Literally perfect for Stanford and, later on, his situationship with Bill
First part of the song I feel reflects his childhood.
Below the break is a long break down of the song, lyric by lyric and how it connects/ could connect to Ford
For those who are interested in the song and don't know it:
For legibility's sake, Ford is Blue, Bill is Yellow, normal lyrics are green, and my notes are red
"my grandpops was a man of respect, had to sweat" -change grandpops to just pops
"just to cash checks, working from sunrise to set"
"Everyday get challenged, no trades or talents"
"Barely Scraped by, he found faith to balance"
The opening lines of the song specifically reflect Filbrick Pines and his absent nature in the stans lives
Then, a few lines later
"But something disturbin within his mind was lurkin"
"a slight twilight breeze would ease in through the curtains at night"
"it's like the sermon of a twisted apparition"
"was urgin him to listen to the train in the distance" -train in the distance referring to Bill being present in Stanford's childhood and possibly influencing his infatuation with the anomalous
The song goes on to describe how the protagonist ignored the allure of the voice but "for days it was persistent"
"and it went "Follow me, Follow me,"
"Follow me, Follow me"
"and then it got louder "Follow me, Follow me,"
"I have something to show you""
This could be Ford going to college and slipping into solitude, and finally ending up at Gravity Falls
the song continues
"With time people noticed he was acting berserk"
"Granny got a call saying he was absent from work"
"and that was a first, she ran to the pastor at church"
"to ask him what was up with this disastrous curse"
This could be about the towns people questioning his arrival, as we know he was a loner before Stanley took his place
Not a perfect fit, but fuck it we ball
The song continues to detail how the protagonist seemed to suffer some kind of dissociative fugue where he lost his shirt and all his money
This would be perfect for post bill possession but it's too early in the song so it could be a flash forwards of sorts? Idk
It ends with "after all that he left never to be seen"
This could be Stanley replacing Stanford
After it goes on to switch protagonists to his grandson but I feel it fits best to keep it as Ford
About the grandfather, the song says he "went from a family man to ramblin' man"
"a gambling man that burned both ends of the candle"
"folded his hand in, it was too hot to handle"
This is where we get another flash forwards to Stanford having his body used by Bill, maybe more intense than the previous
Then we enter the chorus, it could really just be Ford writing the first journal
Then we get thrown into the first person POV of the grandson
"when I was a tot, my mom dropped fables and stories"
"to warn me of the dangers that were laying before me"
"to keep it interesting, she would hide the lesson"
"to guide my direction, provide the right message"
This could be Ford cautiously investigating the surrounding area, it doesn't fit super good but once again, fuck it we ball
"since I was rebellious against what she was telling me"
"when I was a teen, I pretended that my demons were friends" -finding comfort in the odd, maybe show him documenting the shapeshifter
"I defended the place, yo, and that was the case"
End this area with ford entering into the cave with Bill's Sigil on the wall
NOW WE LOCKING IN
He touches the sigil.
"Slurred speech dripping off of my face"
"The world creeped as I slipped to the awfulest place"
"you could imagine, not the average things you'd see on acid"
Imagine that style of super fluid, almost stretchy animation here
As he comes to his senses
"My grandad bloody, hovering on a speaker cabinet"
He is suddenly in the dream realm now with Bill ominously sitting in the sky
"laughing in a rasp, he turned covered in maggots" -edit a faint bill laugh in
"that snacked on his ass with a bone, I couldn't grasp it"
Close ups of the two, Ford in peril and Bill in delight
The song talks about how the grandson panics and leaves, I could imagine ford doing the same
"Suddenly, I discovered little voices mumbling up my head"
"it had me wondering "what was it my mother said""
"Back when I was younger? It had my brain ragged"
"as I stumbled off of the night towards the train tracks"
Im think ford arrives to the top of the hill where we are shown in the show itself where he met bill.
Stumbling to the tracks means instead, drifting off to sleep
The we got the chorus again, this entire segment could be Ford Investigating the mind space, a bunch of creepy imagery and all that
after the chorus, the song talks about how he just has to keep moving forward,
This feels fine for ford to be looking around in his head until
"Then I lost it"
Ford opens a door to bill, specifically the room where he plays we'll meet again
"that's when my grandpops carcass emerged from the dark" -bill moving away from the piano
"gurgling his words of carnage, but he couldn't talk"
"something about the birth of sadness"
"I scurried off, I was on the verge of madness!"
Have bill follow him and the entire world begin to get changed around him. Show imagery of weirdmaggedon, people dying, all the fucked up shit bill does
The song continues to talk about how this world is "parallel to [earth] but rearranged". Feels fitting for bill
"I came to a slope, to a steep, begging for sleep" -the slope in question was the same one ford was already sleeping at, his own body lying there, waiting for him.
"as I climbed up,takin my focus off of the creeps"
"within the foggy distance, I saw a silhouette"-Bill
"that got bigger as I stepped, the train tracks were wet"
"I saw a shiny grin from afar, like it was happy"-big bill eye
"this is what he said as he started to walk passed me"
Bill floats Infront of ford, who was still trying to climb the hill
""It's a nice night for a walk, would ya mind if a joined you?""
""Do what you wanna do"" -Ford continues to climb up the hill
""and not to annoy you but see, I really have to ask"
"what a young dude like you is doing out by the tracks"
You waiting on a train?"" -bill glows or smth intimidating
""nah, man let me explain"
"I'm minding my business and maybe you should do the same" -he shoes bill away maybe? Idk
"I just witnessed something sick and sadistic"
"so twistedly disgusting, you should feel real lucky you missed it" -Ford gestures to Journal 2 which he was planning to document this event in
"said "Easy with the tongue son, try to listen carefully" -Bill grabs the journal
"what you've seen is scary, but nothing when compared to me"
"I could show you things to paint all your dreams haunted" -portals to other realms split open behind bill
"and I could make you scream if I wanted" -Bill levitates Ford, maybe pulls out a tooth or smth freaked out like that idk..
"or I can be the bee in your body, your best friend forever"- the entire area shifts again, now to the blue and purple area where the two play chess during the flashback from the show
"the peas in a pod, fuckin like birds of a feather"
"and you never have a need to beg, work, or steal"
If all this sounds worth it, the let's make a deal" -the trade mark Bill hand extending to ford. Ford doesn't accept it
"all you want in life for price of your soul"
"all the money you can fold, power that you can hold" -show ford pondering the possibilities
"I'll put you control, only if you're down to roll"
"Down these train tracks tonight""
""But where are we gonna go?"" -Ford shakes his hand
and then there is the final chorus that I think could just play out
