“Death Cab for Cutie” might be my favorite band. If you’re unfamiliar with then, the name probably paints the wrong picture.
I like their sound (they’re known for their vocals, but their drummer is phenomenal). But I’m a fan because of their occasionally brilliant lyrics. The lead guy (Ben Gibbard) does most of the writing, and he’s a great storyteller. I think great storytellers just state the obvious in succinct terms and in ways the rest of us never thought to put it. And, of course, they have a point. Or, in the case of “What Sarah Said,” a question worth answering.
The song tugs the ‘ol heart-strings because it tells of a horrifying place that most of us have visited: the waiting room of an ICU. I’ve been to several. They’re all the same. They all smell the same, and are filled with all the same faces. Listen below and follow along with the lyrics. If you’ve been to one every word will ring true.
What Sarah Said from Lswis on Vimeo.
And it came to me then that every plan is a tiny prayer to father time As I stared at my shoes in the ICU that reeked of piss and 409 And I rationed my breathes as I said to myself that I’d already taken too much today As each descending peak of the LCD took you a little farther away from me Amongst the vending machines and year-old magazine in a place where we only say goodbye It stung like a violent wind that our memories depend on a faulty camera in our minds But I knew that you were a truth I would rather lose than to never lain beside at all And I looked around at all the eyes on the ground as the TV entertained itself ‘Cause there’s no comfort in the waiting room Just nervous pacers bracing for bad news And then the nurse comes round and everyone will lift their heads But I’m thinking of what Sarah said, that “Love is watching someone die.” So who’s going to watch you die?…What a question! Sure, it’s a bit super-sappy…but it’s a good question still. Who are the people who would endure that dreadful scene and sit with you till the end…lament that their memories of you will always be insufficient? And once you’ve compiled that list, compare it to the list of people in whom you now invest the bulk of your time. Do they match? They should.
Wow, that sure grips the heart…..
The ICU bed looks like a Cross to me. <3
list of people-do they match…deep
You have lost a friend indeed
And I dare swear you borrow not that face
Of seeming sorrow—it is sure your own
Shakespeare