"Sheltered by Ruin" - Tenacity

written by Mathew Haeffel

vocals/guitars/bass recorded by:

Mathew Haeffel

drums/keys/percussion recorded by:

Dan Budziszewski

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"Sheltered by Ruin" is unique among the songs on Tenacity since it refers to a specific event rather than an abstract allusion.  The song is a poetic description of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 78 CE.  The historical event itself is a metaphor of the beauty and benefits that may arise even out of tragedy. 

 

The prevailing conception of the 78 CE eruption centers around the destruction of cities and a morbid fascination with the body casts that captured victims chilling final moments.  More salient however, is the beauty of the art and architecture, set against a breathtaking Mediterranean landscape, along with revelations about ancient Roman life preserved for nearly 2000 years by the same event that caused it's devastation.

 

The lyric video for "Sheltered by Ruin" uses footage of volcanoes, first dormant then increasingly active, to compliment the songs theme of the eruption of Vesuvius.  Actual footage of Mount Vesuvius, and the cities around it, appears during the instrument break before the last refrain.