Today is the last day of 2014 (thank God), and what better way to ring in the New Year than to remind ourselves of our own impending mortality?
Yes, Marina And The Diamonds is back with another Froot Of The Month for January, this time represented by a blueberry: The song is called “Immortal” and, according to an early interview with The Line Of Best Fit, the grimly themed tune was inspired by a war memorial in Poland.
“It’s a really universal issue discussing how you leave your mark and how it’s really important to preserve memories and remember people,” she says, offering an explanation of its genesis. “I started writing that song when I went to a war memorial in Poland. Something that somebody I was with just struck me… they said ‘It’s not a very beautiful memorial, but it deserves to be visited to keep their memory alive.’ That’s how the song – well, the lyrics – started.”
The song itself is, like “Happy,” a rather solemn ballad, although the production on “Immortal” is more involved than her sparse December song. (That, and this song is the very opposite of anything happy.)
Here, with the album’s closing number, Marina reflects on the inevitability of our demise across atmospheric sounds, drums and a lush guitar strum. “I’m forever chasing after time, but everybody dies/If I could buy forever at a price, I would buy it twice,” she sadly coos.
But while the subject matter might be depressing (death is inevitable, after all), there is an underlying sense of hope: “The only thing that doesn’t die is love.” It’s a beautiful sentiment, and the accompanying video, which heavily utilizes nostalgic home videos of loved ones as a backdrop, Lana Del Rey style, helps to underscore the message.
“When you love somebody, they’ll always leave too soon/But a memory could make a flower bloom.”
Here’s to making everlasting memories in 2015. Have a Happy New Year, everybody.