Somewhere In The Jungle (Dragontown, 2001)

Dragontown, Alice’s 22nd studio album, was released in 2001.  It’s a continuation of the themes found on the previous LP, Brutal Planet – a Brutal Planet part two, so to speak. According to Alice, “Dragontown describes the worst town on Brutal Planet.”

The place and characters are metaphors of real-world problems and issues, but they can also serve as a representation of Hell and those that inhabit the dark abyss. In this wasteland, Alice Cooper is the tour guide.

“So Alice is the narrator; Alice is the tour guide of this place. Of course, it’s a place that he would know about; I think he includes himself in all of this. But I think the biggest misconception of this album is that it’s political. It’s not about politics. Politics is secondary. It’s about morals, which is something that everybody has to deal with. Politics, I hate. I don’t even deal with politics in my life. If I have to, I do. But morals, I have to deal with every day.” – Alice Cooper

Brutal Planet and Dragontown force the listener to acknowledge the darker side of humanity. The album exposes the enemy’s tools and speaks of his influence on us all.

The songs on this record are hard-hitting and require the listener to question and think a little deeper about the meaning of life. The LP focuses on many aspects of what makes humanity “tick” – the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of this world.

Interestingly enough, with today being September 11th, we observe an event that haunts the United States. A terrorist act of violence and hate perpetrated by foreign radicals hellbent on destroying the nation and its economy. With this act, the word “foreign” is often used to describe our enemy.

However, our enemy transcends geography. Our enemy is NOT foreign or domestic – he is the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). He twists and distorts the thoughts and minds of ALL humanity – not just those foreign to our homeland. Actions that promote violence, crime, and lawlessness are NOT righteous ones.

This week’s post focuses on “Somewhere in the Jungle,” the sixth track on Dragontown. Multiple writeups and articles have compared this song to Guns ‘n Roses’ “Welcome To The Jungle,” and it’s evident there’s an urban survival connotation laced within the lyrics. However, “Somewhere in the Jungle” takes this premise much deeper and more primal.

There it stands way up high
A million bodies piled to the sky
Arms and legs, feet and hands
Impossible to understand

Countless heads, ears, and eyes
Never hear, never cry
Tribal chants, tribal war
Tribal death, tribal gore

And the scavengers are feeding
‘Cause the killing fields are bleeding (the rivers will flow with blood)
Not a single soul is breathing
‘Cause the Serengetti’s bleedin’ (the mothers gonna cry)
Listen somewhere in the jungle
You can hear the devil laughing
Somewhere

African genocide
Brother kill brother, side by side
Wild animals show their teeth
And run away in disbelief

The song compares life in the city, “the jungle,” to tribal warfare. From the lyrics, we can decipher confusion, disbelief, and unspeakable violence found on the streets of Dragontown. So gruesome that even wild animals “run away in disbelief.”

But there are two lines in this song that stand out like a sore thumb:

”Listen somewhere in the jungle;
you can hear the devil laughing.”

As our cities burn, and multiple accounts of violent unrest play out, it’s as if the enemy is orchestrating this narrative. It’s “impossible to understand.” Torching, looting, and rioting are disruptive acts – behaviors that solve nothing and only create more division (all while the enemy gloats as society deteriorates).

Understand the premise of this post; we are NOT taking sides in this discussion. Like Alice, we HATE politics and will not go there. This post is about morals and the proper way to voice concerns. The methods and focus of a movement and forum must match the narrative. Multiple wrongs DO NOT make things right.

“Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:15

This discussion is NOT an easy one. Discrimination, injustice, iniquity, and sorrow are the ways of this world. The “jungles” of humanity, whether urban or rural, are entwined with savage acts committed by and against a plurality of God’s creation, yet it’s our reaction to such things that define us.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect; therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. – Matthew 5:43-48

Perhaps, Rev. Martin Luther King’s “Loving Your Enemies,” sermon delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in 1957, is one place to find such a reaction. It seems King would often use his experiences to divulge what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:43-48. King, imaginably more than the average man, did his best to not only preach but practice those words.

We would implore you to listen to and read the words of that sermon. But the following excerpt is where our focus for this post rests.

“The Greek language comes out with another word for love. It is the word agape, and agape is more than eros. Agape is more than philia. Agape is something of the understanding, creative, redemptive goodwill for all men. It is a love that seeks nothing in return.

And this is what Jesus means, I think, in this very passage when he says, “Love your enemy.” And it’s significant that he does not say, “Like your enemy.” Like is a sentimental something, an affectionate something. There are a lot of people that I find it difficult to like. I don’t like what they do to me. I don’t like what they say about me and other people. I don’t like their attitudes. I don’t like some of the things they’re doing. I don’t like them. But Jesus says love them. And love is greater than like. Love is understanding, redemptive goodwill for all men, so that you love everybody, because God loves them. You refuse to do anything that will defeat an individual, because you have agape in your soul. And here you come to the point that you love the individual who does the evil deed, while hating the deed that the person does. This is what Jesus means when he says, “Love your enemy.” This is the way to do it. When the opportunity presents itself when you can defeat your enemy, you must not do it.” – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As King points out, the world paints one narrative, and Jesus Christ paints another. Which one will you choose to portray and apply throughout your life?

Wrapping this up, this post is open-ended in many ways. Think about where you are, where you live, what you are doing. How are people there treating each other? Are you working to help or hurt the situation? None of what is going on in this world is easy or makes sense.

But we don’t look to the world for sense and purpose. We don’t find peace and rest in the machinations of this earth – the enemy’s traps and ensnarements. We pull our strength and resolve from something more extraordinary (Psalm 31:3-5).

As we navigate the waters of this life, may we be willing to go against the flow, chance the rapids, and dare to dance the tide. May we stand in opposition to the ways of this world – setting ourselves apart by applying His Way. May we stifle the laughter of the enemy with the Power of Christ’s Love. (John 13:35). Amen.

LAST NOTE: I’ve often listened to both Brutal Planet and Dragontown, wondering what Alice must think a couple of decades later.

The world has never really been kind or loving, but in the last twenty years, it’s as if some immoral fast forward button has been pressed. And our cities have become Dragontowns while spinning out of control on this ball of hate. Who knew Alice was so prophetic?

In conclusion, Dragontown is one of three albums that really push the moral envelope – the others being Brutal Planet and The Last Temptation. They are albums that make a statement then pose a question. They share the ‘grim facts’ – the dark conditions of this world then ask, “What are we going to do about it?”

Alice, the character, and Alice, the man, may see things from two different perspectives, but both know something’s not right – humanity has missed the mark. However, our gravest concerns and threats do not stem from this world – they are eternal ones.

“I usually write about something that’s under your bed or something that’s in the closet or something that’s in your psyche. This (album) is saying; we’re dealing with eternity here – that’s even scarier. Eternal damnation is way scarier than what’s under your bed.” – Alice Cooper

Once again, Alice is right on the money. As our “jungles” burn, let us learn a better way to live. A road less traveled and one that replaces hate, discontent, and malice with Love and goodwill for ALL men and women.

That’s it for this week. See you next Friday.

Until then, keep walkin’ in Faith and Rockin’ with Alice!