I had to check several times to make sure no one had already written about this one, as Mining Melancholy might possibly be one of the most brilliant songs in a game that already has plenty of amazing tracks. As expected, Mining Melancholy is found in every mine level of Donkey Kong Country 2. As you play through these often frustrating levels (thanks to the fact that every single one is vertical, which means that one mistake could send you tumbling back to the start of the level, or worse), if you pay attention to the background, you’ll notice the tools left behind by the miners. Pickaxes, explosives, buckets, what have you. And let’s not forget those huge sparkling gems we catch glimpses of in the distance. Those things are massive!
Enormous gems and the staggering amount they must be worth aside, the best part of these stages is by far the music, which probably speaks far louder for these levels’ simple story than the background ever could. Right from the beginning, you can hear the sharp clang of pickaxes forming the song’s beat. The racket they create is almost jarring, but nothing could be more atmospheric.
Video from Youtube User: BrawlBRSTMs3
And then, all that harsh, metallic noise stops at 1:24 to make way for an entirely different kind of sound. Now, I know it’s a little hard to recognize vocals in a Super Nintendo game. They just weren’t a very common thing back then, and when you heard them, they usually sounded nothing like actual voices. Even so, maybe it’s just me, but I always heard voices singing at that one part of the song, like the miners themselves taking a break in their work to hum that one, single refrain before the sound of pickaxes ring throughout the mine once more as they return to their tireless work.
Where these mysterious miners are, I know not, but it imbues a strange sort of emotion into these levels I normally wouldn’t expect from a simple platformer. What do I care about some fictional miners working in a fictional mine that have no consequence to the plot, hmm? I wouldn’t normally, until I hear their soft voices for that 20-second timespan. It makes me feel…sad. There’s honestly a lot of emotion in this two-minute song. Not only is it brilliant, but clear proof that Rareware were kings of gaming back then. And sometimes I think that may actually be the saddest thing of all.
Melancholy Duck
I could hear this music in my head as soon as I saw the title of your article. This is right up there as one of the best tracks off the game and it’s so memorable. Very introspective observation about the voices. Thanks for the read!
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This is just one of those songs I could never stop thinking about. There are several other songs in the game I enjoy listening to more, but this one stands out more because it almost seems to hold a hidden story, which isn’t really the case with the other songs in the game. It’s the one song that really gets me thinking.
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“Stickerbush Symphony” is the most memorable song from DKC2, and for me the most beautiful. But this mining song is extremely catchy. Never thought about that underlying story before, though. That’s why we have blogs!
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Stickerbush Symphony is definitely the most beautiful song in the game (it’s no wonder it showed up in Super Smash Bros Brawl, though the original version was better). I also find Forest Interlude particularly soothing. There’s a lot of great music in that game, to be sure.
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Yes! DKC2 has one of my favorite video game soundtracks of all time, and your look at Mining Melancholy is precisely why! The use of sound effects in the music, the cool rock-like tune, and the buzzing makes it spectacular for me. Like you, I’m not even sure what the buzzing/humming is supposed to be, but it always sounded like bees to me, indicative of the amount of Zingers that tend to be in these vertical levels.
Stickerbrush Symphony will always be one of my favorite tracks in not just DKC2, but of all time, but Mining Melancholy is one of many worthy songs from this superb collection from David Wise! Great article!
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