The following is a
soundtrack that tells the story of Romeo and Juliet via Indie Alternative and
Pop songs. This is my favorite genre of music and the lyrics that are used in
these songs are very deep and emotional. I knew that artists such as Michael
Logen, Taylor Swift, Young Rising Sons and Lana Del Ray would be able to tell
the story of any of Shakespeare’s plays with their deep lyrics, and intense,
dramatic acoustics. The majority of Indi Pop songs revolve around love. Whether
that is falling in or out of love, these songs discuss the intense emotional
roller coaster that goes along with love and relationships. When I was
listening to my playlist, I was able to visualize the scenes of Romeo and
Juliet because it is one of the most tragic love stories every told, and the
emotions that coincide with the storyline go perfectly with this specific genre
of music. The focus of this playlist is
on the emotions and thoughts of Romeo and Juliet as they go through their
relationship. These songs will focus on how they feel rather than touching on
the feud, or the thoughts of other characters in the play.
High- Young Rising Sons
Act 1 Scene 1
At
the beginning of the play, Romeo is depressed and wandering around the city
wishing that he was in this perfect relationship with Rosaline. At this point
of the play, Benvolio comes up to Romeo to discuss his emotions and why he has
been acting so depressed. Romeo states
that he is in love with Rosaline but that he feels so much pain because there
is uncertainty about where her heart lies and what she feels. Romeo wants to be in love, but he is unable
to find the right person. This song by the Young Rising Sons touches on a
similar idea. The lyrics show that they are in a low point in their lives, but
they are searching for something better, they are searching for the “high” that
will make their lives feel complete.
Romeo realizes that he is in a low point and he doesn’t want to be, but
he is deeply searching for someone to love and in order to make his life whole.
This song perfectly describes Romeo’s mental state and thought process as he
mourns Rosaline and is eager to find the love of his life.
One lyric says, “ Inside my heart
there is an empty nest, a heavy head and a hollow chest, soft spoken like a
disease, but there is no way for you to complete me”. This perfectly describes Romeo’s situation
with Rosaline just before he meets Juliet.
Enchanted-Taylor Swift
Act 1 Scene 5
Enchanted is a song about a girl who sees a guy at party and
immediately feels a connection with him. Throughout the entire song, she is
wishing and hoping for the guy to like her, and to not be involved with someone
else. This song tells the story of the
party scene where Romeo and Juliet meet. Part of the song is about how the girl is
lonely and bored with the same routine, while at the party, until her eyes lock
with the boy she immediately falls for. Juliet
is in this same state of mind until she sees Romeo. Her parents want her to
mingle with Paris and to eventually marry him, but Juliet is not content with
Paris. The songs lyrics perfectly
describe the beginning sparks of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship. When they
first meet, both of their minds are elsewhere. However, when they see each
other, they forget everything else and immediately fall for one another. The
Lyrics say,
“There I was again tonight
Forcing laughter, faking
smiles
Same old tired lonely place
Walls of insincerity,
Shifting eyes and vacancy
Vanished when I saw your
face
All I can say is it was
enchanting to meet you” (Enchanted Taylor Swift).
In addition at the end of the song, after the couple has had a
lovely night together, the girl goes home wondering if the boy felt the same
way, and if she will ever see him again. When Romeo and Juliet leave each
other, they both want to see each other again and they never want to leave each
other’s sides. This hope is not only represented by the music and lyrics of
Taylor Swift’s Enchanted, but it is also the perfect
transition into the Balcony Scene.
3. Tenerife Sea- Ed Sheeran
Act
2 Scene 2
The Balcony scene is the most
commemorated scene from Romeo and Juliet. The scene revolves around Romeo and
Juliet professing their love for one another.
This is also the scene where Juliet basically proposes to Romeo. The
song Tenerife Sea by Ed Sheeran describes
Romeo’s point of view. There is also some light and dark imagery in the lyrics,
which is also seen in the play. In the song, the lyrics say,
“You look so beautiful in
this light
Your silhouette over me
The way it brings out the
blue in your eyes
Is the Tenerife Sea
And all of the voices
surrounding us here
They just fade out when you
take a breath
Just say the word and I will
disappear
Into the wilderness”
(Tenerife Sea, Ed Sheeran)
To start with, the light imagery in the song is
representative of the light imagery used by Romeo when he is speaking to Juliet
on the Balcony. Second, it touches on
the idea that they both know they are not supposed to be together, but they
want to be anyways. However, they don’t care and choose to get married anyways.
The lyric, “voices surrounding us fade out when you take a breath,” demonstrates
this idea from the play. On the balcony,
Romeo and Juliet decide to be together and get married despite the issues with
their families. They know that they are meant to be together and they are so in
love they don’t care about anything else. The emotions expressed in this song,
portray the emotions of Romeo as he decides he is going to be with Juliet no
matter what the consequences. He is so in love that he doesn’t care if he dies
the next day. It foreshadows the end of the play, while representing the
entirety of Romeo’s emotions.
4. Ride- Somo
Act
2 Scene 4
This is a part of the play that is often
misinterpreted by readers. In this scene, Juliet is anxiously waiting for her
nurse to return with Romeo so that they can consummate their marriage. Even
though Juliet is painted as the innocent girl falling in love, this is not
really the case. Juliet uses some subtle sexual language throughout the play,
but especially in this scene when she is waiting anxiously for Romeo to come up
to her room. So it is only logical for
the song that represents Juliet’s emotions, to be a song by Somo. Somo is known
for writing sexy songs that describe a night that one spends making love with
someone. This particular song, Ride,
is describing what Juliet is imagining and wanting when she is waiting for
Romeo to come up to her room. It is a very sexy song and encompasses the sexual
nature of this scene perfectly. Many people misread this scene and don’t
realize the sexual elements that are incorporated into the language. In this
contemporary adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, I wanted to ensure that this idea
was not misinterpreted and that it was evident to my listener that one, Romeo
and Juliet do consummate their marriage, and two, Juliet is not as innocent as
she seems. This song does not allow for any questioning about what actually
occurs in this scene. It explicitly states that Romeo and Juliet have sex and
demonstrates the mental attitude of Juliet leading up to the consummation of
their marriage.
5. St. Christopher – Michael Logen
Act 3 Scene 5
Romeo
has been banished for the killing of Tybalt, but he decides to spend the night
with Juliet regardless of his banishment. In the morning, when Romeo must
leave, he swears that they will see each other again. Once Romeo leaves, Juliet frantically tries
to figure out a way to escape her predicament and to be with Romeo. Juliet did
not like the advice from the Nurse to go ahead and marry Paris. Desperate for
an answer, Juliet decides to go to Friar Lawrence for help. St. Christopher is
the perfect song to express Juliet’s desperation for help in order to be able
to be with Romeo. The music in this song is dark, with a soft piano. This
represents the pain that Juliet feels having to be faced with this decision to
either lose the love of her life, and to kill herself if she does, or to try
and figure out a way to reunite with Romeo.
The lyrics are also very telling in regard to Juliet’s thought process
as she is in this initial state of desperation before she figures out how to
handle the situation. The song says,
“Gonna need some help tonight
For the long, dark road ahead
On my way back to the light
'Cause the path is so unclear
And I'm not sure who to be
All I know is I can't stay here”
As Juliet goes to see Friar Lawrence, she
knows that whatever is to come, is going to be difficult no matter what. She is
either going to kill herself without Romeo, or she will have to go through some
drastic measures in order to ensure that she can be with Romeo. The song is
desperate, sad, and emotional, and perfectly encompasses Juliet’s mental state.
6. I Know Places by Taylor Swift
Act 4 Scene 3
Juliet
has consented to marry Paris, with the plan to take the sleeping potion the
night before so that she will be presumed dead in the morning. I know Places is an intense song about
having a plan, and knowing the dangers surrounding the situation but decides to
go through with it because she doesn’t want her love story to end. The song
says,
Something happens when
everybody finds out
See the vultures circling
in dark cloud
Love's a fragile little
flame, it could burn out
It could burn out
cause they got their cages,
they got their boxes, and guns,
they are the hunters,
we are the foxes and we run
Baby I know places we
won't be found
and they'll be chasing
their tails tryin' to track us down
Cause I, I know places we
can hide, I know places (Taylor Swift I Know Places).
Instead giving up on Romeo, Juliet decides to do something crazy
in order to attempt to be with him. She realizes the danger surrounding the
situation, but she is still willing to go through with the plan because she
doesn’t want to lose the love of her life. This song has an edgy tone to it,
which expresses the intensity of the situation.
7. Dark Paradise-Lana del Ray
Act 5 Scene 3
The song, Dark Paradise is the epitome of the
suicides of Romeo and Juliet. In the song, a woman is depressed and suicidal
because her lover is dead and she no longer wants to live because he is not
with her anymore. These are the exact emotions that led Romeo and Juliet to
kill themselves. When Romeo hears of Juliet’s death, he goes to the tomb and
takes poison in order to be able to be with her in eternity. When Juliet awakes
from the sleeping potion, she sees Romeo lying dead next to her. Her heart breaks
and stabs herself so she does not have to live without him. It is a dark and depressing love story. The
lyrics describe the situation perfectly.
“And there's no remedy
For memory
Your face is like a melody,
It won't leave my head
Your soul is haunting me
And telling me
That everything is fine
But I wish I was dead
dead like you” (Lana Del Ray).
The
music is dark and depressing in addition to the story that the lyrics
tell. The music and lyrics of Dark Paradise illustrate this scene in Romeo and Juliet perfectly because it
describes the emotions of both Romeo and Juliet just before they kill
themselves.
8. Infinity-Albert Oberst
Act 5 Scene 3
After Friar Lawrence retells the story of Romeo and
Juliet’s secret marriage, and how the feud between the two families was the
ultimate cause of their death, Capulet and Montague end their feud. This song
is soft, and beautiful, in part summarizing a love story that ended because of
death, but it also comments on how the love story lives on in the stars. It also says the memory of the lovers’ lives
on forever and will bring people together for infinity. It is a slow tempo, acoustic song that
creates the ideal end to this adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. This song
coincides with the famous last line,“ There was never a tale of more woe, than
of Juliet and her Romeo” (5.3.309.). Infinity is the music version of the last
line that sums up the entire love story.
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