You All Everybody

I hesitate to put in my two cents on Lost since several people have already weighed in with very well thought out analyses of the final episode and the entire series for that matter, but an idea has been itching my brain since the finale on Sunday. What if the key to the entire series is: You all everybody?

You All Everybody was the one hit of Charlie Pace’s band Drive Shaft. In the first few episodes, he would sing it, annoyingly at times, in hopes that someone would recognize him. I know I’m going to hear about this, but I never really cared for Charlie, and although his final moments were heroic and sad, I was a bit relieved season three that he was the one sacrificed; it was only Charlie. Now, I think that perhaps I had underestimated his importance. I wish now that I had paid more attention to his character because I think he had some important things to tell us about the deeper meaning of the show.

I now believe that perhaps Charlie served the same purpose on the show as the Court Jester did in a Shakespearean drama–he was the truth teller. There were several times when Charlie put in his thoughts to whatever plot the Lostaways were planning, and often times, Charlie’s assessment of the situation was dead on. I would be remiss not to mention his final sacrifice being all about telling the truth. His final words weren’t, “Tell Claire I love her,” or “Take care of Aaron.” They were to tell Desmond the truth so he could warn the rest of the group, “Not Penny’s Boat.”

After the Oceanic 6 were rescued, it is Charlie who appears to Hurley, the Ultimate Protector, and prods him into action that eventually leads to his final destiny. Charlie tells Hurley, “They need you.” On the surface, Charlie’s words seems to mean that the survivors left on the island need Hurley to return to help them. However, in relationship to the finale, Charlie could have been speaking of the entire world, if the island does in fact maintain the balance between good and evil.

While Desmond is the Seer of the series, it took Charlie in the Sideways world to once again show Desmond the truth, to awaken him. Then Desmond fulfills his role by awakening or putting events into action that eventually awakened the other Lostaways.

What about that annoying You All Everybody song? Embarrassingly, until I wrote this post and researched the lyrics, I thought the name of the song was We Are Everybody. The song (see below for the lyrics) could be a description of the progression of Charlie’s character. (Actually, it could describe the progression of all the characters to some extent.) He was the drug addicted, one-hit wonder who was at rock-bottom when the plane crashed. He even thought that of himself. However, by the end, he was initially the one trying to clue the other’s in on the “message.” The final lyric of the song before the last repetition of the refrain states, “And will you get the message now? When I cross my heart and shout it out damn loud?” Could this statement also be a reference to his final act as he drowns?

I could be wrong about all of this. The only thing I’m really sure that I’m right about is that I underestimated Charlie and his role on Lost. Oh well, I’ve just given myself a good reason to go back to the beginning and watch it all over again.

You All Everybody:
Rock and roll, man

I walk around my town
Watch the people come and go
I watch them up and down
And I see what they don’t know
They have given up on me
I can see it in their eyes
Well, I have given up on you
And I think you should realize

You all, everybody
You all, everybody
I don’t like you stupid people
Wearing expensive clothes
You all everybody
You all, everybody

You all everybody

I know you see what I have been
And compare with what I am
But I don’t care now what you’ve seen
I’m just doing what I can
You say you’ve given up on me
And you say it like I should care
Well I have given up on you
And no, I don’t want to “share”

Chorus

You all everybody

And will you get the message now?
When I cross my heart and shout it out damn loud?

Chorus

You all everybody
Yeah, you all everybody

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/d/driveshaft/#share

1 Comment

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  By Matthew, May 27, 2010 @ 7:28 pm

  You should submit this to NPR!

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