they're not real, understand

[kaydeefalls]

festivids has been revealed! So now I can own up to mine.

Title: Lullaby for a Stormy Night
Recipient: jagwriter78
Vidder: kaydeefalls
Fandom: Pan's Labyrinth
Music: Lullaby for a Stormy Night / Mercedes Lullaby by Vienna Teng / Javier Navarrete
Summary: Little child, be not afraid.
Content notes: violence against a child, major character death, death of a child
Download: Mediafire (.mov, 47MB)
Notes: Huge thanks to tricksterquinn for the beta!

Lullaby for a Stormy Night from kaydee falls on Vimeo.

It took me a long time to settle on a song for this vid. I had really wanted to find a quiet arrangement of "Bye Bye Blackbird", actually, like the version sung in the film History Boys, but hours and hours of hunting provided me with nothing that felt right (every cover I could find was either way too jazzy or way too slow). So I trawled through my iTunes library for something else, and, well, I do tend to default to Vienna Teng. I've seen a couple of vids to this song before -- such_heights did a fabulous Amy Pond vid to it, and it turned up on Festivids a few years back as well -- which made me wary, because I don't like retreading ground others have covered better. But it just WORKED so well for Ofelia, with Mercedes' lullaby, and brought out the darker undertones of the song in ways that kind of gave me chills just imagining it. (The wind makes creatures of our trees / and the branches to hands / they're not real, understand, except, of course, for Ofelia, they ARE real, UGH MY HEART.) So, yes. I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out, in the end.

And Quinn was SUPER HELPFUL listening to me blather about it and pointing out things that weren't quite clear or working in the first draft, so thank you, again!


LYRICS:

Little child, be not afraid
The rain pounds harsh against the glass
Like an unwanted stranger
There is no danger
I am here tonight

Little child, be not afraid
Though thunder explodes
And lightning flash
Illuminates your tearstained face
I am here tonight

And someday you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning

Little child, be not afraid
The storm clouds mask your beloved moon
And its candlelight beams
Still keep pleasant dreams
I am here tonight

Little child, be not afraid
The wind makes creatures of our trees
And the branches to hands
They're not real, understand
And I am here tonight

And someday you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forest and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning

For you know, once even I
Was a little child
And I was afraid
But a gentle someone always came
To dry all my tears
Trade sweet sleep the fears
And to give a kiss goodnight

Well, now I am grown
And these years have shown
Rain's a part of how life goes
But it's dark and it's late
So I'll hold you and wait
'til your frightened eyes do close

And I hope that you'll know
That nature is so
This same rain that draws you near me
Falls on rivers and land
And forests and sand
Makes the beautiful world that you see
In the morning

Everything's fine in the morning
The rain will be gone in the morning
But I'll still be here in the morning

Comments

[fiercynn]

oh my GOD *clutches heart* This is gorgeous and haunting and terrible and amazing, like the film itself but even more, and I don't think I'll ever listen to this song the same way again, so, thanks for that. AUGH.

[kaydeefalls]

Thank you so much! ♥

[actiaslunaris]

Child harm is something I don't handle well, but this vid of yours is beautiful and heart-breaking. I'm glad there's a happy ending for Ofelia, but oh, so hard is the journey for her, and you've illustrated it with love. Thank you for this vid.

[kaydeefalls]

Thank you! And, oof, happy ending definitely debatable, but I'm very glad it worked for you.

[shallowness]

Oh, this vid made my heart go out to Ofelia.

[kaydeefalls]

Belatedly, thank you!

[sarkastic]

I'm going through some old festivids and found this, and, wow, so incredibly beautiful and lovely and sad. The song is such a perfect fit, and you vidded it beautifully.