THE BAÑAR

Why an album of sad songs (mostly) called “The Bañar”?  What does “Bañar” mean?

I chose to call this collection of sad songs (which are really just laments and prayers in the form of music) the “Bañar” because loosely translated from Spanish this word means to “wash”, or to “bath”.  Hence the album art related to an old acoustic guitar floating in a vast ocean representing endless tears. 

Also, I’d be lying if I didn’t also admit that the word “Bañar”, generically speaking, was also taken from an old Star Trek: The Next Generation episode called "Suddenly Human".  In this episode the crew of the Enterprise rescues a boy named Jono, the grandson of a Starfleet admiral, who was raised by a group of aliens called the Talarians, who killed his parents.1 In one memorable scene, Jono performs a loud song (I use the word “song” loosely here) called the B'Nar while being treated in sickbay aboard the Enterprise ship, and again later on when he was separated from the other teenage Talarians rescued from a disabled Talarian observation craft.  The song consisted of high-pitched shrieks and rocking back and forth, over a considerable length of time.  Properly spelled “B'Nar” (English translation, "the mourning") the event was considered a Talarian ritual.2 

So what in the world does this old Star Trek episode have to do with my album?  Well, to be honest, because it was such a memorable example of complete devastation and human misery—in short, a great example of the saddest whaling I have ever heard.  And for sure, such is my heart when I sing any of the songs that are included in the Bañar album.

Until my son returns home a restored man, as God made him, I will continue to perform the B’Nar.

Sources:

  1. Please see Wikipedia websites: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suddenly_Human#:~:text=%22Suddenly%20Human%22%20is%20the%2078th,episode%20of%20the%20fourth%20season.&text=Episode%20no.&text=Set%20in%20the%2024th%20century,who%20killed%20the%20boy's%20parents) and (https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Suddenly_Human_(episode)#:~:text=responded%20to%20him.-,Act%20Two,not%20wish%20to%20touch%20aliens)
  2. Please see https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/B%27Nar

Songs on the Bañar album - click image for lyrics and more information