Mercy's Soundtrack
Jul. 17th, 2007 01:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rillaliciousOkay, I got caught up reading all this wank surrounding the legitimacy of some spoilers going around (my GAWD this stuff is entertaining!) and didn't get this up earlier. Anyway, another rare public post here.
I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating. This soundtrack has been a regular part of my writing routine for over 3 years now. It's going to be strange to listen to all these songs without purpose now. So I wanted to write down my thoughts on the songs that I used to write this story, where I thought they fit in, and what they really meant to me in relation to the characters.
Mercy Soundtrack Notes
1. After All, Dar Williams ~ This song belongs to Veils more than Mercy, but I think it really set the scene for Mercy. In the final chapter of Veils, Severus approaches Malfoy manor at sunrise, and these lyrics: The sun rose, with so many colors it nearly broke my heart/ It worked me over like a work of art, and I was part of all that are what painted the visual picture for me. I also mirrored it in the last chapter of Mercy, when Hermione gets out of bed to watch the sunrise outside her window.
2. For You, Tracy Chapman ~ This one just strikes me as very appropriate for Severus's realization that he fucked up by leaving Hermione. In particular, I hear it in the background when Severus faces her at Malfoy manor after Hermione has announced her new relationship with Charlie upon returning from Romania.
3. Runaround, Blues Traveler ~ I haven't been able to decide if this song is more appropriate for Severus or Hermione, but it really does sum up the dance of perpetually bad timing they have throughout both stories, and the frustration they feel with each other.
4. She's Always a Woman, Billy Joel ~ When Lucius offers to pay off Charlie to leave Hermione, I see Severus sitting in some dank pub, nursing a glass of firewhiskey and scowling as this song plays in the background. It's also a very fitting song for the Lucius/Narcissa dynamic throughout the story.
5. Song for a Winter's Night, Sarah McLachlan ~ The orginal Gordon Lightfoot version of this song wouldn't fit the story, but this cover is so mystical and sad. It reminds me of Severus and Hermione's working relationship as they start the search for Crabbe's and Goyle's killers and struggle with these feelings that tell them there's something still bubbling beneath the surface.
6. Be My Escape, Relient K ~ I realize this is a vaguely Christian band, and a vaguely Christian song, but once you look past the spirituality of it, this has always been my Charlie song. Every time I've written Charlie in fic or rp, this song has summed up all his faults perfectly, and he's no exception in Mercy. I think that if there are still questions about the reasons the epilogue ends the way it does, they can be explained by these lyrics. In fact, my biggest regret about this story is that I didn't give Charlie the character development and page time he deserved as a major character. He was at least as essential to the story as Lucius, but I fell into one of the traps of posting a WIP, and at some point started writing the story everyone wanted to read instead of the one I wanted to write.
7. As Is, Ani Difranco ~ Just give up, and admit that you're an asshole/ You would be in some good company/ And I think you'd find that your friends would forgive you/ But maybe I'm just speaking for me I don't think there are a set of lyrics anywhere that better sum up Hermione's point of view when she finds Severus in Pansy's bed.
8. Come to My Window, Melissa Etheridge ~ This is the song that I think sums up Severus's and Hermione's admission that they want each other. I played this nearly every time I wrote a smut scene between the two of them.
9. Lovesong, Tori Amos ~ It's a cover of the original Cure song, and it perfectly hits Narcissa's 'voice' for me. Whenever I'm alone with you, I feel like I am whole again
10. I Am Yours, Tracy Chapman ~ This is the song in my head when Severus steps into the hospital room after Hermione's dragon accident. It's simple and sweet, and I think that's what their relationship had been distilled to by that point in the story.
11. Mercy of the Fallen, Dar Williams ~ Um, so I probably don't have to explain this choice since it's the namesake of the story and all. Every line in this song has a place somewhere in the story, and every character fits into it somehow. I've listened to it incessantly while working on Mercy over the last three years. So while Mercy is not a songfic, it could very well be one.
And of course, I can't put this one on here without sharing, so here it is at YouSendIt: Mercy of the Fallen
Mercy of the Fallen
Words and music by Dar Williams
Oh my fair North Star
I have held to you dearly
I had asked you to steer me
'Til one cloud-scattered night
I got lost in my travels
I met Leo the lion
Met a king and met a giant
With their errant light
There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say they have no claim to know what's right
There's the weak and the strong
And the bets that have no answer
And that's where I may rest my head tonight
I saw all the bright people
In imposing flocks they landed
And they got what they demanded
And they scratched at the ground
Then they flew
And the fear grew as sweetly for the flightless
Who had longing yet despite this
Who could hear every sound
There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say they have no claim to know what's right
And if your sister or your brother
Were stumbling on their last mile
In a self-inflicted exile
You'd wish for them a humble friend
And I hope someday
That the best of Falstaff's planners
Give me seven half-built manors
Where half dreams may dream without end
There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say hey it's not my place to know what's right
There's the weak and the strong
And the many stars that guide us
We have some of them inside us
So, those are my notes on the soundtrack, and all I'm going to say on the story. I hope the people who were waiting for me to finish in order to start reading aren't disappointed by some of the cringeworthy points early on in the story. I hope that it ends up to be worth the time you've invested in reading it. And now I'm looking forward to the bittersweetness of moving on.
I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating. This soundtrack has been a regular part of my writing routine for over 3 years now. It's going to be strange to listen to all these songs without purpose now. So I wanted to write down my thoughts on the songs that I used to write this story, where I thought they fit in, and what they really meant to me in relation to the characters.
Mercy Soundtrack Notes
1. After All, Dar Williams ~ This song belongs to Veils more than Mercy, but I think it really set the scene for Mercy. In the final chapter of Veils, Severus approaches Malfoy manor at sunrise, and these lyrics: The sun rose, with so many colors it nearly broke my heart/ It worked me over like a work of art, and I was part of all that are what painted the visual picture for me. I also mirrored it in the last chapter of Mercy, when Hermione gets out of bed to watch the sunrise outside her window.
2. For You, Tracy Chapman ~ This one just strikes me as very appropriate for Severus's realization that he fucked up by leaving Hermione. In particular, I hear it in the background when Severus faces her at Malfoy manor after Hermione has announced her new relationship with Charlie upon returning from Romania.
3. Runaround, Blues Traveler ~ I haven't been able to decide if this song is more appropriate for Severus or Hermione, but it really does sum up the dance of perpetually bad timing they have throughout both stories, and the frustration they feel with each other.
4. She's Always a Woman, Billy Joel ~ When Lucius offers to pay off Charlie to leave Hermione, I see Severus sitting in some dank pub, nursing a glass of firewhiskey and scowling as this song plays in the background. It's also a very fitting song for the Lucius/Narcissa dynamic throughout the story.
5. Song for a Winter's Night, Sarah McLachlan ~ The orginal Gordon Lightfoot version of this song wouldn't fit the story, but this cover is so mystical and sad. It reminds me of Severus and Hermione's working relationship as they start the search for Crabbe's and Goyle's killers and struggle with these feelings that tell them there's something still bubbling beneath the surface.
6. Be My Escape, Relient K ~ I realize this is a vaguely Christian band, and a vaguely Christian song, but once you look past the spirituality of it, this has always been my Charlie song. Every time I've written Charlie in fic or rp, this song has summed up all his faults perfectly, and he's no exception in Mercy. I think that if there are still questions about the reasons the epilogue ends the way it does, they can be explained by these lyrics. In fact, my biggest regret about this story is that I didn't give Charlie the character development and page time he deserved as a major character. He was at least as essential to the story as Lucius, but I fell into one of the traps of posting a WIP, and at some point started writing the story everyone wanted to read instead of the one I wanted to write.
7. As Is, Ani Difranco ~ Just give up, and admit that you're an asshole/ You would be in some good company/ And I think you'd find that your friends would forgive you/ But maybe I'm just speaking for me I don't think there are a set of lyrics anywhere that better sum up Hermione's point of view when she finds Severus in Pansy's bed.
8. Come to My Window, Melissa Etheridge ~ This is the song that I think sums up Severus's and Hermione's admission that they want each other. I played this nearly every time I wrote a smut scene between the two of them.
9. Lovesong, Tori Amos ~ It's a cover of the original Cure song, and it perfectly hits Narcissa's 'voice' for me. Whenever I'm alone with you, I feel like I am whole again
10. I Am Yours, Tracy Chapman ~ This is the song in my head when Severus steps into the hospital room after Hermione's dragon accident. It's simple and sweet, and I think that's what their relationship had been distilled to by that point in the story.
11. Mercy of the Fallen, Dar Williams ~ Um, so I probably don't have to explain this choice since it's the namesake of the story and all. Every line in this song has a place somewhere in the story, and every character fits into it somehow. I've listened to it incessantly while working on Mercy over the last three years. So while Mercy is not a songfic, it could very well be one.
And of course, I can't put this one on here without sharing, so here it is at YouSendIt: Mercy of the Fallen
Mercy of the Fallen
Words and music by Dar Williams
Oh my fair North Star
I have held to you dearly
I had asked you to steer me
'Til one cloud-scattered night
I got lost in my travels
I met Leo the lion
Met a king and met a giant
With their errant light
There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say they have no claim to know what's right
There's the weak and the strong
And the bets that have no answer
And that's where I may rest my head tonight
I saw all the bright people
In imposing flocks they landed
And they got what they demanded
And they scratched at the ground
Then they flew
And the fear grew as sweetly for the flightless
Who had longing yet despite this
Who could hear every sound
There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say they have no claim to know what's right
And if your sister or your brother
Were stumbling on their last mile
In a self-inflicted exile
You'd wish for them a humble friend
And I hope someday
That the best of Falstaff's planners
Give me seven half-built manors
Where half dreams may dream without end
There's the wind and the rain
And the mercy of the fallen
Who say hey it's not my place to know what's right
There's the weak and the strong
And the many stars that guide us
We have some of them inside us
So, those are my notes on the soundtrack, and all I'm going to say on the story. I hope the people who were waiting for me to finish in order to start reading aren't disappointed by some of the cringeworthy points early on in the story. I hope that it ends up to be worth the time you've invested in reading it. And now I'm looking forward to the bittersweetness of moving on.
