Soundtrack to our Stories

 Part One:

            The five songs for the soundtrack I picked are:

1.      Where There Is Darkness by Paul Leonard-Morgan

2.      Prayer for the Victims by Immediate Music

3.      Apprehension by Joel Nielsen

4.      Semper Fi by Christian Reindl

5.      Homecoming by Christian Reindl

 

All of these songs are to my story about PTSD in the “A Battle for Positions” topic. The first song is played in the beginning during the patrol in Fallujah. The beginning is very ominous and its supposed to give the feeling of potential dread reminiscent of all of the unknown factors that played during the Battle of Fallujah. Towards the middle of the song, it’s very chaotic with the different sounds and instruments, this would go into the initial gunshots and the confusion/stress that the Marines are under. As the song bleeds into the last quarter, there is clarity as the trumpet and drums are most prominent and add a feeling of power and might; this part of the song would go to where the Marines locate who is firing at them and engage with superior firepower.

The second song comes into play when the main character realizes that his best friend is dead. The song is a dreary song and I feel it adds to the emotional turmoil that the protagonist is feeling during these moments.

The third song is when the protagonist wakes up from his nightmare and when his wife embraces him. The first 30 seconds of the song evokes this feeling of panic or uncertainty but then there is this soft comforting melody yet it has this feeling of sadness and lonliness. As the song comes to a close, there is tension and this is where the protagonist and his wife have an argument.

The fourth song is to play when the protagonist reflects back onto what he went through during the battle. The sounds of battle, gunshots, children crying, and explosions really add to the flash back sequence before the protagonist settles on the kid that he shot and killed. The last minute of the song plays into the protagonist’s story about the child and the events that lead up to him shooting the kid.

The beginning fifth song fits into the ending of the story where the wife of the protagonist is attempting to convince her husband to find the help that he so desperately needs. The last 2 minutes and 15 seconds of the song add to the realization of the protagonist that he truly needs help. As the song comes to a close, there is an air of hope as the piano plays along side some kind of stringed instrument.

 

Part Two:

 

            The song that I chose that tells a story is called So Silent Ronin by Zack Hemsey. The story that is told in the lyrics is about the author confronting the flawed methods that people use to cope with problems and injustices in society all the while confronting people who preach about change but aren’t willing to make or be that change on a personal or cultural level.

The lyrics to the song are here: 

He was down on the floor with his lips to a glass
Said he dreamed of a future that won't come to pass
That he once strived to excel in a world so vast
But why run a race when it's rig and he's fixed in last
Then he mused all of life is a joke and he laughed
That it is what it is and he's thankful for all that he has
I said well let me just pose one question and ask
If you just want what you have, then why are are you sad


If you want to fight
Then why are you running
If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent


She was tripping on something that was laced in her tea
And she was high as a kite when she said she could see
Said we in the land of the free but no freedom grows
And if we in a brave new world where'd the brave all go
I said, hell if I know
Then she told me that the problem is society
Everybody crippled by anxiety
No one is the person that they try to be
Then she said, what we need are a few with a view that can bring a change through
That we need less talk and more do
So I said to her, what about you


If you want to fight
Then why are you running

If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent


I was listening to someone give a speech
Something 'bout the knowledge of enlightenment he reached
And as my eyes glazed over in my seat
He approached and he asked if he could challenge my beliefs
I said by all means have at it
Then he talked about the suffering and source of bad habits
How the emptying of mind is the challenge
And withdrawing from the world is the cure to all sadness
I said that all sounds like madness
Why have a life and then not be alive
Why have a mind and then choose to be blind
What you call wisdom is the fear that you hide
You cannot retreat from those demons inside
This is not peace, it's a mask you adorn
This is not truth, it's a trap, nothing more
And you're too busy running from something you can't ignore

If you want to fight
Then why are you running
If everything is fine for you
Why are you stumbling
So silent