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The Dutch Widows - Hold Fast His Name

from Songs for World Book Day by Various FAWM artists

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This artist FAWMs as @thedutchwidows

This song is based on the book ‘Hamnet’ by Maggie O’Farrell, the imagined story of the life of William Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet. It is about grief and a father’s attempt to bring his son back to life in a play for the theatre. It was written for Round 2 of the SpinTunes17 competition, for the prompt “What Were They Thinking?: Retell a work of fiction (book, movie, play, etc.) from the perspective of a minor or supporting character.”

The book is told from the points of view of Hamnet himself and Anne Hathaway (his mother) recast as Agnes (the name used in her father’s will; pronounced An-yiss at the time). William Shakespeare is largely absent from the book, and is never named; he is just husband, father, latin tutor, embryonic playwright and living far away in London.

Only three facts are known about Hamnet – his baptism date, the fact he was a twin, and the date of his death aged 11. The book suggests that the play Hamlet (a name used interchangeably with Hamnet at that time) was Shakespeare’s attempt to bring his son back to life as a way to process grief. The scenes where Hamlet talks to his father’s ghost are re-imagined as Shakespeare seeking to lay down his own life so that his son may live; father and son swap places and the father is the ghost, the son reborn. It is all told from Agnes’ point of view, watching in the crowd. If it were true, it would be a remarkable memorial to his son; one of the most famous and long-lived plays in the world. His name lives on.

The song is written from the point of view of Wiliam Shakespeare, a minor character in the book, despite overshadowing everything in it. It is an inner monologue/conversation with both wife (verses) and son (choruses). The middle eight is an impotent howl, using words from the ghost scene in Hamlet itself (although not necessarily in the right order!).

lyrics

Agnes I’m crushed and I tried to reach out to you 
I’ve swapped us around, so you need not live always in pain 
[It’s morally right that I face this alone tonight] 

I’ve offered my life in exchange for the portrait I’ve framed 
[A beautiful image, a living and breathing portrayal] 

Hold fast his name 

You’ll never fade from collective unconsciousness, 
Memories are fixed to the page 
You were the best and I fear for the rest of us, reflecting my rage 

Agnes I’m lost and I’m helpless and mewling 
I thrust myself back through a gap in the spiritual plane 
[He walks and he talks again, feeling himself again] 

I’ve captured his face and I cast him alive on the stage 
[Grief is alarming but it’s always disarming to fade] 

Hold fast his name 

You’ll never fade from collective unconsciousness, 
Memories are fixed to the page 
You were the best and I fear for the rest of us, reflecting my rage 

Hold my heart, lift me up 
Memory’s all alone 
Wipe away with fond recall 
The youth has grown not old 

You’ll never fade from collective unconsciousness, 
Memories are fixed to the page 
You were the best and I fear for the rest of us, reflecting my rage

credits

from Songs for World Book Day, released April 21, 2021

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FabFourteen is a site for FAWM compilations. FAWM org (February Album Writing Month) is a songwriters' community that meets annually for the challenge of writing 14 songs in 28 days.

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