Sinéad O’Connor – The Lion And The Cobra

RECOMMENDATION OF THE WEEK

Sinéad O’Connor – The Lion And The Cobra

This week’s Recommendation of the Week is my favorite album by one of the greatest voices ever heard! The Lion and The Cobra by Sinéad O’Connor captures her at the beginning of her career, ready to take over the world. As one of the most powerful voices ever to appear on record, her grace, beauty, strength, and perseverance can be felt in every note, every groove, every rotation.

Sinéad has always been one of my favorites, and someone who has mesmerized me since I was 10 and first heard “Nothing Compares 2 U”. As a young kid, I was overtaken by the intensity of her singing. It took my breath away, and I will never forget the moment I first saw the video on MTV. At that young age, Sinéad was just known to me as an incredible singer. However, as I got older, I learned that she was so much more than just that. She was an iconic activist that would never be silenced despite the patriarchal system’s greatest efforts.

Throughout the late 1980s as her career was getting underway, Sinéad spoke out against the treatment of women and minorities, and showed support for the oppressed and underprivileged worldwide. She called out the English government and their brutality in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles”. She was fearless in the face of her detractors, using their criticisms and slander as fuel for her determination. She was determined to be heard and deserved absolute attention and respect.

In 1992, during her performance on SNL, she sang War by Bob Marley in a capella, silencing everyone who witnessed this important moment. She did this in protest to the sexual abuse scandal that was developing and being uncovered, involving priests and children in the Catholic church. Growing up in the Boston area, these awful crimes were becoming commonplace, and by the decade’s end, we would all witness the revealing of the magnitude. In 1992, she was educating us and asking us all to act, as much of the horror was still unknown. This was abuse that had been ongoing for decades. The Pope and church leadership buried the allegations, often resorting to force, intimidation, and even violence to silence their accusers. Upon completion of the song, she stared starkly and bravely into the camera and ripped up a picture of the Pope, while proclaiming that we all “fight the real enemy”. The was an unprecedented display of fierce courage and protest rarely seen, especially by a woman in the face of the ultimate patriarchy: the Catholic church.

In the aftermath of this monumental event, she was ridiculed, scorned, shamed, and villainized. The narrative about was that she was the face of disrespect and that she wrongfully attacked the church in a display of hatred, as she decried against this “sacred” organization. “How Dare She?”.  Here is some of the slander:

"in the case of Sinéad O'Connor, child abuse was justified" - Camille Paglia

“One Stupid Broad” – Frank Sinatra

NBC would go on to ban her from ever appearing on their network again. She was labeled every slanderous name that exists, and she was threatened with physical harm at every turn. The backlash against her was unprecedented, as it seemed almost like a united, unanimous boycott.

The moment that I find beyond disappointing and disgusting was the way SNL responded the following week, showing that the network executives were vile cowards and a vehicle of the patriarchy. Clearly, we see that they still are. In the follow up episode to her SNL appearance, Joe Pesci was the host. During his monologue to open the show, he expressed his disgust for her and showed a taped picture of the Pope, expressing his extreme rejection of Sinéad’s actions. He also added that if he had been host a week earlier, he would have “gave her such a smack”. This call for physical violence towards a woman speaking out against injustice was greeted with a standing ovation from the live audience and supported by SNL executives. It was also praised by other networks, calling SNL’s response very fitting and appropriate. 

The backlash also inspired more action in the feminist movement, and we can see that the roots of change started to take hold. At that same time, we saw the beginning of “Riot Grrl”, which would go on to inspire generations, flipping the script and flipping off the patriarchy. Hopefully, we all can be here to see the end and bang the final nail in the coffin of this disgusting, sexist system.

In the weeks that followed Sinéad's protest on live TV, the powers in the industry took aim at her career, doing their best to derail and destroy it. This was fully executed and endorsed by a patriarchal system designed to keep women voiceless. It seemed that even the public supported this, although we would see that later change.

A moment came with the Bob Dylan Tribute Concert at Madison Square Garden. It was here that Sinéad would make her greatest stance, showing the masses that she wasn’t afraid. At this concert, she exuded and exemplified courage in an act of defiance that can still be felt today.

She was asked to perform a Bob Dylan song at the concert. When she stepped on stage, she was booed but also cheered quite loudly. It seemed that she had also garnered support in her fight, despite the best efforts to erase her. In the footage of the show, you can almost see the tension building right in front of your eyes, as the volume of the clash of these two opposing sides swelled. It was palpable for sure. As her performance was ensuing, she stopped the music just as she was about to sing. She then, just as she did on SNL, broke into “War” by Bob Marley, a capella, in front of the chaotic masses. Tension continued to grow, and Sinéad stood bravely on stage in the face of their vitriol. Those who supported her cheered resoundingly. Those who opposed her wanted to destroy her. She would not back down and showed the world that she would not and she could not be silenced.This is a moment that changes you when you witness it. Each time I look back and watch footage of this moment, I am overcome with emotion. What an absolutely incredible display of power! Words can’t really describe what is witnessed in that moment, but it is nothing short of awe-inspiring heroism.

At the time of these events, I was too young to fully understand what happened. However, as the years have gone, I have come to fully embrace and revere the magnitude of her courage. The pain, ridicule, and hatred she stood in the face of was not an easy task and was quite daunting. Watching her stand for her beliefs, you can’t help feeling a sense of power, hope, and call to action. That moment on that stage… that was who Sinéad was. She always stood for what she believed in and paid the ultimate cost with her career and her peace. She was treated as if she was a deranged woman, possessed. The system wanted to bury her, ignore her, destroy her. They did their best to make this happen and succeeded in some ways. They stood in the way of the advancement of her career, making it difficult for her to record and release albums. If those albums were released, they would become very difficult to distribute through the normal channels of music releases. She was kept out of sight and mind, in hopes that we’d all forget.

We never forgot and we never will.

With the album The Lion and The Cobra, we were given the privilege of experiencing her power in what I believe is her finest work. It is an absolute masterpiece, and it shows her unbelievable voice and her songwriting. There are no bad songs here and the album feels anthemic and a pure statement of power. The best way to do this is to just put it on the turntable and feel the emotional and spiritual energy bursting out of the grooves. If not possible, then find your favorite way to listen, put on your headphones and let it overtake you. This album is an incredible experience, and I can’t recommend it enough!

In the albums since the release of The Lion And The Cobra, her debut album, we find that her activism triumphs the music. Not that she doesn’t have great songs throughout her career, as she certainly does, with her second and third albums being must-listens. It’s that she was fighting a much greater fight than pop chart dominance. She was fighting for justice in all aspects of life. She was an ally to anyone who was in search of or in support of elevating women, minorities, and sexual and gender equality. She was a remarkable human and should be remembered and honored for eternity.  Sadly, in July 2023, she passed away.

She will always be remembered and will live on in every courageous display of protest in the face of oppression. She always answered the call to action and she demanded the same. She will forever be an inspirational icon, a hero for us all.

An excerpt from A Drink Before The War:

"Somebody cut out your eyes, you refuse to see
Ah, somebody cut out your heart, you refuse to feel
And you live in a shell
You create your own hell
You live in the past and talk about war
And you dig your own grave, yeah
But it's a life you can save

… No, no, no, it won't happen to us
We've lived our lives, basically we've been good men
So stop talking of war
'Cause you know we've heard it all before
Why don't you go out there and do something useful?”

Sinéad will always make you think, make you feel, make you live.

Essential Track: “A Drink Before The War”