Soundtrack
Music inspires and enhances my writing in a profound way. Sometimes a single phrase in a song prompts me to create an entire complicated story arc. Other times I've already written something, then hear a song that matches it so well I end up weak-kneed and breathless, wondering how the lyricist invaded my brain. My methodology is akin to transcribing movies starring the characters living in my head, so there's frequently a background soundtrack to match.
The songs below all pertain to the events of the associated chapters, either by a few lines, by the dynamics of the tune, or perhaps even the entire song. Some songs may have been written with a particular intention that doesn't match my listing; for instance, I'm aware that many Lifehouse lyrics are religious, but I choose to interpret them differently. I am reserving story comments to avoid spoilers, but spoiler-sensitive readers may wish to avoid looking at the list until after reading the book since some titles are obvious in and of themselves.
When available, I have linked to official videos/clips and purchase links for the songs. This is a personal list and in no way reflects endorsement by any artist, publisher, or other entity. I highly encourage all interested fans to support these artists by purchasing their music.
| Chapter | Title/Artist | Purchase Links |
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| All | "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol
(Note that all official videos are missing a fairly important line but I've linked complete MP3 versions to the right.) |
 
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| 1 | "Have A Cuppa Tea" by Great Big Sea
(Originally by The Kinks but this is my preferred version.) |
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| "Symphony No. 13 In F Major, K. 112: II. Andante" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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| 2 | "Out of Breath" by Lifehouse |
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| "Blackbird" by The Beatles |
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| 3 | "Broken" by Lifehouse
(Note that the official video is the "New Version", but I prefer the original album version, which is linked to the right.) |
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| 4 | "Somewhere in Between" by Lifehouse |
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| 5 | "Kind and Generous" by Natalie Merchant |
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| "Tango to Evora" by Loreena McKennitt |
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| "Burning Times" by Elaine Silver |
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| "Make the World Safe" by The Whitlams | ||
| 6 | "Smile" by Uncle Kracker |
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| 7 | "The Science Frontier" by Monty Harper |
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| 8 | "Your Guardian Angel" by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus |
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| "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel |
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| 9 | "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley |
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| "She's So High" by Tal Bachman |
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| "Dance of the Hours" by Amilcare Ponchielli from "La Gioconda, Act 3, Scene 2" |
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| 9 and 12 | "Waltz of the Flowers" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from "The Nutcracker" |
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| 10 | "Cat's in the Cradle" by Harry Chapin |
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| "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera |
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| 11 | "Bad Moon Rising" by Credence Clearwater Revival |
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| 12 | "Sleeping Beauty Waltz" by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from "The Sleeping Beauty" |
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| "Wiener Blut/Vienna Blood Waltz" by Johann Strauss II |
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| "You and Me" by Lifehouse |
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| 13 | "Whatever It Takes" by Lifehouse |
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| "Out of My Head" by Fastball |
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| 14 | "Storm" by Lifehouse |
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| 15 | "First Time" by Lifehouse |
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| "Brahms's Lullaby" by Johannes Brahms |
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| 16 | "Annie's Song" by John Denver
(Note that my preferred version of this song is the more mature re-release on The Best of John Denver  , but that was CD only and out of print, so I've linked the closest possible MP3 version to the right.) |
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| "Sentimental Journey" by Doris Day |
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| "Beyond the Sea" by Bobby Darin |
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| "Somewhere My Love" by Connie Francis | ||
| "When I Fall In Love" by Nat King Cole |
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| "Some Enchanted Evening" by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein from "South Pacific" |
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| "Fly Me To the Moon" by Frank Sinatra |
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| "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers |
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| "Love Me Tender" by Elvis Presley |
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| 17 | "Ice Cream" by Sarah McLachlan |
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| "All In" by Lifehouse |
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| 18 | "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner |
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| "Come on Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson |
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| "Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin |
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| "Need You Tonight" by INXS |
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| 19 | "My Immortal" by Evanescence |
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| 20 | "Snow" by Loreena McKennitt |
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| "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by Monty Python
(Video is from the live concert DVD, but the MP3 links are from "Monty Python Sings".) |
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| 21 | "Stand My Ground" by Within Temptation |
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| 22 | "Better Days" by Goo Goo Dolls |
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| 23 | "I Won't Back Down" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
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| "Superman (It's Not Easy)" by Five For Fighting |
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| 24 | "Wicked Girls" by Seanan McGuire | CD only at CD Baby |
| "Mother Earth" by Within Temptation |
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| 25 | Iris by Goo Goo Dolls |
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| "Can't Bring Me Down" by Karina Pasian |
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| 26 | "Summer Rain" by Paul Kelly |
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| 27 | "Run" by Snow Patrol
(I've linked a Live version to the right in which the anguish is more acute.) |
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| "See Who I Am" by Within Temptation |
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| "The Place That I Call Home" by Dave Carroll |
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| 28 | "Secrets" by OneRepublic |
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| "Heroes" by David Bowie/The Wallflowers
(I know it's a Bowie song, but I strongly prefer the Wallflowers version. However, that's only available if you buy the entire "Godzilla" soundtrack album, so I'm linking to both versions.) |
Bowie:
The Wallflowers:
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| 29 | "Everything" by Lifehouse |
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| "In The End" by Snow Patrol |
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