little bird - a fanmix for sansa stark
This is my first time ever attempting to create a fanmix, so forgive my feeble efforts. I figure I can't go too wrong, as it combines a sort of character analysis with music, and those are two of my favorite things.
I chose Sansa partly because she's one of my favorites, and partly because her story is so complex, her growth as a person subtle, well-documented, and transformative.This mix picks up after Ned's execution, tracing her development through AFfC, and ends on a hopeful note, as I would like to see her rise to a position of power as Queen of the North or even Queen on the Iron Throne. As the title suggests, it plays heavily on the bird imagery surrounding her, hopefully forming a cohesive set.
1. Once Upon a December - Anastasia
(Sansa feels her courtly dreams slipping away)
dancing bears, painted wings
things i almost remember
and a song someone sings
once upon a december
someone holds me safe and warm
horses prance through a silver storm
figures dancing gracefully
across my memory . . .
2. Will I? - RENT
(suffering Joffrey's abuses)
will i lose my dignity?
will someone care?
will i wake tomorrow
from this nightmare?
3. One More Time With Feeling - Regina Spektor
(hiding her scars)
oh everyone takes turns
now it's yours to play the part
and they're sitting all around you
holding copies of your chart
and the misery in their eyes
is synchronized and reflected into yours
hold on
one more time with feeling
try it again
breathing's just a rhythm
say it in your mind
until you know that the words are right
this is, why we, fight
4. Whispering - Spring Awakening
(the pain of the war)
see the father bent in grief
the mother dressed in mourning
sister crumbles, and the neighbors grumble
preacher issues warning
5. Meheni Rachi - Dharohar Project & Mumford and Sons
(dreaming of fleeing the court)
perhaps i'll be a bird one day
if i am good enough
and i'll spread out and fly away
and give up all this stuff
6. Margaret in Captivity - The Decembrists
(Sansa as a political hostage)
i have snipped your wingspan
my precious captive swan
here all clipped of kickstand
your spirit won't last long
7. Man of a Thousand Faces - Regina Spektor
(her view of Petyr as he rescues her)
the man of a thousand faces
sits down at the table
eats a small lump of sugar
and smiles at the moon like he knows her
and begins his quiet ascension
without anyone's sturdy instruction
to a place of no religion
has found a path to our alikeness
his words are quiet like stains are
on a table cloth washed in a river
stains that are trying to cover, for each other
or at least blend in with the pattern
good is better than perfect
scrub til your fingers are bleeding
and i'm crying for things that i tell others to do without crying
8. Maybe Sprout Wings - The Mountain Goats
(Alayne at the Eyrie; quietly troubled)
i thought of old friends,
the ones who'd gone missing.
said all their names three times.
phantoms in the early dark,
canaries in the mines.
ghosts and clouds and nameless things.
squint your eyes and hope real hard,
maybe sprout wings.
9. Talking Bird - Death Cab for Cutie
(a more friendly cage, but a cage nonetheless)
oh, my talking bird
though you know so few words
you're on infinite repeat
like your brain can't keep up with your beak
and you're kept in an open cage
so you're free to leave or stay
and sometimes you get confused
like there is a hint i'm trying to give you
10. I Was Young When I Left Home - Antony with Bryce Dessner
(remembering Winterfell)
i was young when i left home
an' i been out a-ramblin' round
an' i never wrote a letter to my home
to my home, lord, to my home
an' i never wrote a letter to my home.
11. Green Finch and Linnet Bird - Sweeney Todd
(Alayne caged, longing to make her own way)
my cage has many rooms,
damask and dark.
nothing there sings,
not even my lark.
larks never will, you know,
when they're captive.
teach me to be more adaptive.
green finch and linnet bird,
nightingale, blackbird,
teach me how to sing.
if i cannot fly,
let me sing.
12. Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) - Florence + the Machine
(becoming stronger and more independent)
i started rushing toward the starlight
(raise it up)
i wish that i could just be brave
i must become the lion-hearted girl
ready for a fight
before i make the final sacrifice
13. Up the Wolves - The Mountain Goats
(returning to Winterfell)
there's bound to be a ghost at the back of your closet
no matter where you live
there'll always be few things maybe several things
that you're going to find really difficult to forgive.
there's gonna come a day when you'll feel better,
and you'll rise up free and easy on that day
and float from branch to branch, lighter than the air.
just when that day is coming, who can say, who can say?
our mother has been absent ever since we founded rome
but there's gonna be a party when the wolves come home.
~~~
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