Outside of Time (The Shadow of O'Casey, Tommy Sands)

"Your father and mother and all of you are - as you used to call it in the Shadowlands - dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning."
- Aslan, The Last Battle

Christian: Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you, some... long after you.
Jack: But why are they all here now?
Christian: Well, there is no "now" here.
- The End

Here's Christian talking to Jack in the church at the end of The End, to the tune of the Irish Rovers' The Shadow of O'Casey. (It looks like iTunes is the only place online to hear this song, so you have to pay a dollar if you want to listen to this one. Or buy the album; it's fantastic!)

Outside of Time

Bid farewell to your sorrow. If you have the faith to follow,
A brighter tomorrow is what you will find.
At the end of one story’s the pathway to glory.
We’ll evermore be outside of time.

Please accept that you’ve reached the morning, and the nightmares won’t return.
You have walked in painful darkness, but the light will always burn.
You should know there is no “now” here. Those people all have died.
But life in here is bigger that it was on the outside.

Bid farewell to your sorrow. If you have the faith to follow,
A brighter tomorrow is what you will find.
At the end of one story’s the pathway to glory.
We’ll evermore be outside of time.

Jack, I know this is surprising. We’re scientific men.
But we’re also wiser than we used to be back then,
And the answers to your questions all lie beyond the door.
Let’s go in together. What are we waiting for?

Bid farewell to your sorrow. If you have the faith to follow,
A brighter tomorrow is what you will find.
At the end of one story’s the pathway to glory.
We’ll evermore be outside of time.

There were days you were lost and lonely, but kiddo, those are done.
The knife that monster wielded, it cut right through you, son.
But with Vincent there for comfort, you departed with a smile
And arrived to a glorious new sunrise. It was all worthwhile.

Bid farewell to your sorrow. If you have the faith to follow,
A brighter tomorrow is what you will find.
At the end of one story’s the pathway to glory.
We’ll evermore be outside of time.

Bid farewell to your sorrow. If you have the faith to follow,
A brighter tomorrow is what you will find.
At the end of one story’s the pathway to glory.
We’ll evermore be outside of time.
Outside of time.

The Shadow of O'Casey

Try Treating Him Better (I Should Have Known Better, John Lennon)

"Would you do me a favor? If you and Sarah ever have a kid, try to treat him a little better than I treated you." - Christian, The Watch

Christian wasn't always a great dad to Jack, but at least he was aware of it and wanted to change things toward the end.  Here's Christian in the mobisode The Watch, to the tune of the Beatles' I Should Have Known Better.

Try Treating Him Better

Try treating him better than I treated you.
That’s what I hope you and Sarah will do
If you two have a kid, or a few.

You know, I never meant to be such a lousy dad,
But you have a right to be mad.
I feel bad.  I feel bad.
I’m sure that you can break the cycle, son.
Your kid will be the lucky one.  Oh,
Don‘t let your life wind up like mine.
Please don’t repeat what I have done.

Here, I hope this watch reminds you what I said and why.
Don’t let the days and minutes pass you by
Because time is in short, short supply.

You know, I never meant to be such a lousy dad.
But you have a right to be mad.
I feel bad.  I feel bad.
I’m sure that you can break the cycle, son.
Your kid will be the lucky one.  Oh,
Don‘t let your life wind up like mine.
Please don’t repeat what I have done.
Do better, son.
Do better, son.
Do better, son.

Hippocratic Lament (American Tune, Paul Simon / Johann Sebastian Bach / Hans Hassler)

Jack's relationship with Christian has been one of the most complex on the show. Here, to the tune of Paul Simon's American Tune, I imagine him struggling to come to grips with his father's death, juggling bitterness, respect and affection, and discounting the validity of his Island experience in White Rabbit. (The actual song kicks in at about two-minute mark on the video.)

Hippocratic Lament

Many’s the time my father told me,
“You don’t have what it takes.”
And when I wanted him to hold me,
He wouldn't soothe my aches.
Oh, but I’ve grown up. I’ve grown up,
And I thought that I’d moved on.
Still, I’ve felt the hollowness gnawing at my heart
Since I’ve known he was gone, since I’ve known he was gone.

And he said that I had to keep my distance.
He said I could not afford to care.
He said that I needed his assistance
For dural sac repair.
But I’ve grown up. I’ve grown up,
And I hope I proved him wrong.
Still, I accept that his pushing made me strong
And wish we’d got along.
Oh, why couldn’t we learn to get along?

And I dreamed that I saw him.
I dreamed that the man who I so longed to see
Was standing in front of me,
Beckoning silently.
And I dreamed of his coffin,
Which, to my surprise, was empty as could be.
Exhaustion was tricking me.
That’s not reality.
But I dreamed that I saw him.

Now he never will know how much he taught me.
He never will know how much he meant.
He never will realize that he brought me
To this Hippocratic lament.
Oh, I have grown up. Yeah, I’ve grown up, I’ve grown up.
I’m a doctor, not a child.
Still, I will remember, in the midst of many frowns,
Those rare instances when he smiled.
I will remember the times he smiled.

Meant to Suffer (Talkin' to the Wrong Man, Michael Martin Murphey)

"Some people are just supposed to suffer. That's why the Red Sox will never win the series."
- Christian, Outlaws

Jack and Christian's complicated relationship is right at the heart of LOST. The sixth season may offer a more direct opportunity for reconciliation, but I love that Sawyer gets to help in healing the rift back in the first season. Here's a reflection to the tune of Michael Martin Murphey's Talkin' to the Wrong Man.

Meant to Suffer

Christian: Hey, cowboy. If you’re down under
And drowning all your sorrows in this bar,
Then you must have major problems.
Brooding isn’t gonna get you far.
I let my son think that I hate him.
With a phone call, I could be free.
I’m a weakling. Hesitation
Will make you just as miserable as me.

Maybe I was meant to suffer,
Meant to wallow in my cowardice and sin.
Some folks were meant to suffer.
That’s why the Sox are never gonna win.

Jack: Listen, Sawyer, I should say thank you.
But now that you are handing me that gun,
I’m wondering how she could convince you.
Do I dare to ask you what she has done?
I have a feeling if you were to tell me,
I’d wish that I had never heard your news.
Guess my dad was onto something
When he said the Sox are always gonna lose.

Maybe I was meant to suffer,
Meant to seethe while you make secret deals with Kate.
Some folks were meant to suffer.
My father always chalked it up to fate.

Sawyer: Met a doctor down in Sydney.
Well, his son and him, they’d gotten in a fight,
And he wished he had the guts to tell him,
“I’m proud of you. I love you. You were right.”

He said he was meant to suffer,
But he knew he was to blame for his own fall.
Some folks were meant to suffer;
It looks like Christian never made that call.
Looks like Christian never made that call.

Talkin' to the Wrong Man