This post is sponsored by my husband, SS, who is now apparently an expert on the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and world.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, my husband randomly decided to pick up the ACOTAR series a few weeks ago. You can read all about my reaction to this rather extraordinary occurrence here. What’s most adorable about the whole thing is that he has now started to think about the characters, particularly Rhysand, even when he’s not reading (I’m sure all of us fans can relate!), and really not a day goes by that he doesn’t bring up Rhys somehow and compare one of his own daily experiences to something Rhys has said or done.
The other day, SS came home from work and told me I had to listen to the song “Nevermind” by Leonard Cohen. Granted, I have heard it before (I actually saw Leonard Cohen in concert years ago and was familiar with the fact that the song was used as the theme for the second season of the TV show True Detective), but SS wanted me to take a closer listen to the lyrics and think about how they described Rhys’ experiences when he lived Under the Mountain with Amarantha. I have to be honest, at first I really thought it was a stretch…but then I actually started listening and could really see where SS was coming from. The song is beautiful, more of a poem melodically spoken to instrumental music as is typical of Cohen’s style, and I really did get a sense of enclosure and claustrophobia from it, this feeling of needing to escape something or someone. Then, as I honed in on the lyrics, I did start to think about Rhys being trapped Under the Mountain and having to conceal his true feelings and identity, as well as forget (as much as he could) his friends and his home. I’ve included a few excerpts of the lyrics below, that SS hand-selected, and I do actually think they relate quite strongly to what Rhys describes as his experiences and struggles when he speaks to Feyre candidly in A Court of Mist and Fury.
The war was lost
The treaty signed
I was not caught
I crossed the line
I was not caught
Though many tried
I live among you
Well disguised
I had to leave
My life behind
I dug some graves
You’ll never find
The story’s told
With facts and lies
I had a name
But never mind
Your victory
Was so complete
That some among you
Thought to keep
A record of
Our little lives
The clothes we wore
Our spoons our knives
The games of luck
Our soldiers played
The stones we cut
The songs we made
Never mind
Never mind
I live the life
I left behind
There’s truth that lives
And truth that dies
I don’t know which
So never mind
I could not kill
The way you kill
I could not hate
I tried I failed
This was your heart
This swarm of flies
This was once your mouth
This bowl of lies
You serve them well
I’m not surprised
You’re of their kin
You’re of their kind
Never mind
Never mind
I had to leave
My life behind
The story’s told
With facts and lies
You own the world
So never mind
I live the life
I left behind
I live it full
I live it wide
Through layers of time
You can’t divide
My woman’s here
My children too
Their graves are safe
From ghosts like you
If you’d like to listen to the song yourself, we recommend the lyric video linked here: “Nevermind” by Leonard Cohen.
What do you think? Has SS officially lost his mind and succumbed to his obsession with Sarah J. Maas’ series? Let us know in the comments below!
JNG
Girl with a Green Heart
jng librairie 