three songs for The Untamed
In mid-July, I finally watched the rest of The Untamed, all in one fell swoop over the course of about a week and a half. (I'd started it several months back and gotten about 5 episodes in before pausing out of sheer apprehension -- the characters were so endearing, and the impending trainwreck so obviously intensely tragic, it took me a while to convince myself to be ready to dive into it wholesale.)
It has been a long time since I became obsessed with a fandom to this level and extent, where even after a month and a half of thinking about it near-constantly and reading a lot, it feels like I've barely scratched the surface.
During this time, these are the three songs that have been on repeat in my head as I've gone about my days. The Untamed is much more than this, much more than any three songs could express, but still. These are the three songs my brain keeps coming back to.
I think the song names themselves aren't all that spoilery, but I'll put the lyrics and commentary under cuts, though even there I'll try to avoid any detailed or specific spoilers (mostly the songs touch upon the emotional arc of the central relationship, but only in very general terms), so it should be relatively safe to read even if you haven't yet seen the series but plan to. Links go to official artist YouTube releases -- if nothing else, the songs are wonderful (especially if you like moody singer-songwriters).
"Bird on the Wire" by Leonard Cohen. I also really love the Johnny Cash version. There might be a more Wei Wuxian song than this in existence, but out of the many songs I sing to myself around the house, this is the one.
Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Like the worm on a hook,
Like a knight from some old-fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.
If I, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If I, if I have been untrue,
I hope you know it was never to you.
Oh, like a baby, stillborn,
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.
But I swear by this song
And by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
He said to me, you must not ask for so much.
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
She cried to me, hey, why not ask for more?
Oh, like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
"Shotgun Wedding" by Joshua Morrison. Joshua Morrison was in the army as a young man in the mid-2000s, including tours in Iraq. During and after, he wrote a beautiful, quiet, meditative album full of uncertainty and longing called Home. Unsurprisingly, several of the songs resonate with The Untamed in moments and moods here and there. But it's this song that always makes me think of Lan Wangji.
I wear my coat
‘Cause fall has finally come
Feels a bit like home
I take a walk
Through the woods as I complain
Nothing stays the same
Head hung low
I am not myself
So put on my headphones
And drift back to the west
Where the seasons change
But the mighty Cascade mountain range
Stays the same
And it’s been too long
Since I have seen your face
And it haunts me to this day
Haunts me to this day
She looks so strong
But we both know the pain
That haunts her to this day
I have learned to make the most of, of my inability
To speak when you’re standing next to me
My god, I’m done
Pretending I’ve moved on
"A Heart Needs a Home" by Richard Thompson. (Also a beautiful live duet version with Teddy Thompson, and the lovely originally-released version sung by then-wife Linda Thompson.) It's not exactly the healthiest relationship dynamic ever, but there's something very raw and truthful about the devotion it expresses, and I feel like the emotional core of it applies to them both, in the end.
I know the way
That I feel about you
I'm never going to run away
I'm never going to run away
Never knew the day
When I lived without you
I'm never going to run away
I'm never going to run away
I came to you when
No one could hear me
I'm sick and weary
Of being alone
Empty streets and
Hungry faces
The world's no place when
You're on your own
A heart needs a home
Some people say
That I should forget you
But I'm never going to be a fool
I'm never going to be a fool
A better life, they say
If I'd never met you
But I'm never going to be a fool
No I'm never going to be a fool
Tongues talk fire and
Eyes cry rivers
Indian givers
Hearts of stone
Paper ships and
Painted faces
The world's no place when
You're on your own
A heart needs a home
I have had so many posts on so many different topics rattling around in my head... I always hope I'll post more, but I never have any idea if it'll actually happen. But I'll keep hoping, anyway. This entry was originally posted at https://athenejen.dreamwidth.org/102562.html.
It has been a long time since I became obsessed with a fandom to this level and extent, where even after a month and a half of thinking about it near-constantly and reading a lot, it feels like I've barely scratched the surface.
During this time, these are the three songs that have been on repeat in my head as I've gone about my days. The Untamed is much more than this, much more than any three songs could express, but still. These are the three songs my brain keeps coming back to.
I think the song names themselves aren't all that spoilery, but I'll put the lyrics and commentary under cuts, though even there I'll try to avoid any detailed or specific spoilers (mostly the songs touch upon the emotional arc of the central relationship, but only in very general terms), so it should be relatively safe to read even if you haven't yet seen the series but plan to. Links go to official artist YouTube releases -- if nothing else, the songs are wonderful (especially if you like moody singer-songwriters).
"Bird on the Wire" by Leonard Cohen. I also really love the Johnny Cash version. There might be a more Wei Wuxian song than this in existence, but out of the many songs I sing to myself around the house, this is the one.
Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
Like the worm on a hook,
Like a knight from some old-fashioned book
I have saved all my ribbons for thee.
If I, if I have been unkind,
I hope that you can just let it go by.
If I, if I have been untrue,
I hope you know it was never to you.
Oh, like a baby, stillborn,
Like a beast with his horn
I have torn everyone who reached out for me.
But I swear by this song
And by all that I have done wrong
I will make it all up to thee.
I saw a beggar leaning on his wooden crutch,
He said to me, you must not ask for so much.
And a pretty woman leaning in her darkened door,
She cried to me, hey, why not ask for more?
Oh, like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free.
"Shotgun Wedding" by Joshua Morrison. Joshua Morrison was in the army as a young man in the mid-2000s, including tours in Iraq. During and after, he wrote a beautiful, quiet, meditative album full of uncertainty and longing called Home. Unsurprisingly, several of the songs resonate with The Untamed in moments and moods here and there. But it's this song that always makes me think of Lan Wangji.
I wear my coat
‘Cause fall has finally come
Feels a bit like home
I take a walk
Through the woods as I complain
Nothing stays the same
Head hung low
I am not myself
So put on my headphones
And drift back to the west
Where the seasons change
But the mighty Cascade mountain range
Stays the same
And it’s been too long
Since I have seen your face
And it haunts me to this day
Haunts me to this day
She looks so strong
But we both know the pain
That haunts her to this day
I have learned to make the most of, of my inability
To speak when you’re standing next to me
My god, I’m done
Pretending I’ve moved on
"A Heart Needs a Home" by Richard Thompson. (Also a beautiful live duet version with Teddy Thompson, and the lovely originally-released version sung by then-wife Linda Thompson.) It's not exactly the healthiest relationship dynamic ever, but there's something very raw and truthful about the devotion it expresses, and I feel like the emotional core of it applies to them both, in the end.
I know the way
That I feel about you
I'm never going to run away
I'm never going to run away
Never knew the day
When I lived without you
I'm never going to run away
I'm never going to run away
I came to you when
No one could hear me
I'm sick and weary
Of being alone
Empty streets and
Hungry faces
The world's no place when
You're on your own
A heart needs a home
Some people say
That I should forget you
But I'm never going to be a fool
I'm never going to be a fool
A better life, they say
If I'd never met you
But I'm never going to be a fool
No I'm never going to be a fool
Tongues talk fire and
Eyes cry rivers
Indian givers
Hearts of stone
Paper ships and
Painted faces
The world's no place when
You're on your own
A heart needs a home
I have had so many posts on so many different topics rattling around in my head... I always hope I'll post more, but I never have any idea if it'll actually happen. But I'll keep hoping, anyway. This entry was originally posted at https://athenejen.dreamwidth.org/102562.html.