“See a Little Light” – Bob Mould
(Words/music: Bob Mould, available on Workbook, Virgin 1989) 

As much as shrill guitar defined Husker Du’s sound, the cello during the second half of “See A Little Light” signals that something changed.  Where the guitars once cut like a treble-fueled buzzsaw, Mould opts for the rich sound the cello provides in the second half of the song.  It gives the melody a slightly different context - where the beginning of the song feels bright, the second half of the song sounds slightly sadder even as it modulates upward.  It doesn’t redefine the song as much as it incorporates a different thread, weaving this bowed melody in with the acoustic guitars and Mould’s vocals.

This melancholy thread plays off the lyrics too.  If “See a Little Light,” Mould’s first single after Husker Du dissolved, comments on the band’s break (and it certainly may be read as a breakup song without that biographical link), then Mould sounds like he’s moved on.  In this case, Mould focuses on the passage of time - “look how much we’ve grown,” “as the years go by,” etc - rather than casting aspersions.  He’s saying all the right things and encourages the second party to “see a little light” and start to move on as well.  When looking at the words and the general brightness of the arrangement initially, it sounds like Mould moved on.  However, the cello line feels like the sad thought mixed in with the resolution to move on.  This is the nostalgia that creeps up in these situations - one where looking back fondly yields to sadness for the end of an era - and undercuts any sense of closure. In this case, it’s perhaps fair to say that while Mould moved on (and quite successfully), he never left behind his old band entirely, performing Husker Du songs in the same sets where he sings “See a Little Light”

More on Bob Mould: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm