The Sacred Heart Soundtrack

It’s been almost two years since I posted the Book III soundtrack. Man, how time flies. I had promised that I would do Book IV’s sometime after it was published. (Technically, I have held to that.) But then I thought I’d wait until after Book V was done. That took longer than anticipated.

But we’re here now—Book V is basically done! Which means cover art in the works! And The Sacred Heart soundtrack. Hooray!

This part of the story is even more character-driven than the previous entries. As such, I didn’t really focus on soundtracking individual scenes as much as I did assigning the various characters a song.

Without further ado… THAR BE SPOILERS! Proceed with caution.

**10/12/21, Edited to add, I used to have YouTube videos embedded in this post, but videos have a way of getting yanked. So I've created Spotify playlists for all the books. The Spotify lists actually have more songs than what I included in these posts, so, I hope you enjoy the bonus tunes. 

Spotify Lists:

The Order of the Four Sons

Carcosa

Where Flap the Tatters of the King

The Sacred Heart

Necropolis

Going Forth by Day

If you want my commentary on the songs, here are the other soundtrack blog posts:

The Order of the Four Sons

Carcosa, Part 1

Carcosa, Part 2

Where Flap the Tatters of the King

Necropolis

Going Forth by Day

The Sacred Heart Soundtrack 

1. Christophe - Non, je ne regrette rien, Edith Piaf

Christophe is probably our favorite character in the whole series. Among his many virtues, he lives life at full throttle. Even as an eight-year-old kid, he says of his exploits, “No regrets.” I can’t think of anything more Christophe than that.

2. Madeline– Lady Marmalade, Patti LaBelle

Murphy and Bill jokingly refer to Christophe as “Lady Marmalade,” but the song itself is more fitting for Christophe's lady love, Madeline, an ex-courtesan who has managed to emerge from her poor start in life to become a woman of refinement, grace, courage and wisdom.

3. Jack – I Will Possess Your Heart, Deathcab for Cutie

“You gotta spend some time, love
You gotta spend some time with me
And I know that you'll find love
I will possess your heart.”

This song is actually really creepy, which means it is totally Jack. He is determined to possess hearts… and other organs.

4. Janus – Bad Businessman, Squirrel Nut Zippers

“…every time he deals a round 
It's just a bad hand 
What a bad man. 
Beware of what he sells 
Surely go straight to hell. 
T' ain't no bottom in that wishing well

Bad businessman…”

Janus is one of those characters that we feel very sorry for—he was born to two people trapped in a loveless marriage, and it pretty much goes downhill from there. We hope reincarnation exists for his sake because he has the potential to be a very fine human being. But not in this timeline.

5. Nicole – Missing, Evanescence

“Please, please forgive me,
But I won't be home again.
Maybe someday you'll have woke up,
And, barely conscious, you'll say to no one:
‘Isn't something missing?’”

Janus’ misery spills over and drowns his poor wife, Nicole. She’s not a major character, but the ripples caused by her life and death factor heavily into the story’s events.

6. Leto – Off to the Races, Lana del Rey

“My old man is a bad man
But I can't deny the way he holds my hand
And he grabs me, he has me by my heart
He doesn't mind I have a Las Vegas past
He doesn't mind I have a L.A. crass way about me
He loves me with every beat of his cocaine heart…”

Let’s just say, Leto’s dad is the grossest. Thank God she takes after her mother.

7. The Blue Room– Black Black Heart, David Usher

Oh God, this song. This scene. Leo and Alyssa bonding the way they do best: over sex and trauma.

8. Dreamfast – Goodnight, Irene

Kate finds out who she is. It’s a lot to unpack. Homegirl’s gonna need some time, is what I’m sayin’.

9. Riots/Mauvais Sang – Get Free, Whissell

I’m cheating a bit here. I didn’t hear this song until about a year ago, well after Book IV was done. But the minute I heard it, it took me right to Lady Lamprise sitting astride her horse. The gals all get tossed in the slammer. And of course, the whole damn planet is under occupation, so there's that too.  

10. The Proposal - Time is Running Out, Muse

Leo proposes with predictable results.

11. Liberation – Club Foot, Kasabian

This is one of those songs where it’s not so much about the lyrics for me, but the way the song sounds. It’s a frantic song, and an uprising is definitely a frantic time.

12. The King – Follow the Sun, Xavier Rudd

I mean, it was either this or “Here Comes the Sun.” 

13. 1,000 – Trigger-Happy Jack, Poe

Jack again, playing his dirtiest trick of all.

14. The Funeral - The Sisters of Mercy, Leonard Cohen

There’s nothing to say here but *sniff.*

15. Exeunt - There’s No Home for You Here, The White Stripes

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Goodbye, Corbenic. Hello, Cerulean. Our last stop in the O4S-verse.