philosophical gold
“[Get] a piece of . . . gold, if you can of Elizabeth’s coin (it is the best), which is philosophical gold and keep it always in your mouth when you walk out or any sick persons come to you.”
—John Allin, advice in a letter written during London’s Great Plague of 1665; quoted in Daily Life During the Black Death by Joseph P. Byrne, 2006.
mourners in black
“Across the era of the Second Pandemic . . . [a]uthorities stepped in to limit the depressing effects of mourners in black and tolling bells, and prevented gatherings of people through which the disease might be spread. The times were extraordinary, and the death tolls often unbelievable. . . . Without controlling—or outright banning—the traditional ceremonies, cities would have become true necropolises, cities of the dead.”
—Joseph P. Byrne, Daily Life During the Black Death, 2006.
fixed for ever
“I can remember every second of that morning, if I shut my eyes I can see the deep blue colour of the sky and the mango leaves, the pink and red hibiscus, the yellow handkerchief she wore round her head, tied in the Martinique fashion with the sharp points in front, but now I see everything still, fixed for ever like the colours in a stained-glass window. Only the clouds move.”
—Jean Rhys, from Wide Sargasso Sea, 1966.
I will write my name in fire red
“We are cross-stitching silk roses on a pale background. We can colour the roses as we choose and mine are green, blue and purple. Underneath, I will write my name in fire red, Antoinette Mason, n’e Cosway, Mount Calvary Convent, Spanish Town, Jamaica, 1839.”
—Jean Rhys, from Wide Sargasso Sea, 1966.
Heaven and Hell
“Everything was brightness, or dark. The walls, the blazing colours of the flowers in the garden, the nuns’ habits were bright, but their veils, the Crucifix hanging from their waists, the shadow of the trees, were black. That was how it was, light and dark, sun and shadow, Heaven and Hell. . . .”
—Jean Rhys, from Wide Sargasso Sea, 1966.
Pull down the stars
“Blot out the moon,
Pull down the stars.
Love in the dark, for we’re for the the dark
So soon, so soon.”
—Jean Rhys, from Wide Sargasso Sea, 1966.
Devil With The Blue Dress On
“Devil with the blue dress, blue dress, blue dress
Devil with the blue dress on. . . .
Wearin’ her wig hat and shades to match
She’s got high-heel shoes and an alligator hat
Wearin’ her pearls and her diamond rings
She’s got bracelets on her fingers, now, and everything.”
—Devil with the Blue Dress, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, 1966.
your red shoes
“Put on your red shoes and dance the blues.”
—Let’s Dance, David Bowie, 1999.
like white on rice
“I’m gonna stick to you like white on rice.”
—Warm Daddy, by Eddie Bo, 1960.
from green to red
“But darlin’ can’t you see my signals turn from green to red’”
—Crosstown Traffic, Jimi Hendrix, from the album Electric Ladyland, 1968.