Until Olympius Returns

Until Olympius Returns
	;
Album	Songs for Pierre Chuvin
Released	April 10, 2020
Length	2:13
Previous Track	"Aulon Raid"
Next Track	"Last Gasp at Calama"

Until Olympius Returns is the second song on Songs for Pierre Chuvin. It also appears as the 20th song on the 2021 live album The Jordan Lake Sessions: Volumes 3 and 4. A version of it was released on YouTube on March 30, 2020.[1]

Lyrics[]

Go through the motions every day out in the square
Listen for the hidden rhythms on the air
Nod in agreement when the tyrant holds forth
Look for a beacon from the north

Protect yourself
Vouch for every member of the team
This is just a momentary ripple in the stream

Join in the rebuilding, sing loudly at your labor
Make friends with the new guys, be nice to your neighbor
Profess keen interest in the welfare of the state 
Taste everything they feed you, say it tastes real great

Spit it down your sleeve
Every time you get the chance
This is just a brief improvisation in the dance

Raise up the columns
Take the statues down
Praise the columns
Spread the word around town

Behold the temple where the old ones stood
Is it not a thing of beauty? Don't it make you feel good?
Is it not a big improvement on the way things used to be?
Is it not a stately beacon for the whole world to see?

We will be right here
On the day it finally burns
Everybody hold a spot until Olympius returns

Yeah!

Comments by John Darnielle About this Song[]

"feel like this new nail-spitter style jam is fairly self explanatory what with everybody writing so many songs these days about Neoplatonists and late paganism and all. Enjoy!" -- John on Twitter
"So when I’m writing ‘Until Olympius Returns,’ I’m writing a story about some people who had a teacher named Olympius who fled into North Africa and was never seen again, and they’re all talking about how great it’s going to be when he gets back. Well, I mean, that’s kind of a metaphor for a lot of things, right? It’s a metaphor for a return to normalcy, a metaphor for hoping for a leader—all kinds of things. But when I’m telling the story, I’m just telling the story that I read in Chuvin. And, if I can say so, I think one of my strengths is that my faith in stories is so strong that I don’t need to make them be more than what they are. I trust them to do that by themselves." -- 2020-04-22 Daily Bandcamp interview

Things Referenced in this Song[]

Olympius refers to a pagan leader who led a revolt against the Roman Christian destruction of temples in Alexandria, Egypt, according to writings of Sozomon. This led to a siege of the Serapeum of Alexandria^[1], which he left during the night and fled for Italy, never to return.

Live Shows this Song Was Played at[]

Songs for Pierre Chuvin
Track list: "Aulon Raid" • "Until Olympius Returns" • "Last Gasp at Calama" • "For the Snakes" • "The Wooded Hills Along the Black Sea" • "January 31, 438" • "Hopeful Assassins of Zeno" • "Their Gods Do Not Have Surgeons" • "Going to Lebanon 2" • "Exegetic Chains"