So I just realized that a singer I listen to, Zella Day, drew inspiration from Hamlet to write one of my favorite songs by her. I can't tell y'all how many times I've listened to this song without deliberating the symbolism behind Zella's lyrics. Wow my head has been elsewhere.
First verse:
Believe me now, you're too young girl
Cherry pie and your gold curls
Growin' up like a grapevine
Wrapped around you in due time
Some of the Chorus:
Sweet Ophelia!
When young blood escapes
Vows that break
Go up, up away
Some of Verse 2:
Singing like it's a full moon (singing like it's a full moon)
Careless now that he has you (careless now that he has you)
Ophelia was too young and innocent to be subjected to the machinations of Denmark's royal court; 'cherry pie' (don't even) is sometimes associated with virginity and 'gold' represents virtue. The growing grapevine could represent her ordeal: she is constantly directed by the men in her life to preserve her innocence, she despairs over Hamlet's madness and his newfound distrust for her after she lies to him (Polonius and Claudius use her as a means to an end), and she herself eventually grows mad as a result of her father's death. Before her impending demise, she sings songs about death, loss of innocence, etcetera. She could care less about upholding appearances after experiencing death and heartbreak. While her purity was questionable throughout the play, when you dissociate the rot/decay motif from Ophelia and her role in 'tricking' Hamlet, she was just a sweet girl left unawares of what exactly was going on.
By alluding to Ophelia's innocence, Zella implies the song's subject to be that of a girl who was forced to grow up too quickly (maybe she is comparing Ophelia to herself? If I ever meet Zella, imma ask her).
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