“In the dark times/ will there also be singing? / Yes, there will also be singing. / About the dark times.”
First published in 1939 by the poet, writer, philosopher, and playwright, Bertolt Brecht, these beautiful verses are widely quoted. Brecht, a vehement and outspoken anti-Nazi, was exiled from his native Germany, his assets frozen, never to see most friends and family members again.
His words are often quoted as a depiction of art and song as sources of release, reprieve, and even entertainment in dark days. However, Brecht believed that song, his metaphor for the human longing for art, connection, and beauty, was more than escape or relief, but a source of strength, companionship, meaningfulness, story-telling, and even defiance against the most difficult of circumstances.
The Last of Us, episode three, epitomizes the sheer sense of agency that comes from mindfully creating music/art/ritual/beauty/companionship in the worst of times. It reflects simultaneously the yearning to love and be loved and the ultimate middle finger to adverse circumstances.