3. Hard edit into Friday Night/Workshop from TSS (rebuilding after the fire - I've always been a firm believer that this was part of The Elements. Friday Night just sounds so earthy and bluesy to me) [EARTH]
http://www.sendspace.com/file/w54zckI agree with you on this. The long slow low notes have that inert quality just scream out "earth" to me. Lately I've been thinking that the "rebuilding after the fire" is actually the land, once leveled by fire, slowly coming back to life. The tools are symbolic of the earth's rebuilding process, not to be solely interpreted as someone's building construction project. If you accept this theory, then "I Wanna be Around/Friday Night" makes perfect sense as the earth section of The Elements. Aside from that hunch, maybe the title itself is a clue in the form of a pun (Smile humor?)- I Wanna Be A-"round", as in the Earth is round. In the context of new life springing forth from the ground, "Friday Night" could be a Bible reference, Friday night signifying the end of the Sixth Day of Creation:
" Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." GENESIS 1:27-31
I structure 'The Elements' as:
Air (Fire Intro)- because it features all those whistles. Air creates and fuels the fire- fire can't exist without it.
Fire- The flame has become a terrifying destructive forest fire.
Water- (Water Chant) A prayer for rain (From the natives or maybe from the Earth spirits?)
(Love To Say Dada) Starts with a rain dance (maybe?)- At first the rain comes down haltingly a few drops at a time until it
becomes a steady rainfall. The rain of course will be needed to bring forth new life from the earth.
Earth- (I Wanna Be Around/Friday Night) Over time signs of life start to grow from the ground as the earth rebuilds itself on the
scorched land. The vegetation will create life-giving oxygen for the air, and so the cycle of life goes on.
My theory is that within this structure, maybe BW's "The Elements" was intended as a rather abstract story that reflects on nature and the cycle of life that binds the world together. You could also see this cycle of life theme as being a parallel of the Child Is Father of the Man idea, wherein life is passed down from one generation to the next. The Creation could also be interpreted as the theme of "The Old Master Painter", so perhaps there's a cross-thematic reference to think about there as well.