The Death of Ferdinand de Saussure

Signify THIS. No hyperlink. What to do with it?

I was thinking about the song that I repeated in my head Saturday morning from about 3 to 9 am as I laid awake in bed. I didn't use much of that period of time to travel the intricate paths of meaning that the lyrics can take one down but I have today. What does this song signify? Maybe the song "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds from "The Breakfast Club"?

Ferdinand de Saussure was a Sanskrit teacher who pretty much started the study of modern linguistics by never publishing or leaving behind a single written note of his ideas. How fucking romantic! Sephen Merritt reveals in the liner notes of 69 Love Songs that he read "Critical Theory Since 1965" (which I proudly mention was co-authored by my favorite and most influential college professor Leroy Searle) which was the sequel to "Critical Theory Since Plato" (the book that Leroy used to almost destroy my life, and which, along with a lot of acid, led me to drop out of college only 1 paper short of graduating) and which allowed Stephen to take the germ of motown melody "we are nothing. whoa whoa" as his only ammunition and shoot a Swiss linguist.

I met Ferdinand de Saussure
on a night like this
On love he said "I'm not so sure
I even know what it is
No understanding, no closure
It is a nemesis
You can't use a bulldozer
to study orchids," he said, "so
we don't know anything
you don't know anything
I don't know anything about love
But we are nothing
you are nothing
I am nothing without love"

I'm just a great composer
and not a violent man
but I lost my composure
and I shot Ferdinand
crying, "It's well and kosher
to say you don't understand
but this is for Holland-Dozier-Holland!"
His last words were:

"we don't know anything
you don't know anything
I don't know anything about love
But we are nothing
you are nothing
I am nothing without love"

His fading words were:

"we don't know anything
you don't know anything
I don't know anything about love
But we are nothing
you are nothing
I am nothing without love"