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THE WITCH HAZEL TREE - PLAYLIST BREAKDOWN

I did this for the other books in the Spider Prince Trilogy series here so I thought it would be fun to go through the playlist for The Witch Hazel Tree as well! It’s fun to go through the playlist and explain what songs I choose and why

You can find The Spider Prince trilogy here. You can listen to the playlist on Spotify here.

Without further ado, the breakdown! This is long and there will be spoilers.

1. Scared Of The Dark - Lil Wayne, Ty Dolla Sign

Edna is, of course, scared of the dark. It’s something she mentions a few times, mostly through her internal monologue, and is something she feels highlights her generally fearful and anxious nature. It’s also something that she wants to overcome—and does, through the course of the book!

I'm not scared of the dark I'm not running, running, running No, I'm not afraid of the fall I'm not scared, not at all Why would a star, a star ever be afraid of the dark?

^ She’s trying to convince herself (and others, especially the Spider Prince) that she isn’t afraid. Why would a star be afraid of the dark? This is something that kind of comes full circle, because by the end of the book she could express this sentiment genuinely

There’s also some lyrics here that fit her & her friends:

And I'm married to my pride, I ain't never, never cried

^ The Spider Prince

I got eyes like marbles, if I cry they sparkle

^ Edna (especially chapter 29)

You know I can read your mind like I'm the author

^ ...Author

I'm behind the trigger, what if I am the target?

^ Eddie 👀

I just really like this song for the gang, what can I say?

2. Golden - Harry Styles

For these playlists, I tend to only choose songs that are, for the most part, from the main/pov character’s perspective. This song breaks that rule. It is much more from the perspective of the Spider Prince towards Edna. When they go to the sea, he tells her that her sparks are ‘the exact colour of the setting sun’... golden.

You're so golden I'm out of my head And I know that you're scared

^ He is also very aware that she’s scared, and that she is, in one way or another, scared of him. But he finds her incredible and interesting, and always has. He wants to compliment her but keeps fumbling it.

3. Least Favourite Only Child - Leanna Firestone

This song! Man. It really captures the feeling of being misunderstood or, potentially, unwanted by your parents. Edna’s relationship with her family is rocky at best, and although none of these lyrics perfect fit her lived experience, the feelings are absolutely there.

Guess I'm not that wild And I don't wanna stay Her least favorite only child

^ Edna has gone against her parents wishes quite dramatically, and even before then felt stifled by their expectations and rules. The way they limited her, intentionally or not, was probably a huge contributing factor to her anxiety. So, she’s ‘not that wild’, even in the moments where she wants to be.

I just wanna feel different Than what I've felt before

^ Poor girl just wants to find her place and change her circumstances, and she’s been led to believe that the only way she’ll truly be able to is by breaking her curse.

Also there’s quite a few questions in this song and I like that just because it means that Edna could sing along to at least some of it.

4. This Side Of Paradise - Coyote Theory

The Spring Equinox is here. Edna is overwhelmed, but surprisingly (at least to her), holding her own. Still, she needs a break. She goes to a clearing and sits by the fish. The Spider Prince joins her, and they have an emotionally honest conversation for the first time.

So if you're lonely, no need to show me If you're lonely, come be lonely with me

^ They are both, in their own ways, unsure of themselves and their place, and are able to find comfort in being around each other and experiencing that together. At least until the Spider Prince messes it up.

Are you lonely? Passion is crashing as we speak You seem so lonely You're the ground my feet won't reach So if you're lonely Darling, you're glowing If you're lonely, come be lonely with me

^ He asks her to call him Spi, giving her a right that no one but his best friend has. Edna is left floundering, a little, because of this. They’ve argued, and the moment has fallen apart because of it, and yet he had opened up to her and she still has a desire to further understand him.

5. Gossip - Sleeping With Sirens

This song is mostly here for the inexplicable Edna vibes it gives me. I really couldn’t explain why, but while I was outlining I heard this song and my mind went ‘Edna’ and here we are.

I wanna live fast, I wanna die free My blood is pumping, why can't you feel my heartbeat?

^ I feel like this ties well to Edna at this point in the story. She’s been trying to live her life and not hold herself back. She’s also currently running, with Darling, away from the Heartland and towards some sort of safety. She’s overwhelmed and scared, she’s confused by the gold around the snowbird and concerned for Spi.

I got that new sound, and when I come out I'll be your nightmare, I'm coming for you don't be scared

^ This is something that Edna feels about the new presence in the forest. Like it’s something new and difficult, something nightmarish, and she needs to convince herself not to be scared of it.

6. Bud Like You - AJR

Edna & Author friendship!!! Edna knows that she can rely on Author, Eddie, and, by extension, Nuisance to come and support them in their endeavours against the Queen Mother. She suggests inviting them, and the others agree. Author, of course, agrees easily. She’s reliable like that.

If I need a pick me up Would you come and pick me I could really use a bud like you

^ The sentiment of these lyrics is applicable here; Edna is asking for an assist and Author is there in an instant.

7. Body - Mother Mother

Once again, this is more for the vibes than for the actual lyrics. Edna is feeling a pressure to do something but doesn’t know what. Eddie is in the Heartland, disguised as a spider; Author and Nuisance are fighters; Darling and Gretel are powerful witches; Pan is the king of Lockswood, even exiled. Edna, however, is tired. She’s tired of her curse, of her apparent inability to do anything about it.

And take my hands, they'll understand Take my heart, pull it apart

^ Her hands, which she uses for her magic, are probably the first place she feels it. There’s also matters of the heart: Spi wants her to be less afraid of him and she’s sure how to do that, or what that would feel look like.

She’s just feeling very useless and worried, which isn’t a new feeling for her, but it’s certainly an exhausting one. And then Natalie arrives, with Eddie as a prisoner, and Edna is left uncertain of what to do...

8. Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz

Okay, I’ll be honest. This song doesn’t really fit anymore. Originally, Edna’s familiar was going to be able to talk to her, but I scrapped that pretty early on. This song was meant to represent a sort of conversation between them, with 2-D’s lyrics being Edna, and Del the Funky Homosapien’s being the snowbird.

I got sunshine in a bag I'm useless but not for long The future is coming on

^ ‘Sunshine’ as a reference to her golden sparks (the colour of the sunset), and the remaining lyrics about her finally realising her potential doesn’t have to remain untapped.

Finally someone let me out of my cage Now time for me is nothin' 'cos I'm counting no age Now I couldn't be there now you shouldn't be scared

^ The snowbird’s reassurance to Edna. Being ‘let out’ and finding Edna, connecting to that ageless, familiar magic, and helping Edna to let go of her fear, as well as a sort of apology for not being there before.

Like I said, the conversational elements were dropped from TWHT, but I still like the vibes of this song for Edna & her familiar.

9. Human - Maggie Lindemann

Prompted by the arrival of her familiar, Edna contacts her parents and discovered the truth about her curse: her parents got her cursed in exchange for her life, and lied about it for twenty years. This is a sort of desperate plea for them to understand how they affected her and made her feel lesser.

And if you saw through my eyes you'd understand why I wish I was human I wish that I could say shit like you did

^ They have never really tried to understand her or the way she speaks, and she’s trying to get them to understand how difficult it is to not be able to speak the same way that others around her can

You don't even know, you don't even know Nobody knows it like I

^ The realisation that they don’t understand and probably never will, and that even with their apologies, they aren’t really trying to understand.

10. Body Talks - The Struts (feat. Kesha)

Edna goes to Spi—someone who does understand her, both on a surface level by understanding her speech, and on a deeper one in that they understand each other’s inner workings and opinions, or at least they’re starting to.

And he kisses her.

Never underestimate the importance of body language.

Two eyes like the sun Go ahead, keep your distance from me Soon you're gonna come

^ Edna is taking control and taking risks, trying her best to overcome her fears and assert herself. She wants to go to him, and so she does. He wants to kiss her, so he does. They’re learning together how to go for and get what they want.

Your lips are a conversation That face is a song If it's my imagination Stop me if I'm wrong

^ But Spi still worries that she’s afraid of him, and she can’t yet say that she isn’t. The situation gets away from them. They leave off on a down note.

11. Wondering - Olivia Rodrigo, Julia Lester

After reading CATSP, my friend Vic suggested this as an Edna song and she was SO right, although maybe not in the way she expected.

Following her conversation with Spi, Edna is plagued by questions of what that was and what she wants to it be, as well as wondering what would be different if she could undo her parents actions in the past, and who she would be without the curse.

It's like nothing makes the questions go away What I'd give to see if the grass was greener

^ This is just. Peak Edna. Nothing makes the questions go away indeed, especially now that she knows there’s no guaranteed way to break it

If I could go back and change the past Be a little braver than I had And bet against the odds Would I still be lost?

^ If she could go back to that night with Spi, how would she approach it differently? Could she have? Or is this sense of being lost a necessary step that she needs to go through?

Even if I woke up in my dreams Would there still be something I'm missing If I had everything, would it mean anything To me?

^ If she woke up in a world where she wasn’t cursed, would she still want him? She realises pretty quickly that it doesn’t really matter, because she wants him in this life. She loves him, and wants him to love her.

12. Feels Like Falling In Love - The XCERTS

This song has a bit of a double meaning; yes, she’s falling in love, but also, in a metaphorical way, she’s learning to use her magic in new and powerful ways and that feels like falling in love with herself. Despite her curse, despite the years she’d spent feeling trapped and closing herself off from the world...she is powerful. And she loves it.

And I've been running in, running in circles, in circles and wasting my, wasting my time Yeah it feels like falling in, falling in, falling in love

13. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

This is just... the absolute peak of powerful songs in my mind. The gang are working together to sneak into the Heartland and rescue the Spider Prince, even if their plan is poorly constructed. Edna is feeling herself and is going to go get her man. As she should.

And the feeling coming from my bones Says, "Find a home"

^ She’s making Lockswood her home! Ahh!

14. I Don’t Know If I Should - Juli Strawbridge

Seeing Spi again is a powerful thing in it’s own right. Edna is much more sure of herself this time around, but the scared, nervous person she was at the beginning of her journey is still a part of her.

And you're moving with precision, our subtle collisions Piecing me together in your peripheral vision

^ They’ve been keeping each other close, in their peripherals, for a long time now. This is how they’ve started to build their relationship: carefully, nervously, slowly.

I don't if I should like this but I do I don't know if I should keep on finding you I don't know if I should play along If these games don't mean right, if they don't mean wrong I don't know if I should like this but I do

^ Edna does like this. More than she thought possible. It’s new and scary, but she knows that it means something to her; it’s not right or wrong, necessarily, but is something.

I don't know if I should still hang on If this leaves with the moon, if this dies with dawn

^ They make the decision together: this is worth hanging onto. Even when it’s scary and awkward and they don’t know what they’re doing. This isn’t going to die off, not before they give it a real chance to succeed.

15. Bleed Magic - I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME

Edna goes against the Wild Hunt with magic that shouldn’t work against them; surrounded by her golden sparks, she goes against them, and she wins. This song inspired that scene.

You'll never know a single thing about me Until it's far too late

^ No one knew this sort of magic was possible, and even if Natalie had said anything to the Wild Hunt, they may not have fully believed it until they saw it themselves. Of course, by then it’s far too late.

And nobody believes you now You're bleeding magic out somehow And nobody believes you now You're bleeding magic

^ Edna is overwhelmed by the sparks. They’re pouring out of her in a way that she can’t control. It really does feel like she’s bleeding magic...

16. She’s So Gone - Naomi Scott

I feel like this one is pretty self-explanatory. She’s changed so much and doesn’t feel like the same person she was six months (or even a month) ago.

Broke away Learned to fly If you want her back, gotta let her shine So it looks like the joke's on you 'Cause, the girl that you thought you knew She's so gone (she's so gone)

^ Edna left Fairy Hill, left her family, and become something new & impossible. She’s embracing what she’s capable of and learning that it’s so much more than she thought it was.

Here I am, this is me And I'm stronger than you ever thought I'd be Are you shocked? Are you mad? That you're missing out on who I really am

^ This is specially directed at her parents, who don’t get to know, at least not immediately, what and who she is.

17. you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish

Again, mostly vibes rather than anything super direct. Edna is embracing her power and her position within Lockswood. She’s part of the Autumn Court. Spi even calls her princess, which is loaded but doesn’t scare her.

You should see me in a crown (you should see me, see me) Your silence is my favorite sound (you should see me, see me)

^ Edna is glad of her position and excited by her power. Also, she enjoys being able to make Natalie shut up.

ALSO this song is a little bit from Winterbloom’s POV as well, as she takes her position as a princess as well. Winterbloom my love...

18. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) - Taylor Swift

THIS SONG. It is the peak of Edna/Spi.

Pan is restored to the throne and rain pours through the Heartland. Spi takes Edna. to the witch hazel tree. He teases her, she flirts with him, and they begin the rest of their lives, unafraid.

The best part is that this song could be from either of them POV wise :)

And I don't know how it gets better than this You take my hand and drag me head first Fearless And I don't know why But with you I'd dance in a storm In my best dress Fearless

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