Thank you, Harper!! It's never too late! This one is a little odd to explain but I hope it makes sense! A lot of the lyrics are really up to the listener. For this one, I chose Black Swan by aeseaes
To me, this song has a lot of meaning but I'm choosing to see it based on why I put it on Lariel's playlist. First and foremost important context, the Swan is on her mother and grandfather's family crest. To me, this song is about why Lariel feels she sticks out as a 'black swan' in her family and in the world. Her sorcerer's magic and her half-human heritage. How much of her existence is defined by someone she doesn't know.
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Who said in my head I knew it
Flies creep to keep you down
Muddy the middle in static
Drying up the now
To me this evokes death. I choose to take this in he sense that Lariel isn't sure if her father is alive or dead. But that it also doesn't necessarily matter now. I also like the contrast in this song between the earth, death, and decay. Human. Where she gets her power. At odds with her elven heritage. Long lived, otherworldly, above humanity. Where she feels trapped.
The greatest kind of love is a fantasy
I know I can imagine it true
And if you had a part it’s a part of me
Smooth and dappled hues
Because she doesn't know her father she can imagine him however she wishes. Can picture that he'd love her without complications. That he'd love her differently than her elven family. This also in my mind touches on her magic. Knowing she got her sorcerous bloodline from him. She carries that part of him with her.
See it shining like a black swan on the edge of what you know
Warming wings of wax and feathers, all the things you can’t control
I've talked about this before but the Black Swan theory I also think is important to the song. An unforeseen event with extreme consequences. Often rationalized in hindsight. Originally from the Latin expression "rara avis in terris nigroque simillima cygno" ("a bird as rare upon the earth as a black swan") Lariel's mere existence has far reacting and unexpended consequences. All from a small affair between an elven noble and a human. Also! Touching on Icarus who flew too close to the sun and came crashing down. Lariel being the mortal incarnation of her mothers hubris and eventual downfall. The black swan as in the dark shadow. Her mother's shame that follows her. Now her affair is known, the consequences given legs, a mind, a heart. One her mother desperately wishes to control but in the end can not.
Bandage my body in blue light
Until I am twelve feet tall
Safe in the city of wan eyes
Where the war-mouths and weevils crawl
Praying to the goddess of white noise
Fill the fog with freckles of gold
Sleep inside the sun as the air spins
With songs from another world
I haven't really brought up who he is but this in my mind is talking about her father. So lore drop I guess. This is an omniscient look at him. We see what Lariel does not. Blue light here is the light of lightning. I know it's not really blue, but lightning can often look blue, purple, white, etc. He himself is a sailor, who uses his magic to help control the storms on the ocean. Greatly looked up to and admired. Completely unaware of Lariel. Here he is visiting his home, where he has a different daughter. He is 'safe' with his own life. The fish and bug are included here to show that he lives a simple life close to nature. Living a life that’s flirts with death. Not wealthy in the slightest. He himself worships the Goddess of the ocean and storms. He can in some ways part the fog around him. 'Songs from another world' meaning the Elemental Plane of Air. Where their bloodline comes from.
See it shining like a black swan on the edge of what you know
Warming wings of wax and feathers, I’m the one you can’t control
Here we return to Lariel. The magic within her is chaotic and hard to control. But she too in her quiet stubbornness refuses to be controlled.
Hey Dragonfly! I decided to go with Lariel for this one. As she honestly has the MOST songs haha! Also picked a more upbeat song! I picked Strawberry Blond by Mitski.
This song to me is about looking at the world with rose colored glasses all while feeling a sense of unrequited love. In this case I mean this to be less about a specific person because it includes many of her loves. To me this represents how Lariel loves the world but also feels very distant from it. Her longing for happiness and enjoyment of life despite her struggles.
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I love everybody because I love you
When you stood up, walked away barefoot
And the grass where you lay left a bed in your shape
I looked over it and I ached
Lariel loves life and loves people. Despite how often she looks at them with longing. A wish to belong as she is often left behind. Forgotten about.
I love everybody because I love you
I don't need the city, and I don't need proof
All I need, darlin', is a life in your shape
I picture it, soft, and I ache
She would sacrifice her comfortable life in the city for the chance that she could find belonging. She often dreams of a life where she runs away with someone. Not even anyone specific. Just dreams of the idea of love.
Look at you, strawberry blond
To me strawberry blond is less about actual hair color and more about idealism. A summery and happy love.
Reach out the car window tryin' to hold the wind
You tell me you love her, I give you a grin
The wind is something you can feel on your skin and run through your hair but can never hold. Her freedom, love, and belonging often feel like something rushing past her that she can’t hold onto. Even in her dreams she believes the love she’d feel is unrequited. That’s how unattainable it is. But that she’d be happy to be beside them. Happy for their love regardless.
Oh, all I ever wanted was a life in your shape
So I follow the white lines, follow the white lines
Keep my eyes on the road as I ache
All she’s ever wanted was to have companionship. To not be alone. So even the shape of someone, anyone, even if they did not love her romantically but platonically. She’d follow. Even as it hurts her.
Look at you, strawberry blond
Fields rollin' on
I love it when you call my name
Can you hear the bumblebees swarm?
Watching your arm
I love it when you look my way
To me this is also evoking just a warmth and happiness of spring/summer. Of appreciation of the world and it’s beauty. Lariel who spent most of her time alone loves the idea of someone acknowledging her. Looking at her. Saying her name. Even though she herself is so shy and looks away. Unable to look this person in the eyes.
Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah
Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah
I am not certain what Mitski meant here. That might be a real person. But I love this addition. Isaiah is a prophet. Often talking about the end times. The destruction followed by hope for a better future. Though the music here ends on a more melancholy note.
