One of the biggest hits by the band The Mission UK is a song that seems to have been written for a Brazilian woman, but it isn’t. Severina, according to vocalist Wayne Hussey, “was actually a tribute I made to the daughter of a couple of friends [bassist Steve Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees and his daughter Sadie], and also of course to the Velvet Underground song, Venus in Furs, which in the lyrics we have Severin with a different meaning”, he revealed.

It’s interesting. Severina is a girl’s name that means “severe, serious”. It has Latin origins and is the feminine version of Severinus, in turn, a Roman surname originating from the name Severus, which means “severe” in Latin. There are different variations, ranging from Séverine and Sévérine in French, Seweryna in Polish, or the simple Severina in Italian and Portuguese. For Brazilians, it is a name associated with older generations and those more centered in the North or Northeast of the country. In the pop world, it is undoubtedly remembered for the success of The Mission UK since their 1986 album, God’s Own Medicine.

But, even more than paying homage to Sadie Severin, the clearest reference is the song Venus in Furs. The song about female dominance and sadomasochism, with the title borrowed from the novel of the same name, was written in 1870 by the Austrian Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. The novel would be part of an epic series he imagined which he would call Legacy of Cain (Das Vermächtniß Kains), the Legacy of Pain.

Inspired by Sacher-Masoch’s own life – the central female character was modeled on Fanny Pistor, a literary friend of his – the novel tells the story of a man who dreams of talking to Venus about love while she is wearing furs and who shares this dream with a friend, Severin, who tells him how to rid himself of his fascination with cruel women.

Severin’s story is as follows: he is so in love with a woman that he asks her to be his slave and encourages her to treat him in progressively more degrading ways. At first, she rejects the idea, but when she accepts it, she begins to humiliate him even more by allowing him to be mistreated.

Severin describes her feelings during these experiences as suprasensuality. The degrading progression comes to a head when she meets another man to whom she would like to submit. Humiliated by her new lover, Severin loses the desire to submit and concludes that she can only become a companion when they both have the same rights, education, and work.

That’s why in the Velvet Underground song, they sing things like “Ermine furs adorn the imperious
Severin, Severin awaits you there“, “Severin, Severin, speak so slightly, Severin, down on your bent knee, Taste the whip, in love not given lightly, Taste the whip, now bleed for me” and “Severin, your servant comes in bells, please don’t forsake him, Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart“.

In the classic by The Mission UK, Wayne Hussey sings “Star child, baby born of heaven, Severina, Severina” about Sadie, but everything else is about Severina, a free-spirited woman who is open to many experiences and emotions: “She believes in the midnight trance, she believes in ‘love is the law’, and she’s dancing amongst the magic dust, Severina, Severina“.

The song is a must-play at the band’s shows and a fan favorite.

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