Blaire Pickens: We Have Always Lived in a Castle Soundtrack

1. Intro- The xx 2. The Ballad of Love and Hate – The Avett Brothers 3. The Funeral – Band of Horses 4. Blood Bank- Bon Iver 5. Turtle Island – Beach House 1. Intro – The xx. This awesome atmospheric beginning to The xx’s first album is truly a work of art. The song is so simple and there aren’t any words. Because it has no words, it makes you focus on the music itself which gives it strong meaning. The beautiful humming and droning is what I perfectly picture playing the background at the start of this novel. Constance and Merricat are unique and this song would almost shed a haunting but intriguing light on them. 2. The Ballad of Love and Hate- The Avett Brothers. This song is a story itself. It has a beginning, middle and end which makes it perfect for a song that would be for a book like We Have Always Lived in a Castle. The song has many parts that I relate back to this novel. The back and forth story of “love” and “hate” reminds me of Merricat and her inner struggle to be faithful to her family and protect them. I imagine this song playing as Merricat walks into town and plays games with her self along the sidewalk. 3. The Funeral- Band of Horses. The reoccurring line of this song is, “At every occasion I’ll be ready for the funeral. Every occasion, once more, it’s called the funeral.” This song is simply fitting for this novel as Constance has murdered her parents. The song is creepy in a beautiful way because the melody goes along with the lyrics about a funeral, a death, perfectly. 4. Blood Bank- Bon Iver. Justin Vernon of Bon Iver wrote this song while trapped in a cabin alone in the middle of Vermont. This song came from a lonesome place and I see a lot of that in this novel. One line in this song that I feel just goes along so well with We Have Always Lived in a Castle is “That secret that you knew, but don't know how to tell, it fucks with your honor, and it teases your head, but you know that its good girl, 'cos its running you with red.” Constance killed her parents when she put arson in the sugar jar at the dinner table and its now a secret that runs her with red. Red is often identified as color of guilt and sin. 5. Turtle Island- Beach House. This song is on the soundtrack for We Have Always Lived in a Castle simply because it’s hauntingly beautiful. The tone, sound and lyrics of the song are so accurate to describe the vibe and overall mood of the novel. It is creepy and special in a poetic sort of way.