Who is the Mysterious Musician of Mariánské údolí – the Marian Valley in Líšeň? An icy cold winter in Brno, at the start of the New Year, is the ideal time to speculate about a red-hot, existential love story, and perhaps even solve the mystery of the musician’s identity.
So where does this love story appear, in a valley famous for its pastoral peacefulness, and serene lakeside rambles?
The story is hand written, with permanent white markers, on a series of metal electricity poles. The 7-part narrative develops as you walk up a little hill from the parking area.
Each part requires some searching. It is not easily visible to every stroller, although its placement along the path seems to indicate that the writer intends, and needs for it to be read. Sometimes you have to walk partially around the pole to read the full message.
The words are often written in close proximity to other signage on the poles. These include the iconic blue and white Czech hiking trail markers, some painted calligraphic graffiti, and number-punched metal plaques which circle the poles like bracelets.
The love story incorporates and modifies lyrics from philosophers and famous rock and punk musicians.
1st Message:
“Should we feel guilty? I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t happy where I was. What is life without a purpose? What is purpose without love?”
Three questions. Zero answers.
A google search reveals that these lyrics come from the song Sad Prayers for Guilty Parties, by the post-hardcore punk band La Dispute. It is about an adulterous relationship, and its damaging consequences.
In the song, the next lines are “I pray my children will forgive me, though I bade the river flood.”
The band’s name – La Dispute – comes from an 18th century French comedy considering whether men or women are capable of being the most faithful.
2nd Message:
“Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings always.”
This is part of a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche. The second part of the quote is “…always darker, emptier and simpler.” The writer/quotationist clearly feels empathy for Nietzsche, and gratitude for his validation of the primacy of emotions and passion over rationality.
3rd Message:
“Byla to nejlepší
Volba přes
Všechnu tu bolest”
An imperfect translation could be:
“She was the best
Choice of all
And the most painful.”
Or –
“She was the best choice
Regardless of all the troubles.”
Why is this the only message written in Czech? Is the writer an expat? Is the person they fell in love with Czech? The phrasing seems to indicate a non-native speaker. Is it a homage to their loved one to write a message in their home language?
4th Message:
“There is a melody in everything. I am trying to find it but nothing seems to work, nothing fits.”
The first sentence is a quotation from rock musician Carlos Santana. The full quote is “There’s a melody in everything. And once you find the melody, then you connect immediately with the heart.”
However, the rest of the quote comes from a song called Harder Harmonies by La Dispute.
Unlike Santana’s artistic exultation, there is a sense of intense artistic frustration.
The full La Dispute quote is
“There’s a melody in everything
I’m trying to find a harmony but
Nothing seems to work
Nothing seems to fit.”
“Nothing fits” evokes a sense of mismatched puzzle pieces, or faulty structures – something tangibly awkward and viscerally painful.
5th Message:
“I was your chance to feel complete.”
This line comes from the song Damaged Goods by La Dispute. A woman says it to a man who is in the process of getting over a broken relationship.
However, he replies,
“How could I risk holding your heart in me
While still in love with her?”
You were wrong.”
No rebound relationship is desired.
Or does the writer/quotationist use the quote out of context, to say that they were their opportunity to feel complete, that they were perfectly complementary?
6th Message:
“Do not trust anybody.”
Does this also come from a famous song, or is it life-learnt scepticism? It does not seem to feature in any La Dispute song.
7th Message:
“We are the warriors.”
This line comes from the song Warriors by the band Imagine Dragons. It is used as a theme song for the game League of Legends. The second line of the song continues “That built this town from dust.”
Is the quotationist a Líšeň resident? Are they associated with the growth of the town in some way? Or are they simply an avid gamer?
Is Warriors the Mariánské údolí musician’s slogan for survival?
Did the couple meet in this valley? Or was the serene landscape cathartic for the writer? Was it so beautiful that it allowed for the contemplation of sorrow and loss without total emotional collapse? Was it because in this landscape natural, decay becomes an intrinsic part of the beauty?
Did the musician finally compose something? And why write with permanent marker instead of something thicker, more enduring? And why choose electricity poles as the parchment?
And why, as the year begins does it seem so downright frustrating not to know all the answers?
How long ago was it written? Who were the couple? Why do the messages climb the hill? Why did the writer embed their words in the other widely ranging signage community?
What was the final outcome? Was the loved one someone who ultimately inspired a musical tour de force, like Beatrice inspired Dante?
Did the ultimately unrequited love find an outlet in creativity, or despair?
“We are the warriors” suggests a battle-tested and resilient survivor.
Was it only on completing the uphill climb, and having attained a higher physical perspective, that the artist was able to come to terms with the emotional pain, and achieve some acceptance, serenity and wry stoicism?
The band La Dispute performed in the Czech Republic in June last year. In an interview in September, the songwriter for La Dispute – Jordan Dreyer – mentions that Prague is his favourite city to visit. It is intriguing to speculate that the writer in neighbouring Brno’s Mariánské údolí is none other than the songwriter himself, or someone connected to the band.
His management company did not reply to an emailed query.
Dreyer has explained in interviews that his lyrics are a collection of stories he has heard together with some personal experiences. So even if he is the writer, the quotes are far more likely to be a creative form of alternative marketing than a semi-autobiographical summary.
Is the writer simply an ardent La Dispute fan – and perhaps also a musician? Do they select and improvise the lyrics as a kind of shorthand for a very personal emotional journey?
Who is the mysterious musician of Mariánské údolí, and why are these fragmented notes so moving and beguiling?
