Music Moment: The Song Remains the Same — Kina Grannis, “I Will Follow You Into the Dark”

This is a really beautiful cover in three-part harmony. Even if you don’t normally listen to the Music Moments, give it a whirl, for reals.

Kina Grannis — I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie cover)

All that uplifting, all-god’s-chillun-got-hands, tree-hugging hippie crap* to do with art and tunnels that I wrote about in today’s Liberated Negative Space entry made me think of this song, which is one of my favorite songs out there. I’ve posted the original before.

*I try to race and pick on myself before others can. It’s a hard-knock sort of a game. There really are no winners in it.

“I will follow you in to the dark.” That’s a beautiful sentiment. I think it’s exactly love, it’s exactly what we seek: that in the face of the greatest unknown, at the moment of deepest fear, we will not have to face death alone. That’s heavy. When I stop and deeply consider it, the magnitude of that idea takes my breath away.

Love of mine some day you will die
But I’ll be close behind
I’ll follow you into the dark

No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
Waiting for the hint of a spark
If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the NOs on their vacancy signs

If there’s no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I’ll follow you into the dark

In Catholic school as vicious as Roman rule
I got my knuckles bruised by a lady in black
And I held my tongue as she told me
“Son fear is the heart of love”
So I never went back

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the NOs on their vacancy signs

If there’s no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I’ll follow you into the dark

You and me have seen everything to see
From Bangkok to Calgary
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down
The time for sleep is now
It’s nothing to cry about
’cause we’ll hold each other soon
In the blackest of rooms

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the No’s on their vacancy signs

If there’s no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I’ll follow you into the dark
Then I’ll follow you into the dark

I was shocked by the number of covers of this song on the YouTube (in fact, here is a link to the shitloads of search returns). Check it out. Over 12,000 people have posted videos covering this song. Holy cannoli.

I think that speaks to what I just said about the universality of the theme, the fact that this song is about the essential thing that we are seeking in this life when we look for love. A partner, a person to love and be loved in return, someone to have our back and stand beside us and hold our hand when “our souls embark.” All these people are touched by this song and choose to cover it, and what’s more, they are probably each singing it with all their heart dedicated to a certain person they have in mind, and just that idea … is overwhelmingly beautiful.

Maybe I was wrong about being meant to be alone. A thing like this makes me think that it can’t possibly be that anyone is meant to be alone, can it? I need to think more about this.

By the way, please do visit Kina’s site and consider buying her new album, “Stairwells.” She is an excellent musician and a beautiful, soulful girl. I hope great things for her. In this song, which she recorded in 2007, she harmonizes with her friends(?), or relatives(?), Emi and Misa.

Tags: a confession, art, candids, Death Cab, death cab for cutie, divorce, i will follow you in to the dark, images, Kina Grannis, Liberating Negative Space, light, loneliness, love, models, Music --- Too many notes., Music Moment, naked, nipples, nsfw, nude, peace, photography, Pictures, quotes, Self-audit, stills, The Song Remains the Same, topless, tree hugging hippie crap, tunnels, writing