"You've got a barb through the heart,
And slowly went under.
What an awful way to finish the summer"
The Wonder Years, Through Two Hearts
"Tonight we must do what we can for Santino, we must bury him as a Christian."
The Godfather (p. 270)
The Wonder Years' Through Two Hearts, written in honor of the late Steve Irwin, conveys the lyricist's own feelings about the Crocodile Hunter's surprising death. It actually took me a few times listening to the song before I realized it was about Irwin, and not just a girl who left. It's at times comical with lines like "And when I miss you, and I'm lonely, Steve, I just watch Crocodile Hunter" and "It seems Australians have been mangling stingrays - I guess they feel like me. 'Cause man, we really miss you, Steve" but the way the singer's voice croons over the lines betrays his honest emotion - there's reason to believe Irwin was a significant person in his life.
Another surprising death was that of Sonny Corleone. Not that it was unheard of; a lot of the people who knew him justified the murderers on account of Sonny's rash behavior. It was more the unforeseen suddenness of the murder that sent a few heads reeling. No one was emotionally prepared. Still, after the fact, barely anyone would weep or show any kind of sorrow except for one or two women. The men of the Corleone family, as is most likely the case for men of any family, were inclined to carrying on without the eldest son as if it was anticipated. Truly, they treated death as something that was inevitable - and it is, for anyone involved in a business like theirs. It's doubtful that anyone involved in Sonny's death, even third-parties, would write a song as heavyhearted as The Wonder Years', but one does not have to express sorrow in order to feel it.
Another surprising death was that of Sonny Corleone. Not that it was unheard of; a lot of the people who knew him justified the murderers on account of Sonny's rash behavior. It was more the unforeseen suddenness of the murder that sent a few heads reeling. No one was emotionally prepared. Still, after the fact, barely anyone would weep or show any kind of sorrow except for one or two women. The men of the Corleone family, as is most likely the case for men of any family, were inclined to carrying on without the eldest son as if it was anticipated. Truly, they treated death as something that was inevitable - and it is, for anyone involved in a business like theirs. It's doubtful that anyone involved in Sonny's death, even third-parties, would write a song as heavyhearted as The Wonder Years', but one does not have to express sorrow in order to feel it.
