AMORE Last Maria on Earth (2023)
Imagine waking up one morning to find yourself alone in the world. What would you do? No clue, right? María Moreno aka AMORE from Madrid has an idea. She would make her bed, refine her taste, talk loudly about her problems and kick the air. At least that's what she sings in her fabulous song “Last Maria on Earth” (our song today).
Lyrically, the song can be attributed to the so-called Dying Earth genre. The genre does not have its origins, as one might assume, in antiquity and/or the first apocalyptic stories, but the beginning of the 19th century. In fact, it differs from the apocalypse subgenre by focusing not on catastrophic destruction but on the gradual entropic exhaustion of earth. As a result, it is often described as more “melancholic.”
The genre emerged from the Romantic era, notably through Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville's novel Le Dernier Homme (The Last Man), which was published in 1805. The book narrates the tale of Omegarus, the son of the King of Europe and the last child born. The initial edition sold poorly and received no attention from critics. It was only with the second edition in 1811 that the book became a hit. Grainville did not live to see either edition; he committed suicide shortly before the first publication.
Despite its theme, AMORE's song has neither a melancholic nor tragic feel. The instrumental conveys a paradisiacal and alien quality, complemented by vocals that exude a serene, motherly tone, evoking anything but an apocalyptic mood. Rather, you could feel like you're waking up on another, peaceful, lush planet with three moons and rainbow bridges crossing emerald oceans.
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