World of Blue - Archived Forum 2007-2022

I thought it would be fun to have a dedicated thread collecting all the parallels we’ve noticed between the storyline of S3 and the songs DKL selected for the Roadhouse and elsewhere. Obviously, most of these songs predate TP and weren’t written with the show in mind, but they were handpicked by DKL and certain lyrics may have been chosen because they tie into story points / themes. I just re-listened to the first few tracks from the soundtrack and have a few:

The lyrics of “Shadow” by Chromatics, dealing with someone who is more memory than reality, have a lot of parallels to Laura. “You’re in the water / I’m standing on the shore” calls to mind where Laura’s body was found. The last verse’s reference to driving in a car trying to leave this town acts as a direct opposite to Part 18, where Dale drives Laura back into town. “And now you’re just a stranger’s dream / I took your picture from the frame” may refer to the ubiquitous smiling homecoming photo (even present in the Fireman’s orb) which often acts as a public face for Laura’s much more complex and troubled existence. I also think of the line about taking Laura’s picture from the frame as a dark reference to Sarah stabbing the photo repeatedly with a broken bottle.

“Mississippi” by the Cactus Blossoms also has a drowning motif, again calling to mind the famous Pilot image of Laura, referring to a woman being on the shore with “wet hair and sandy gown” (and also calling her an angel, an important motif for Laura in FWWM).

Au Revoir Simone’s “Lark” may reference Dale’s misguided attempts to correct the timeline and save Laura: “I saw that something was broken / I crossed the line / I’ll point you to a better time / A safer place to be.”

In Sharon Van Etten’s “Tarifa,” “Slow it was seven / I wish it was seven all night” parallels Lucky 7, as well as more generally a favorite superstitious number of DKL’s. More interestingly, “Send in the owl / Tell me I’m not a child” seems to simultaneously reference the original run’s owl motif and the Dougie arc in the new show, with Dale becoming a child mentally

“She’s Gone Away” seems to reference the Woodsmen scene that immediately precedes it in Part 8, with the Woodsmen reviving Mr. C: “You dig in places ’til your fingers bleed.” “I can’t remember what she came here for” may refer to Judy (particularly in light of the lyric “A little mouth opened up inside,” which calls to mind the Elk’s Point #9 scene in Part 14).

My Prayer - the Platters

When the twilight is gone and no songbirds are singing (where we're from the birds sing a pretty song)
When the twilight is gone you come into my heart
And here in my heart you will stay while I pray
My prayer is to linger with you
At the end of the day in a dream that's divine (!)
My prayer is a rapture in blue (!!!!)
With the world far away and your lips close to mine
Tonight while our hearts are aglow
Oh tell me the words that I'm longing to know
My prayer and the answer you give
May they still be the same for as long as we live
That you'll always be there at the end of my prayer (I like the idea this prayer lends itself as a metaphor for Laura's whisper)

Mr. Reindeer wrote:
“She’s Gone Away” seems to reference the Woodsmen scene that immediately precedes it in Part 8, with the Woodsmen reviving Mr. C: “You dig in places ’til your fingers bleed.” “I can’t remember what she came here for” may refer to Judy (particularly in light of the lyric “A little mouth opened up inside,” which calls to mind the Elk’s Point #9 scene in Part 14).

"I can't remember much of anything anymore" also ties in with Dougie, while "I was watching on the day she died" always makes me think of Reznor watching the original series.

Soolsma wrote:
At the end of the day in a dream that's divine (!)

And the Woodsman puts everyone to sleep in Part 8. Even though it doesn't have any lyrics, I'll throw in Sleep Walk at the end of Part 7. Did anyone figure out what music was playing over it at the end?

I still wonder if Diane's part in Part 18 was originally meant for Audrey. My Prayer always makes me think of Audrey's prayer from the original series.

Despite being an overwrought and annoying song in production and performance (vocally and in her on-screen mannerisms), the lyrics of "No Stars" fit right in with the idea of the inability to return to the idealized past, and of a present which is kind of crappy. That applies to most of the characters as well as this flawed show's relation to the original.

IcedOver wrote:Despite being an overwrought and annoying song in production and performance (vocally and in her on-screen mannerisms), the lyrics of "No Stars" fit right in with the idea of the inability to return to the idealized past, and of a present which is kind of crappy. That applies to most of the characters as well as this flawed show's relation to the original.

Same with Eddie Vedders song which i believe was one of the only songs written specifically for the show.