Wandering an Endless Road

Most often, I've seen these songs described as two equally unrealistic, unhealthy views of Esmeralda, which both objectify and dehumanize her, one as an angel and the other as a demon, conveying that neither Quasimodo nor Frollo belongs with her. As I've said many times, there's a kernel of truth in this, but I think the fandom grossly overemphasizes it and applies false equivalence to Quasimodo and Frollo.

But I think some of the differences between the two songs, which contrast Quasimodo with Frollo, deserve more attention.

In "Heaven's Light," Quasimodo never mentions Esmeralda's beauty. He only describes the warmth and affection she showed him; how she smiled at him and kissed his cheek. He doesn't sing about wanting to possess her, but about her feelings: "I dare to dream that she might even care for me." He doesn't even express hope that she loves him romantically, just that she cares for him – which she does. So he's not obsessed with a fantasy of her, but loves her for the warm, feeling person she is.

In "Hellfire," Frollo fixates on Esmeralda's physical appearance – her dancing, her smoldering eyes, her raven hair. And he doesn't give a single thought to her feelings or her point of view, only his own tortured desire for her. He doesn't even sing of wanting her to love him, only of wanting her to "be his." To him, she's just a sexy object that he's determined to either possess or destroy.

Baby Kookaburra

Just like the anti-Vietnam War protest songs that we associate with the 1960s, or the early nihilism that spawned punk music in the 1970s. But he didn’t *sound* like a punk anarchist; he sounded like a country rock singer. When he released Born in the U.S.A. people completely misinterpreted (or possibly ignored) the lyrics in favor of the tone of the music.

Politicians used his music to promote their ‘Murica Yes! brand, and he had to literally explain that that was not what he was about. He’s over here asking when we’re going to have jobs and heathcare, not stanning the politicians who weren’t helping the people.

It was also kind of a big deal that he had an integrated band, because even as late as the 1980s music was still kind of segregated and MTV was straight up racist. They refused to play and promote black artists and then claimed that were no black artists in the first place. Michael Jackson’s record company had to threaten a boycott of their white artists to get MTV to play his Thriller video.

Plus, the first black/white interracial kiss on TV was in 1968 (OG Star Trek). Also it took us until the 70s to get sympathetic gay characters on screen, and the 90s to get gay characters to kiss onscreen. And all of those firsts were met with outrage.

So keep that in mind when you see Bruce Springsteen not just playing with an interracial band, but engaging in an interracial, gay kiss on stage repeatedly.

https://www.gq.com/story/this-fucked-me-up-bruce-springsteen-singing-about-clarence-clemons

It was a story where… we remade the city. We remade the city, shaping it into the kind of place where our friendship and our love for one another wouldn’t have been such an exceptional thing. - Bruce Springsteen

It wasn’t about showmanship or rejecting bigots or anything it was just. Damn right that was one of the loves of his life and damn right he was going to kiss him onstage

It gets me a little that Bruce has had a divorce, that he’s been married twice, but he loved Clarence for the rest of Clarence’s life and will presumably love him the rest of his own

Clemons said in one interview. “Bruce and I looked at each other and didn’t say anything, we just knew. We knew we were the missing links in each other’s lives. He was what I’d been searching for.” In another version of the story, Clemons says “He looked at me, and I looked at him, and we fell in love.”

I’m having some emotions about it!

“He was elemental in my life,“ Springsteen adds, “and losing him was like losing the rain.”

Not just! I love you pure and deep and true but! I am going to love you like that in front of the whole damn world!

We have fewer narratives about taking risks and making statements for platonic love rather than romantic and supposedly it would be easier to downplay this onstage than romance and! They refused! They fucking refused! In front of hundreds of thousands of people, over the course of years! In the spotlight, in word and deed, I love you!

I mean, will you LOOK at this:

This was the pic chosen for the album cover from an extensive photoshoot, too. A few others: