Josh Ritter’s “The Temptation of Adam” is a weird and beautiful love song about two strangers who fall in love while stationed inside a nuclear missile silo buried 300 feet under the ground.
The song’s bizarre setting smartly articulates what it’s like to fall in love: in certain relationships we feel cut off from the rest of humanity. We become consumed by our desire, totally captivated by our romantic counterpart, forgetful of obligations and relations. Our beloved becomes the meaning of life and the compass of the planet. And, deluded by love, we equate the end of that relationship with the end of the world.
I’m a sucker for good lyrics, and Ritter’s always make me smile:
We could hold each other close and stay up every night,
Looking up into the dark like it’s the night sky
And pretend this giant missile is an old oak tree instead
And carve our name in hearts into the warhead.
Have a listen:
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