New Music: SAOL – Fool’s Gold

The emotional impact of some songs can live on for years. For me, Tell Me Why by Bronski Beat and Ghost Town by The Specials had a formative influence on my political outlook that lasts to this very day.

I’d like to think that Fools’ Gold by SAOL might have a similar impact on young Irish people, especially with the country having too many high-profile politicians and media influencers foolishly willing to take real gold from organisations that pose a real threat to the country.

But Fool’s Gold also needs to work as a song to succeed in getting its message across – and for me, it does just that. I imagine many of us who have been vulnerable to bigotry and hate can see and hear ourselves in the lyrics. But as empowering as the song is, we’re not its real audience.

SAOL looks to folk and rock – and Ireland’s long tradition of using both to communicate activism on a mass level – to speak from the heart to those who put hate first.

The artist made a passionate and persuasive case for the track on her Instagram account. “At its core, it’s about challenging hate, specifically about an experience that afforded me an opportunity to dig deeper and understand where hate really comes from. I don’t believe we are born to hate.”

“Hatred is learned, often instilled by the boyos at the top. For them, hatred offers safety, a perfect vessel to direct the disillusionment of the people away from where it should actually go.”

“Hatred is heavily subsidised by governments, heads of state, by the powerful, wealthy, by the market profiteers, by the parasites who sit at the top of our societies, preening themselves as they study and glean every aspect of human behaviour, watching our every move, both in the real and virtual worlds, commodifying the human disposition, our psychology, our physiology, our spirituality, and every component of our essence in order to continue lining their pockets and widening the equality gap. All the while, inciting more hate…”

‘Not enough jobs? Blame your foreign neighbour for coming here and taking one that could have been yours!’ ‘Taxes too high? Blame people who are homeless!’ ‘Concerned for women’s safety? Point the finger at trans people.’

“If we take the bait and buy into these utterly warped narratives, they continue laughing up their sleeves, and we hurt each other more and more. Hatred comes in handy when it seeps into the fabric of our society, dividing us, weakening us, and making us easier to control. Stand together! Push back. United we stand. Divided, we fall.”

Fool’s Gold can be streamed on Spotify and SoundCloud. To keep in the loop with SAOL, follow the artist on Instagram.

Header photo by Myriam Riand