#210 Leave This Island

Have you ever been compelled?
Under a spell?
From a protagonist that knows you far too well?

For several days I’ve had this song in my head. I can hear the nostalgic music non-stop and see the images of the video inside my head. Sometime in 2014, I discovered the song “Leave This Island” by Maximo Park. My heart was just grabbed by this song. It’s full of emotions and minor chords.

Those lyrics seem to be about a couple who is about to split, but they also seem to be about the singer who promises to do anything to keep it together. The singer is asking lots of questions. He obviously wants the other one to stay.

Are you going to tell me why
There’s a backpack by the bedroom window?
It’s a pack of lies:
“Everything has to reach a peak sometime.”

When I watched the music video then, I had to call Janne so she would watch it too. I did this far too often. When I found good things I liked, I had to share them with her. She made the comment that the video seemed very depressive for her. I agreed then and I agree now.

I watched the video again after several years. It’s about a frail old man. He is alone and perhaps lonely. He seems to have trouble keeping it together, but he is still doing everyday stuff. There is only a cat around. He seems to be praying to someone. There is that moment when he turns the radio on and starts dancing with a pole that seems to be filling in for someone who is not there anymore. Yes, it’s depressive but real.

I still like that song and still like the video. I feel the same homesickness I got the first time. It’s just that now there is an empty spot next to me. I have to try to remember what Janne said and how she said it as this is all I have.

I will act as a semaphore
I will guide you to a perfect landing
I will act as a distant shore
I will aim to be the last man standing for you