Bookish Soundtracks (A Book Hangover Remedy)

So I don’t know about you, but fantasy books seem to give me the worst kind of book-hangover imaginable. Not knowing what to do with myself, I usually drown my fiction-induced emotions out with music. Because that’s healthy??

I like to think of these as the songs that play during the credits of a movie book, and give you some sense of closure. Or maybe just make you cry about fictional people even more. Take your pick.

So I’ve compiled some songs into pseudo-playlists (5 songs each) for the last three fantasy YA books I’ve read, along with the parts of the lyrics I think relate to the books! Enjoy:

Lady Midnight, by Cassandra Clare:

Featured Songs:

1. I Found – Amber Run
   • “and I’ll use you as a focal point
     so I don’t lose sight of what I want
     and I’ve moved further than I thought I could
     but I missed you more than I thought I would
     and I’ll use you as a warning sign
     that if you talk enough sense then you’ll lose your mind
     and I found love where it wasn’t supposed to be
     right in front of me“
2. What the Water Gave Me – Florence + The Machine
   • “time it took us
     to where the water was
     that’s what the water gave me
     and time goes quicker
     between the two of us
     oh, my love, don’t forsake me
     take what the water gave me”
   • “‘cause they took your loved ones
     but returned them in exchange for you”
3. Los Angles – Northern Youth
   • “I’ve been running
     for a long time
     and i’ve been thinking
     of ways to make up my mind
     I’ve been looking
     I’ve been running“
   • “Northern youthwhat happened to you?
     you took them
     and stole them
     and broke them
     Northern youth
     what happened to you?
     Los Angeles, 
     I’m home“
4. Drive – Halsey
   • “all we do is drive
     all we do is think about the feelings that we hide
     all we do is sit in silence waiting for a sign
     sick and full of pride
     all we do is drive“
   • *mentions California*
   • “your laugh echoes down the highway
     carves into my hollow chest,
     spreads over the emptiness
     it’s bliss”
5. This Is The Last Time – The National
   • “oh, but your love is such a swamp
     you’re the only thing I want
     and I said I wouldn’t cry about it
     I…
     this is the last time”
   • “we were so under the brine
     we were so vacant and kind”
   • “I am in trouble
     can’t get these thoughts out of me
     Jenny, I’m seeing double
     I know this changes everything“
   • “it takes a lot of pain to pick me up
     it takes a lot of rain in the cup
     baby you gave me bad ideas
     baby you left me sad and high“
6. Agape – Bear’s Den
   • “even though your words hurt the most
     I still want to hear them
     every day
     you say let it go,
     but I can’t let it go“
   • “for I’m so scared of losing you
     and I don’t know what I can do about it
     about it
     so tell me how long love before you go
     and leave me here on my own
     I know it
     I don’t want to know who I am without you“

(That’s more than five, but shhh, I am still quite hungover on this one)

Magonia, by Maria Dahvana Headley

1. She Lit a Fire – Lord Huron
   • “I’ve been through the desert
     and I’ve been across the sea
     I’ve been walking through the mountains
     I’ve wandered through the trees for her“
   • “where, could that girl have gone
     where, I’ve wandered far
     where, could that girl have gone
     she left no trace but I know her face, I will find her“
2. Bird Song – Florence + The Machine
   • “but he sang louder and louder inside the house,
     and no I couldn’t get him out“
   • “I opened my mouth to scream and shout
     waved my arms and flapped about
     but I couldn’t scream I couldn’t shout,
     the song was coming from my mouth
     from my mouth”
3. Runaway – Aurora 
   • “I was listening to the ocean
     I saw a face in the sand
     but when I picked it up
     then it vanished away from my hands
     I had a dream I was seven
     climbing my way in a tree
     I saw a piece of heaven
     waiting, impatient, for me“
4. Between Two Lungs – Florence + The Machine
   • “between two lungs it was released
     the breath that carried me
     the sigh that blew me forward”
   • “no more gasping for a breath
     the air has filled me head to toe
     and I can see the ground far below
     I have this breath and I hold it tight
     and I keep it in my chest with all my might
     I pray to god this breath will last
     as it pushes past my lips
     as I gasp”
5. Moonchild – M83
   • “everything was in the dark
     no memories at all 
     just a tiny freezing wind in my back
     as I was sitting there 
     singing a song they had never heard before 
     suddenly, a voice told me
     ‘keep on singing, little boy
     and raise your arms in the big black sky
     raise your arms the highest you can
     so the whole universe will glow‘”
   • “something was missing 
     I realized I was in love with a voice 
     I called it, again, and again”

The Raven King, by Maggie Steifvater

1. Invisible – Dandelion Hands
   • “everyday I feel like I’m at war with the world.
     some days I feel like I’m standing on the tallest mountain
     screaming at the top of my lungs,
     ‘look at me, please look at me.‘”
   • “I want to hold you and kiss your scars and say,
     ‘I swear to god it’ll be okay, not today, but one day.
     one day you will wake up and smile for no damn reason.'”
2. The Yawning Grave – Lord Huron
   • “I speak to birds and tell them where to fly
     I sing the songs that you hear on the breeze
     I write the names of the rocks and the trees“
   • “I tried to warn you when you were a child
     I told you not to get lost in the wilds
     I sent you omens and all kinds of signs”
   • “oh you fool, there are rules, I am coming for you
     you can run but you can’t be saved
     darkness brings evil things, oh the reckoning begins
     you have opened the yawning grave“
3. We Belong – Reuben Bullock
   • “something inside of me knows
     the further we head, the father we go
     we are closer to calling it home“
   • “we are hungry and alive
     we are hands, we are eyes
     we are slaves in a way, captives entire
     and it’s the language of age, for the mothers and fathers
     raising the gates for the sons and the daughters
     we belong, in this place“
4. Alternate World – Son Lux
   • “oh we’re magical
     we’ll wake the dead from sleep
     oh we’ll shed our skin
     we’ll walk the other side
     oh we’ll brace for it
     and conquer everything“
   • “tear me away from this fight
     tear me away
     take me to an
     alternate world
     alternate age
     alternate life“
5. Blinding – Florence + The Machine
   • “seems that I have been held, in some dreaming state
     a tourist in the waking world, never quite awake“
   • “no more dreaming of the dead as if death itself was undone
     no more calling like a crow for a boy, for a body in the garden
   • “and I could hear the thunder and see the lightning crack”
     all around the world was waking, I never could go back
     ’cause all the walls of dreaming, they were torn wide open
     and finally it seemed that the spell was broken“

 

So that’s that. I’m just now realizing how much Florence + The Machine is on here…oh well.

What do you think? How do you deal with a book hangover? Do any songs remind you of certain books? Let me know! And as always, happy Wednesday!

 

Update 14/08/16: I’ve added Spotify playlists to make listening a little easier!