One sign a song from has transcended its artists original intent is when it breaks past the album and becomes a much greater anthem. Gen X and Millennials may have memories of gagging over the lyrics to “My Heart Will Go on” from Titanic when signing it in junior high choir, but it can’t be denied that the song has become a love song standard, played not only every February but become a choice first dance song at weddings. “(Good Riddance) Time of Your Life” by Green Day has appropriately become a graduation anthem, as it celebrates the act of moving on to the next stage of life, and yet taking a moment to appreciate that which came before.
The same is true for one of the key songs on the soundtrack for Prince Caspian, “The Call.” To date of the songs on the Narnia soundtracks, it’s one of the few that has been arranged to SATB choral music making it a natural fit for school and church youth choirs to perform at the end of the year. The song was even covered by a British choral group, The Poppy Girls, made up of young women who each had a parent in the British armed services with the song being performed for the British Royal family at a Day of Remembrance Event. Whether it’s the passage of time as you finish school, or saying good-bye to a parent heading off into a combat zone, it taps into the pain and longing one feels when they say good bye, the hope for a reunion, and the resilience of the friendships found along the way.
Originally recorded and performed by Regina Spektor the song found a place in the hearts of Friends of Narnia everywhere with its melancholy tone that perfectly captured the idea of leaving Narnia and promising to return when called. She made for a very interesting choice for the soundtrack. Unlike Alanis who was a chart topper, or Lisbeth Scott who was a soundtrack legend like Enya, Regina was part of the anti-folk, indie movement. Born in Moscow, Russia, her family left the country after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989. Coming from a highly musical family, she learned to play classical piano at the age of seven. As a teenager in New York City, she hit the indie music scene at among the many venues the East Village’s Sidewalk Cafe, with her first two albums being self-published.
She excelled at writing songs about longing, with her song “Samson” seeming to frame the story, not from the perspective not only of Delilah, but from the woman to whom he was first betrothed who was given to his attendant, capturing that forgotten chapter of the story. Leonard Cohen may have framed the imagery as beautiful ecstasy, but Regina understood the story as a living tragedy in which Samson and the women he loved were each other’s downfall. Not only was she capable of weaving biblical imagery into her songs and capturing the tragedy, she knew how to incorporate time less myths such as the myth of Oedpius, framing it not in psychology but in myth and legend and the deep regret the characters had in the story when the truth is revealed that is missed when the story is reduced to a mere clinical label. Her music often contains many deep theological and mythical themes such as in “Apres Mois” even features a Hebrew prayer to God while her song “Man of a Thousand Faces” seems to draw its title from Joseph Campbell’s work on comparative myth.
Yet despite her roots in anti-folk, she could also create some beautiful symphonic music, such as her cover of the Beetles classic while “My Guitar Gently Weeps” for the movie Kubo and the Two Strings that introduced a new generation to a rock standard, giving it an edge like a Bond theme and it was this symphonic feeling she brought to Narnia. Spektor’s “The Call” was the perfect fit for the story of the Pevensie’s return to Narnia, perhaps more so then Alanis on Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Regina was a longtime fan of the books and when she read the books again before writing the song. If Lisbeth Scott was to the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe what Enya was to the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, then Regian Spektor was to Prince Caspian what Emiliana Torrini was to the Two Towers. The second story in the franchise was a little darker, a little more mature and reflected on pain and longing. However, where the raspy nature of Torrinni’s voice captured the broken nature of Gollum, Spektor captured the longing of the four Pevensies to return to Narnia, especially Lucy.
We feel how much she loves Narnia and she’s seen how much it changed, and even how her family is growing and changing. It’s hard, it’s scary, but she holds fast to her belief in Narnia. It’s probably what we remember most with the song. That last, wistful look on Lucy’s face as she prepares to say good bye to Aslan, Reepicheep, and all their friends of Narnia. Through Spektor’s careful pen and haunting voice, she gave Lucy a song that wasn’t a lament, but a promise, she, and the other friends of Narnia will always come back when called. And as friends of that land know in the end, there would come a day when they’d never have to say good bye.
<iframe data-testid=”embed-iframe” style=”border-radius:12px” src=”https://open.spotify.com/embed/playlist/43XxPSStM9rcSE96t1rF2f?utm_source=generator&si=f7535c48c71140b5″ width=”100%” height=”352″ frameBorder=”0″ allowfullscreen=”” allow=”autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture” loading=”lazy”></iframe>
Side A
The Call
Samson
Side B
Apres Moi
Man of a Thousand Faces.
*Bonus
My Guitar Gently Weeps.
Be the first to comment