Then Came the Fire Playlist
Back at it again! Making book and character playlists has been something I’ve done forever, and it feels so good to be able to share these amazing songs! The playlist is now available on Spotify. I thought I’d take a moment here to go into more detail regarding my thoughts!
SPOILER WARNING!! Reading on from here will 100% spoil the plot of Then Came the Fire for you. BEWARE! (You could grab a copy here, if you wanted!)
Art by Will Berendsen
Paul Kantner - Have You Seen the Stars Tonite: I just love the mood of this song and all the instrumentation. It gives off the perfect feeling to accompany Grace and Patrick’s late night stroll. The two shared a very traditional courtship, and Patrick is happy to invite Grace anywhere with him.
Steve Balsamo - Breaking Apart: The luckiest day in Patrick’s life was when he met Grace. At first, she was a shining example of goodness, the way most of the town sees her, but the closer they grew, the more Patrick learned that there is so much more to her. She’s trustworthy and brave and will fight to make her voice heard if the world is too loud. Patrick grows to depend on her stability just as much as her sweetness. What they go through together throughout Fire just makes them stronger.
Anaïs Mitchell - Bright Star: This is a pretty perfect choice for Patrick and Grace’s meet-cute. All of Patrick’s struggles growing up and living in Three Willows seemed to become worth it if the new direction he could travel in was towards Grace. And rather than keep her distant, he makes her a part of his journey, and she him.
Rachel Platten - Better Place: I’m realizing this playlist is mostly an excuse for me to fill it up with sweet love songs. This one in particular describes the relationship from Grace’s perspective. Patrick sees her, not just as one of the many Templetons, but as her own person, and he shows a great depth of understanding of her needs. Grace has always been the quiet one in a very loud family, but Patrick doesn’t make her shout.
The Souther-Hillman-Furay Band - Fallin’ In Love: The after party of the wedding. While all the couples get tested during the story, Grace and Patrick are sort of meant to remind everyone that falling in love can be fun and freeing. Never forget that.
Art by Will Berendsen
Chris de Burgh - Lonely Sky: Loneliness had been slowly killing Bijou for years when she lived in Paris. She’s only somewhat aware of it herself, and it only succeeded in making the cage around her that much stronger. The greatest challenge she faces is breaking down her own defenses and accepting the very few moments of kindness she’s ever received, until she met Louis. It’s something Louis recognizes in her, and gives her the space she needs. And later on, it will be something Bijou sees in Jessalyn.
Nick Pitera - Stairwells: The thing that brings Louis and Bijou together, the thing that keeps them both going in their darkest moments, is music. The songs they sing are always for each other, before they are for the audience. The echoes around the stairwells are enough to remind them until they have each other.
Cody Fry - I Hear A Symphony: Bijou inspires Louis from the very first moment he hears her sing. She brings more than talent into his life, she brings creativity, vision, and eventually, love. As she grows, so does he, rising to meet her with bigger and better songs. With Bijou, simple tunes become symphonies.
The Brothers Bright - Second’s Glance: This song was an excellent model for what one of Bijou and Louis’s songs might sound like, as they perform across America. Storytelling mixed with spectacle.
Renaissance - Midas Man: The relentless rhythm of this song always makes me think of the decades the Bordeauxs spend on the road, as the curse Bijou is under gets worse and worse. Louis loses so much of his optimism, becoming a twisted caricature of his former self. All that matters is the money. All that matters is who can serve his needs. All he needs is to keep Bijou alive.
The Brothers Bright - It’s A Wonderful Life: The whole idea for the Bordeauxs began with this song (“Me and my red-headed wife?” 😉 ). I love the bombastic voice of the lead vocalist and the feeling of spiraling out of control with a smile on your face. Listen to the very end to hear the mask crack.
Marianas Trench - Wildfire: Cut to the end of Then Came the Fire, Louis on his own for the first time in years, and he doesn’t fully understand why, or what went wrong. Why Bijou chose the fate she chose and left him behind. “From wedding bells, to private hells… From up in lights, to up in smoke.”
Art by Abril Puente
Stephen Pasquale & Kelli O’Hara - One Second and a Million Miles: This is probably my own personal ultimate love song, and it’s difficult for me not to put it on every playlist I make. But for Sam and Jessalyn, it does fit rather perfectly. At the end of Thunder, Sam confirmed that he would stay in town, and at the end of Fire, he’s no longer staying for Jessalyn, he’s staying with Jessalyn. As for her, well…
Katie Thompson - Say Goodbye: Truthfully, Jessalyn has known for quite some time that she’s fallen in love with Sam, but her overpowering self-doubt and some of the self-loathing she struggles with kept her from admitting it. At the end of the book, when she finds out that Sam feels the same way, and she sees him struggling just as much as she has, it allows her to find her courage and take action, declaring what she feels. She’s faced with walking to or away from something new, and she chooses to begin, leaving her uncertain self behind.
Once - Falling Slowly: When you get right down to it, Then Came the Fire is three love stories. Grace and Patrick are new love gaining strength, the Bordeauxs are an old love that’s suffering and failing to communicate, and Sam and Jessalyn are a slow burn love finally reaching its ignition point. They’ve grown to trust and confide in each other, with the good and the bad, which Jessalyn often struggles with. It’s not a whirlwind romance, but one they’ve come to slowly, together.
