Photo Credit: Jester Jay Goldman
On May 8, 2018, Scott Hutchison, the lead singer and primary songwriter of Scottish indie rock band Frightened Rabbit was announced as missing. Sadly the body was found on the evening of May 10 and on May 11 the body was officially identified as Hutchinson and he has been declared dead. He was 36 years old. Cause of death is not known.
Hutchison didn’t write too many directly political songs, but his lyrics did possess an awareness of the human condition. Because the songs were based on Hutchison’s own struggles they were easy to relate to.
One of the few political songs he wrote was “Fields of Wheat”. Frightened Rabbit posted the song online on June 10, 2017, two days after the UK general election. “Fields of Wheat” was taken from a statement made by Prime Minister Theresa May. When asked what the naughtiest thing she ever done, her response was “I mean, you know, there are times when… I have to confess, when me and my friend, sort of, used to run through the fields of wheat. The farmers weren’t too pleased about that.”
To many of May’s detractors, not only did she do naughtier things, but she engaged in acts of out right evil. She received criticism for her views of human rights, immigration, health care and education. Her comments left her open to be mocked. Hutchison pointedly denounce May with the following lyrics “fast forgetting basic needs”, “dismissive, scared” and “cause I’m culpable you see”.
RIP Scott Hutchison