the age where a Mexican girl reaches womanhood. “She’s standing in the ashes at the end of the world/ Four winds blowing through her hair”, four winds is a reference to Ezekiel 37 where God blows the four winds into dead bones and they come to life. Meaning the four winds are bringing about a rejuvenation. The chorus is saying that when our country is gone (great Satan or whore of Babylon, which are what some countries call us) civilization won’t be able to continue and we’ll fall.

The third stanza says that major religious writings (Bible, Torah, Qu‘ran) have their handicaps and if we forget about them we’ll be better off. Yet, Ivy League schools continue to study them. The fourth stanza is saying that as our civilization unravels countries don’t matter, it will cross “property lines”. The fifth stanza is referencing a Yeats poem called The Second Coming which states, “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?”. Oberst is saying that when mankind falls a new age will come. Also, our hearts have been filled with the “empty space” our morality, or lack there of, has created and we break.


The sixth stanza shows Oberst’s search for meaning. He travels to Cassadaga, Florida (a city of psychics and mediums) to speak to a medium who says he better be ready for the end. In the seventh, Oberst heads to South Dakota where the Lakota Indians were massacred on their way to Omaha. Also, some Native Americans believe that the Black Hills are the spiritual center of the world. He stands his ground and makes his peace and is ready for the end of civilization. “Four winds leveling the pines” means changes are already occurring. Oberst finishes out the song with the chorus, stressing the lines “she breaks, she caves” to really drive his point home.

Oberst is making a strong argument for his case. The song’s lyrics portray the world to be a completely messed up place and that it’s been that way for years. He references the Bible and the Yeats poem to give his argument support and credibility. He uses black and white which is thought of as being old, genuine, authentic. The band itself and the Saddle Creek recording label give the video and song credibility. He even likens himself to the prophet Ezekiel, he’s bringing a message to the world.

Most of this text is using logos to sway the audience. He makes a point to say how people have died to protect what we have; yet it doesn’t make a difference because civilization has basically been crumbling upon itself since it started. The video also rationalizes that even though the downfall is imminent, we don’t want to hear it; therefore, nothing will be done about it and civilization will continue to whither away. He also alludes to the Bible’s predictions of the end of the world and of civilization.

Oberst also uses pathos. When he uses words like, “great Satan”, and, “whore of Babylon”, to describe our country, he gets his listeners to feel upset or possibly the immorality he is trying to convey. When he uses lines like, “she breaks”, we feel bad for the little Mexican girl (civilization) and want to ease her burden. The line “it’s knocking over fences crossing property lines/ four winds cry until it comes” makes the audience feel scared and intimidated by the fast approaching disaster Oberst says will occur.

Pathos is definitely the strongest appeal used in the entire text. It jumps out quickly whereas the audience has to interpret the core meaning of the song to even be aware of the logos and ethos. He gets the audience to feel sorry for him while the crowd throws garbage at him and shows us his emotions to what is happening. Through the passion in Oberst’s voice, people feel what he feels whether they think the same way or not.

A major flaw in Oberst’s argument is that he uses so many metaphors that the audience has a hard time deciphering what he’s trying to say. At first listen, the song sounds like a bunch of double talk. To get at the argument one has to listen to it over and over again. That’s a bit ineffective especially if the audience only has the opportunity to hear it once.

Ultimately the argument is ineffective because of the difficulty of understanding it. Maybe that’s why he’s not big on the pop charts or rather not on them at all. However, once the meaning is spelled out Oberst’s argument becomes much stronger.