Favorite Gossip Girl Songs - Nate and Blair Edition
Obviously it is harder for me to choose moments and songs for couples I don’t explicitly root for, but Nate and Blair had a sweetness and innocence about them in the early seasons that still merits remembering and appreciating. So here goes! No matter what happens in the long run, you never forget your first love.
1. “If It’s Lovin’ That You Want” - Rihanna
Plays when Blair asks to borrow Nate in 1.01, in the brief moments before Serena’s return blows everything to pieces. It’s actually really reminiscent of NB’s season one relationship, considering all Blair ever wanted was for Nate to let her in.
If it’s loving that you want, you should make me your girl
If it’s loving that you need, I got it right here, baby
If it’s loving that you want, then come and take a walk with me
If it’s loving that you need, I got it right here, baby
2. “Hang Me Up To Dry” - The Cold War Kids
Plays as Nate apologizes to Blair and offers to repair their relationship in 1.01. I kind of love this song for being indicative of the ways Nate took his relationship for granted, which he later comes to regret and try to rectify.
Careless in our summer clothes
Splashing around in the muck and the mire
Fell asleep with stains, caked deep in the knees
Now hang me up to dry
You’ve wrung me out too, too, too many times
3. “Timebomb” - Beck
Plays as NB take off their masks in 1.06 and reveal that Nate just failed to make it in time. Good job, Nate! I think Blair was definitely feeling like a time bomb by that point, lol.
We’re going sideways, highways
Riding on an elevator
Cold just like an alligator
Now my baby’s out of date
4. “How Does It Feel” - Eskimo Joe
Plays as Blair blows out the candles in 1.08, knowing her birthday wish didn’t true. I absolutely love this song. Even though it doesn’t play in a scene with both characters in it, in my opinion, it says everything about NB and Blair in early season 1. No matter how much Blair tries, it’s always out of her reach.
You live so much, it’s like you’re dying
You can’t give up, your body’s trying
You build so tall, it’s like you’re flying
But rocks will fall; the sky keeps climbing
5. “Apologize” - OneRepublic
Plays during Nate and Blair’s first time in 1.10. Beautiful song and beautiful moment that shows that, despite everything goes on around them and between them, there was real love there. Pretty sure I threw things at the screen the first time I watched this scene, but in retrospect it’s much easier to admire it.
I need you like a heart needs a beat, but it’s nothing new
I loved you with a fire red, now it’s turning blue
And you say sorry like an angel
Heaven let me think was you
6. “You’ll Change” - Machine Translations
Plays as Nate and Blair kiss and converse in the courtyard, during 1.13. Much like the first song on this list did with Serena, it represents NB’s chance at a fresh start before the spectre of Chuck messes things up.
Green eyes and stocking are red
Bright words fly out of my head
These words, the fireman said
Think twice, or thinking is dead
You’ll change, you’ll change, you’ll change
7. “The Air We Breathe” - Figurines
Plays as Blair remembers her moments with Nate and Chuck in 1.13 and thinks about what she just lost. Very haunting sound that I think goes perfectly with the first season iteration of the Nate and Blair relationship.
Do you feel the air we breathe?
Do you feel the things I see?
And do you feel you’re close to me?
8. “Creator” - Santigold
Plays when Blair comes upon some Nate and Catherine sexytimes in 2.02. Nice reminder that their interaction did not always cease to exist after a breakup, and c'mon, I wasn’t about to make an NC tracklist.
Me, I’m a creator
Thrill is to make it up
The rules I break got me a place
Up on the radar
9. “Closer” - Ne-Yo
Plays when Nate gets mad at Blair for trying to manipulate him and Vanessa in 2.03. Even if it’s unintentional, I like that the lyrics can vaguely hint at Blair still having residual jealousy, or at least Nate thinking she does. Sort of like the moment with Bree in season three.
Turn the music up in this place
I still hear her loud and clear
Like she’s right there in my ear
Telling me she wants to own me
10. “I Can Make You Feel It” - Home Video
Plays when Blair asks Nate to stay in 2.19. I think this is my favorite NB musical moment - not because I liked what was happening, which I didn’t - because Blair really did need a safe, comforting, reliable love at the moment. When she and Nate reminisce over how she would rewatch the same movies because she likes “knowing how things are gonna turn out?” That’s NB in season 2 for me, and it’s really sweet and meaningful in a way that season five was … not.
She barely conscious, breathing through a straw
She held my hand and kissed my lips
She begged me to help her feel
And I said, “I can make you feel it.”
11. "Lights Off“ - The Dears
Plays as Nate and Blair finally kiss in the snow at the end of 2.20. It’s an interesting juxtaposition between NB finding comfort and joy with each other while Chuck and Vanessa drown in misery together, because both ‘couples’ are looking for the same thing in that moment, but only Nate and Blair are equipped to find it.
And maybe we’ll sleep with the lights off
Turn out the lights, just hold me tight
Sleep through the night, could you, with me?
12. ”Is You Is Or Is You Ain’t My Baby?“ - Dinah Washington
Plays when Blair tries to convince Nate to go to Yale in 2.21, but learns about his family troubles instead. It’s a fun, old-timey song that feels like NB do, if that makes sense. They belong in Camelot (The Kennedy version).
Say is you is, or is you ain’t my baby?
The way you’re acting lately, it makes me doubt
You is still my baby, baby
But it seems like my flame in your heart, done gone out
13. ”Inside Outside“ - Miss Eighty 6
Plays when Nate goes to make up with Blair in 2.21, and she apologizes to him. I think this is Nate and Blair’s best episode as a couple, devoid almost entirely of third parties and showing Nate learning to accept all of Blair while she learns to grow out of high school scheming.
You’re inside, outside, under my skin
Dazed and confused, don’t know where to begin
Swimming in a sea of love, I think I’m drowning
14. ”Prom Theme“ - Fountains of Wayne
Plays throughout Nate and Blair’s last dance in 2.24. A very bittersweet moment between them, and one that I feel is a fitting end to their romance. The real problem came with the way their interactions dropped off soon after.
But tonight we feel like stars
We’ll play our air guitars
Because we’re eighteen
It’s a perfect night to sing our prom theme
15. ”Celestica“ - Crystal Castles
Plays while Blair is trying to hook Nate up with Epperly in 4.14. Including it mostly because it’s incredible that Blair and Nate are breathing the same space like the friends they are supposed to be, haha. Love it!
When it’s cold outside, hold me
Don’t hold me
When I choose to rest my eyes, coax me
Don’t coax me
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