This is a playlist full of songs inspired by the short story, “Your Place and Mine” written by Nicci French.
Playlist for “Your Place and Mine”
These songs are placed in an order based on Terry’s feelings throughout the story.
The song “Realize” by Colbie Caillat is about a girl wanting the boy she likes, to realize how perfect they would be together. The lyrics of the chorus, and the slow, soothing tempo shows the calm side of Terry at beginning of the story. On the first day of the blog, Terry was explaining how she excited she was whenever she saw him. The joy inside of her whenever she saw him glancing at her. She has waited weeks for the moment that he would ask her out (French.”Nicci French: Your Place and Mine”). The story of the song and Terry’s love life at this time were alike.
The second song, “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat, portrays the relaxed, giddy feeling that Terry felt after she and Laurence spent the night together. The lyrics and the melody is so calm, and it just fit well with the setting; the morning after an amazing night. Terry felt that everything was so perfect. It seemed that she found her place of peace with Laurence, which matched the vibe of the song.
The third song, “I Can Hear the Bells”, symbolizes Terry’s quick realization that she was in love with Laurence. This relationship between Laurence and Terry began to appear as an obsession. Terry could relate to this song because after a few dates, she has already bought Laurence a gift; not just any gift; his and hers mugs (French.”Nicci French: Your Place and Mine”). It was too soon and she was already thinking way ahead into the future. It is really similar to the song about how this crush quickly became an obsession and the thoughts of getting married.
The fourth song, “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink, symbolizes how Terry believed that she could save her relationship with Laurence. Her efforts and desperation to make it work, matches the meaning of the song. The song resembles the story because in the chorus, the lyrics say, “we’re not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again.” It was just a powerful line of the song. With that one line, it summarized the thoughts of Terry during that time.
Finally, The last song, “Blank Space” by Taylor Swift, summarizes Terry throughout the story exceptionally well. The lyrics matched perfectly. The song portrays a crazy, obsessive girlfriend, which I strongly truly believe suits Terry’s character. In the beginning of the story, Terry seemed like the sweet type of girlfriend. The chorus starts with, “So it’s gonna be forever, or it’s gonna go down in flames”, and it seems very accurate in relation to Terry’s relationships. Both her relationships with Rob and Laurence ended up in flames. It seemed that they broke up with her for similar reasons; she was moving too fast in the relationship (French.”Nicci French: Your Place and Mine”). The result of her break ups showed that she is indeed the crazy, obsessive girlfriend.
A psycho song for a psycho story!
Citation: Taylor Swift – Blank Space. 10 Nov. 2014. YouTube. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
Out of all these songs, I personally think that “Blank Space” best represents the story because the song gives a psychological thriller vibe. The melody sounds a bit mysterious and kind of scary, which is absolutely perfect for the story. In the story, Terry seemed very obsessed with all her lovers, like Taylor Swift was in the music video. The plot is really intriguing, especially the few parts when flashbacks of Rob occurred. The song was a perfect reflection of the story overall!
Citation: French, Nicci. “Nicci French – Your Place and Mine.” We Tell Stories, 2008. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.
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