A girl sitting on the other side of the pool lowered her book, took off her sunglasses and looked at me. She was so extraordinarily beautiful that I nearly laughed out loud. She was unquestioningly gorgeous. She was a dark unyielding largess. She was, in short, too bloody much. — Richard Burton describing Elizabeth Taylor

Oy gevalt! — Elizabeth Taylor describing Richard Burton

Some breakups drag on for years, wallowing in the Doldrums of Despair like Edward Albee’s George and Martha, the participants praying for any random breeze to nudge them towards a Tropic; any Tropic will do as long as it isn’t here. Other couples fall apart at the first flutter of sails.

Cleopatra read the hieroglyphics on the pyramid wall and exited stage right, dumping the incipient loser before being forced to dip her oars in the bitter waters of Defeat. But history has been kind to the Queen of Denial, painting her life as a romantic tragedy, unlike Eddie Fisher who was labeled a Major Asphole for getting downwind of Tammy.

With ‘Antony,’ Nolan George describes a relationship in which a single soul’s subtraction bypasses I, reducing II unto nulla, the numeral zero being a non-entity in the numbering system of the day. And though it is easier to beg forgiveness from the safety of Egypt than on the deck of a sinking ship, our singer confesses that her world is nothing without her Colossus who sought to rule the Ancient World, one foot in Rome and the other in Alexandria.

Antony
Will you forgive me?
I turned the sail
That blew Fortune out to the sea

Antony
Pray come back to me
As true the Nile
There is no Egypt without thee

‘Antony’ is a beautiful theme song, the climax of our Shakespearean restaging, the singers trading vocals from opposite parapets separated by a stage softly illuminated by blue filtered Fresnels invoking the Mediterranean. The track opens quietly, then adds gentle layers before retreating over the horizon, the lights and a flute’s voice fading together.

Nolan George is an indie rock-folk project based in Rhode Island. ‘Antony’ is the title track from their new ten-song album. The collection is an exploration of places both modern and ancient, laced through with questions of nature, relationships, and the nature of relationships.

The music of Nolan George is available on Bandcamp, Spotify, and Apple Music. And be sure to follow Nolan George on Instagram.