The Home That She Denied Me (Octopus's Garden, Ringo Starr)

Man In Black: I have to go.
Mother: Why?
Man In Black: Because I don't belong here.
- Across the Sea

This is a sort of companion piece to This Island Is My Home in which the Man in Black is daydreaming about leaving the Island and trying to figure out how to convince Jacob to go with him.

The Home That She Denied Me 

I’d like to be across the sea

In the home that She denied me as a babe.
I'd watch my twin grow thicker skin

In the home that She denied me as a babe.

We’d see how wide the world could be;

Why doesn’t Jacob want to join me?

I’d like to be across the sea

In the home that She denied me as a babe.

Don’t be alarmed; I’d do no harm

On our journey to reclaim the home I crave.

I would create and innovate,

And our liberty would make my brother brave.

Independence would abound.

No Mother there to boss us ‘round!

I’d like to be across the sea

In the home that She denied me as a babe.

Should I shout that I want out?

Perhaps I should stomp and rant and rave.

(Would it help to rant and rave?)

Need a ploy to sway that Mama’s Boy

Trapped in that suffocating cave.

(What a stifling cave!)

Him and me, at last we would be free,

Basking in the life we never knew.

I’d like to be across the sea

In the home that She denied to us two.

In the home that She denied to us two.

In the home that She denied to us two…

Farewell to You, My Brother (Farewell to Nova Scotia)

Jack: Desmond, you've done enough. You wanna do something? Go home and be with your wife and son.
Desmond: What about you, Jack?
Jack: I'll see you in another life, brother.
- The End

Farewell to Nova Scotia is one of the most achingly melancholy songs I have ever heard.  It came to mind again after a recent Facebook conversation with my friend Gail, and though I knew the song through the Irish Rovers, when I stumbled upon a live performance by Gordon Lightfoot from 1972, I was utterly mesmerized by the exquisitely elegiac quality of both his voice and face.  It then lodged itself firmly in my brain, and when I'm in filking mode, that means it's about to become my next victim.  I thought this moment was appropriately mournful, with just the right hint of beauty.

Farewell to You, My Brother

You doused the light, and I'm impressed.
You did your job; now it's time to flee.
We're almost at the end of our quest,
So go, and leave the rest to me.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Believe me, Desmond, I understand.
You grieve to leave - to let me go.
But life never seems to work out the way we planned,
And it's better to accept what you can't control.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

A doctor's pledge is to first do no harm.
I won't survive; I have to stay.
So farewell, farewell.  I'll take you by the arm
And then Hurley's gonna raise you to the bright light of day.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

It took three years, but I passed Jacob's test.
I found my faith, and I am blessed.
When I met you, I'd failed so terribly,
But you helped me 'lift it up,' and now at last, I'm free.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Farewell to you, my brother.  Don't count the cost.
Seek the ones you love across the sea.
I may be far away, but our friendship won't be lost.
I await another meeting in eternity.

Farewell to Nova Scotia

Vince (Vincent, Don McLean)

A recent Entertainment Weekly poll revealed that the most tear-jerking moment in this year's series of finales was Jack's death, and the poll editor parenthetically added that it was Vincent who put Jack over the top. I make it a rule never to filk the same song twice, but once in a blue moon I break it if the song has a strong enough pull on me and I'm not especially attached to my first attempt. I had a feeling I'd have to break my rule for Vincent, and I finally found the perfect scene to work with - a very fitting end to the series, and one that also reminds me of The Forest Again, one of my favorite chapters in the Harry Potter saga. Here's Jack to the tune of Don McLean's Vincent.

Vince

Fatal, fatal knife
Plunged into my side today.
What a price I had to pay
To see to it the Island would stay whole!
Now I’m feeling chilled.
Funny notion, this getting killed.
Won’t be long till my heartbeat’s stilled,
And slowly I will mingle with the sand.

Do you understand
Just how much this means to me?
It’s such a gesture of humanity
From you, the final friend I’ll see.
I thought, “He’s just a dog,” but Vince, I vow,
I don’t believe that now.

Fatal, fatal knife,
Handed down from ancient days.
Just before he braved the blaze
That brought his ashes, Jacob felt it too.
What a cruel adieu!
Mine was just a tiny reign,
But you came to ease my pain.
I’m strengthened by your warmth beneath my hand.

Do you understand
Just how much this means to me?
It’s such a gesture of humanity
From you, the final friend I’ll see!
I thought, “He’s just a dog,” but Vince, I vow,
I don’t believe that now.

Jacob didn’t have you,
But I’m so glad I do.
Yes, as I slip away from life,
Not that fatal, fatal knife
But somebody who soothes me is in view.
I’m so grateful to you, Vincent.
This isn’t quite so scary when I’m facing it with you.

Fatal, fatal knife.
That’s the reason for my fall.
Barely feel the wound at all,
And certainly I’m feeling no regret.
First survivor who I met,
Now settled with Bernard and Rose,
You have a home but kindly chose
To find me here and help me to let go.

Yes, I’m sure you know
Just how much this means to me.
It’s such a gesture of humanity
From you, the final friend I’ll see!
The plane is leaving, and it’s such a thrill,
But Vince, you never will.

Temporary (Bonnie Kellswater, Traditional)

"Alright, I'll take it. But it's only temporary, as soon as you get that light back in, I'm pulling you up, and I'm giving it right back to you, deal?"
- Hurley, The End

Here's Hurley reluctantly telling Jack that he will take the job of Island protector, to the tune of the Irish Rovers'Bonnie Kellswater.  (The version I used has a fourth verse, so again, it doesn't quite synch up.)

Temporary

Fine, I’ll help you.  I will drink the spring water,
And I swear that I will safeguard the light.
But I’m only doin’ this till you come back, dude.
Yeah, it’s just temporary, all right?

When I came here, I felt so unlucky.
Thought I never would have peace of mind.
But you gave me a job.  I stopped running.
I thought, Hey, don’t be scared.  Just be kind.

So I tried my best at making people happy
From the minute you stuck me with Claire.
But disasters kept on hitting those around me.
Was I cursed or was life just unfair?

Jacob told me I was blessed, and I believed him,
Though it sure was surprising to me.
But I know that if you hadn’t seen it first, Jack...
Well, I shudder to think where I’d be.

Now, I see that this water is muddy,
While the water that you drank was clear.
It’s a sign that you’re comin’ back, buddy,
‘Cause you always were meant to rule here.

So I’ll help you.  I will drink the spring water,
And I swear that I will safeguard the light.
But I’m only doin’ this till you come back, dude.
Yeah, it’s just temporary, all right?
Yeah, it’s just temporary, all right?

The Island Where I Was Reborn (The Village That They Call the Moy, Ryan Kelly)

"Don't try to stop me, Peter. I am sure Aslan would not. I am sure it is not wrong for me to mourn for Narnia. Think of all that lies dead and frozen beyond that door."
- Lucy Pevensie, The Last Battle

"Is everything sad going to come untrue?" 
- Sam Gamgee, The Return of the King

"I chose you because you needed this place as much as it needed you."
- Jacob, What They Died For 

We've known for a long time that The End was coming, and I've been preparing myself by setting aside songs that I might use to work through my feelings about the finale. I have a list of them jotted down, but one grabbed me and refused to release me, forcing me to do something about it before I even watched the last episode, anticipating that I would spend the wee hours of this morning ripping it to shreds in light of everything in the finale that contradicted it. Instead I changed it just before I watched the episode, and I kept it pretty much the same after that.  Initially I imagined it being set immediately after the Island events in the finale, as I strongly suspected the Island would sink; now, it's set in the Sideways world, at which point it does seem that the Island is indeed under the sea, or certainly inaccessible to our castaways.  And despite all evidence to the contrary, I believe that Jacob and Hurley will reunite on the other side of that door.

The Village That They Call the Moy is a song written and performed by Celtic Thunder's Ryan Kelly, a musician for whom I have enormous respect and affection. I came across his demo online last year and it instantly resonated deeply. I evaded it all year, mostly because I felt a little funny filking a song that isn't actually on an album yet. But the album's coming soon, and I hope everyone reading this buys a copy, because it's sure to be brilliant. And when this song tapped me on the shoulder, it would not be stopped. So I hope Ryan will forgive me for piggybacking off of his tender hometown ode, and I thank him for giving me the perfect vehicle for expressing my sense of grateful melancholy as my favorite show comes to a close.

(Update: Ryan Kelly's first solo album, In Time - which features a more up-tempo version of The Village That They Call the Moy - is available now.  Buy it here!)

The Island Where I Was Reborn

Sawyer: Leavin’ it should have been easy.
It put me through such an ordeal.
But still, I shuddered to think, As the memories shrink,
I someday could doubt it was real.
I went there so jaded and lost and afraid
Of the darkness that’s inside of me;
I passed through the flames, and I left as just James.
I’m found, and I’m finally free.

That doesn’t mean I don’t miss it.
Jacob knew that I needed that place,
So I boarded that flight, and I went toward the light,
Toward the source of all wisdom and grace.
I am happy and whole and at ease in my soul,
But a part of me always will mourn
That it’s under the sea, so I never will be
Back on the Island where I was reborn.

Kate: How dreary were days I did nothing but run
From my conscience and from the police!
My own complicity in my friend’s death
Haunted me and kept me from peace.
My love life always was messy.
At last I’m sure of which romance to pursue,
But I think of the track that I traveled with Jack
Before all of our grief came untrue.

That’s when I realize I miss it.
Jacob knew that I needed that place,
So I boarded that flight, and I went toward the light,
Toward the source of all wisdom and grace.
I am happy and whole and at ease in my soul,
But a part of me always will mourn
That it’s under the sea, so I never will be
Back on the Island where I was reborn.

Hugo: It’s well I remember that life-changing day
When he asked me to go catch that plane.
Then he tried to prepare me for leaving him there,
For the close to his long-standing reign.
He brought me so far from that chat in the car
But also learned something from me;
Since love never ends, we will always be friends,
And it all started under the sea.

Everyone knows that I miss it.
Jacob knew that I needed that place,
So I boarded that flight, and I went toward the light,
Toward the source of all wisdom and grace.
I am happy and whole and at ease in my soul,
But a part of me always will mourn
That it’s under the sea, so I never will be
Back on the Island where I was reborn.

All: I am happy and whole and at ease in my soul,
But a part of me always will mourn
That it’s under the sea, so I never will be
Back on the Island where I was reborn.


The Village That They Call The Moy
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This War You Had to Wage (Spirit of the Age, Michael Card)

"I wanna know why. I wanna know that Sun and Jin and Sayid didn't die for nothing."
- Kate, What They Died For


I've been trying to get into the heads of each of the major Island players as they move into the final chapter, and I've had a harder time getting a handle on Kate than most. But I think I have a pretty good understanding of where she's coming from, and I don't begrudge her the angry questions she hurls at Jacob. Here's Kate to the tune of Michael Card's Spirit of the Age.

This War You Had to Wage

My eyes are red from crying for Jin, Sayid and Sun,
And I can’t stop thinking of their little girl Ji Yeon.
So what Locke said to Sawyer... Swear to me he lied.
I cannot continue till you tell me why they died.

So Jacob, did you care about the wailing?
What about the sorrow and the rage?
It’s time that you apologized for killing
Victims of this war you had to wage!

You seem so understanding, benevolent and kind.
But does it even bother you that we left them behind?
And what about my number? How come it has been crossed?
Is that your way of saying that all hope for me is lost?

So Jacob, did you care about the wailing?
What about the sorrow and the rage?
It’s time that you apologized for killing
Victims of this war you had to wage!

The accidents and murders that piled up here in Hell
Ought to haunt you even if you only meant us well.
If you’re to be our mentor, our shining spectral sage,
Say sorry for the victims of this war you had to wage!

So Jacob, did you care about the wailing?
What about the sorrow and the rage?
It’s time that you apologized for killing
Victims of this war you had to wage!

Because of me, my best friend died for nothing,
And ever since I’ve craved a blank page.
So how can you accept there are so many
Victims of this war you had to wage?
The victims of this war you had to wage...

Spirit of the Age

When It Ends (A Face That Shone, Michael Card)

"My ashes are right there in that fire... When it burns out, you’ll never see me again."- Jacob, What They Died For

LOST is so filled with wonderful characters, and I love nearly all of them, but there will always be an extra special place in my heart for Jacob and Hurley. In the great epics, this always tends to be my favorite pair: the wise mentor and the loving, humble apostle. Gandalf and Sam. Dumbledore and Hagrid. Aslan and Lucy. Granted, Aslan is something More than those others, Jacob included. But Jacob reflects the light in a powerful way, and Hurley feels a deep sense of connection to him. I was very saddened by Jacob's words to Hurley in What They Died For. I thought of Lucy leaving Narnia in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and I anticipate this parting being equally difficult for Hurley. But even as he dreads the loss, his chief concern is harmony, and something tells me this Star Wars geek holds the key to a satisfying resolution. Here's Hurley to the tune of Michael Card's A Face That Shone.

When It Ends

Though Richard raved and ranted to Jack on the Black Rock,
I was sure that we should follow, for we’re Jacob’s chosen flock.
I knew it from the moment he blessed me with his touch.
When he gave me that guitar case, his assurance meant so much.

He met me at the Temple, and he helped me find the stone
That hid a secret passage to a lighthouse long unknown.
Jacob never acted like he thought that I would fail.
I began to think that maybe the light of kindness could prevail.

So when it ends, I will feel I’ve lost a father,
A faithful friend who believed that I had worth.
But when it ends, I will know that I would rather
Have been blessed to briefly know him.
I’ve been searching for him since my birth.

He brought us to the Island. We became his flustered flock,
And he’s charged us now with stopping his old friend who looks like Locke.
Oh, I know that he’s a monster and he really isn’t John,
But he used to be his brother. That part of him’s not gone.

Jacob said he’d try to kill us and we would need to guard the light,
But reconciliation’s the best end to this fight.
We’ll somehow find the balance so the conflict can be done.
Like Anakin and Luke, the fractured family will be one.

And when it ends, I will feel I’ve lost a father,
A faithful friend who believed that I had worth.
But when it ends, I still will know that I would rather
Have been blessed to briefly know him.
I’ve been seeking him since birth.

He said to me, “You’ll never see me once it’s ended.
I’ll have to go, but you will know you have my love.
You’ll bear the light, and everyone who you’ve befriended
Will snatch a spark, and they’ll be mended both from within and from above.”

And when it ends, I will feel I’ve lost a father,
A faithful friend who believed that I had worth.
But when it ends, I still will know that I would rather
Have been blessed to briefly know him.
I’ve been seeking him since birth.

A Face That Shone

Our Noble Leader (The Gentle Healer, Michael Card)

Sawyer: And I thought that guy had a God complex before.
Kate: James.
Sawyer: Yeah, I know.
- What They Died For

After seeing such a snarly Island Sawyer for so much of season six, I was touched by his humility in What They Died For. Here's Sawyer coming to grips with Jack's role as his leader, to the tune of Michael Card's The Gentle Healer.

Our Noble Leader

Our noble leader always has to save the day.
He gives commands, and I balk and disobey.
Yeah, you can depend on my gettin' in his way.
Our noble leader always has to save the day.

Our noble leader always has to save the day,
And Juliet was the price I had to pay,
For she fell in the well, and now my world is gray.
Our noble leader always has to save the day.

Oh, I know that he’s a tender-hearted man.
When no one cared, he lent a helping hand.
Yeah, but trustin’ folks was never quite my plan.
And yet I know that he’s a tender-hearted man.

Our noble leader, he’s number twenty-three,
And now Jacob’s told him, “Jack, you’re just like me.”
I want to be sarcastic, but I see
That our noble leader is what he was meant to be.

He Called Him Brother (They Called Him Laughter, Michael Card)

"I only picked one name."
- Claudia, Across the Sea

The epic rivalry between Jacob and his brother started with their birth. Here's a reflection on that to the tune of Michael Card's They Called Him Laughter.

He Called Him Brother

A stormy wind and a restless sea
Left Claudia lost. She was destined to be
A pawn in the game of the woman who guarded the Island.
Accepting the help of the stranger who spoke,
She pushed, and her baby was born and awoke.
But Jacob would soon have a brother because there were two.

He called him Brother thanks to their mother.
Though she was expecting,
She didn’t know twins would be due.
So Jacob was frozen in the name she had chosen,
But he called him Brother.
There weren’t enough names for two.

She clothed him in darkness and Jacob in light
And planned for the day when she’d force them to fight.
She applauded the sins of the brother, and poor Jacob knew.
He tried to be faithful to mother and twin,
But given the choice between parent and kin,
He stuck with the former, becoming a desolate boy.

He called him Brother thanks to their mother.
Though she was expecting,
She didn’t know twins would be due.
So Jacob was frozen in the name she had chosen,
But he called him Brother.
There weren’t enough names for two.

He called him Brother thanks to their mother.
Though she was expecting,
She didn’t know twins would be due.
So Jacob was frozen in the name she had chosen,
But he called him Brother.
There weren’t enough names for two.

They Called Him Laughter

Jack's Pledge (The Edge, Michael Card)

"I'll do it... This is why I’m here. This is... this is what I'm supposed to do."
- Jack, What They Died For

Jack has been Our Hero from the very beginning of LOST, but he's had to work through some massive issues before he was ready to embrace the role of Island guardian. Here, he reflects on what he's learned as fatherly Jacob makes him his replacement, to the tune of Michael Card's The Edge.

Jack’s Pledge

You were calmly watching me on that momentous day
When I arrived and dove into the fray.
Yes, you tracked me down and followed me and drove me to the edge,
And now I am content to make this pledge.

I promise I will cast away the dark and serve the light.
I swear, as your replacement, I will face this final fight.
I’ll drink your holy water, and I will count upon each friend
Who will aid me, for you made me the ticket to the end.

I’ve found more than I lost, and I am ready for this task.
I’m glad you think that I have what it takes.
You’ve given me a mission, and I’ll do just what you ask,
For you’ve healed me and forgiven my mistakes.

I promise I will cast away the dark and serve the light.
I swear, as your replacement, I will face this final fight.
I’ll drink your holy water, and I will count upon each friend
Who will aid me, for you made me the ticket to the end.

I realize the thirst for good in every human heart
Is better quenched together than apart.
I never was a Man of Faith; I stuck with facts instead.
But at last I see it’s best to blend the spirit and the head.

I promise I will cast away the dark and serve the light.
I swear, as your replacement, I will face this final fight.
I’ll drink your holy water, and I will count upon each friend
Who will aid me, for you made me the ticket to the end.

I will cast away the dark and serve the light.
I will face this final fight.

I Will Destroy the Beast (God's Own Fool, Michael Card)

"It's where I was told I could summon the monster. That's before I realized that it was the one summoning me."
- Ben, What They Died For

Ben's actions on the Island in What They Died For initially really depressed me because it felt like such a sad regression back into villainy. But the more I think about it, the more certain I am that Ben is running his own con, and because of his incredibly dark past and his willingness to kill his old enemy to get his point across, he may just be able to pull it off where Sawyer failed. Here's hopin'. Here is Ben to the tune of Michael Card's God's Own Fool.

I Will Destroy the Beast

Seems he misled me for all of my life
Since I came to this place as a kid,
And he molded me into a murderous man.
I cringe at the things that I did.
For ever since Jacob clutched me as he died
And then Miles confirmed that he cared,
I've seen how this monster made use of my pride
Until I was wholly ensnared.

So I, in my foolishness, ate up his lies.
I was his tool then, but now I’ve grown wise.
When I was a leader, he conned me so long.
Now I’ve been humbled and know I was wrong.
And so I’ll make that thing a fool.
I owe that to Jacob at least.
I won’t stand by and be his tool.
I will destroy the beast.

I’ll give up my life for the sake of this con
That will rid us of evil at last.
I’ll do it for Jacob and Alex and John.
I’ll purge the mistakes of my past.
I’ll surrender the power that never was mine,
Be the man Jacob hoped I could be.
For I’ve been through the fire and I’ve been refined,
And though I was blind, now I see.

Yes, I, in my foolishness, ate up his lies.
I was his tool then, but now I’ve grown wise.
When I was a leader, he conned me so long.
Now I’ve been humbled and know I was wrong.
And so I’ll make that thing a fool.
I owe that to Alex at least.
I won’t stand by and be his tool.
I will destroy the beast.

So I’ll make that thing a fool.
I owe that to John Locke at least.
I won’t stand by and be his tool.
I will destroy the beast.

Invincible (Now That I've Held Him In My Arms, Michael Card)

"Now you're like me."
- Jacob, What They Died For

I've been thinking about the song that Charlie started to write in the season two episode Fire + Water and hoping that it makes an appearance, in completed form, in The End. It was a beautiful song, and its lyrics - "All alone, I tried to be invincible; together now, we can be saved" - seem so fitting for what's about to happen. Jack has always had a little trouble letting go and allowing others to help him, and now that he is almost literally invincible, I imagine Jacob wanting to give him just a little reminder of the importance of his own "Live Together, Die Alone" philosophy. Here's Jack's coronation scene, to the tune of Michael Card's Now That I've Held Him in My Arms.

Invincible

The old man didn’t look it.
Golden-haired and strong,
Jacob had been forty-three forever.
The centuries of planning
Led him to this moment,
The time of his anointing his replacement.

“Now, Jack, at last you are like me.
I know we’re nearing the end.
You will be the one to make it cease.
But I hope you remember
That you must work together.
Please don’t try to be invincible alone.”

Jacob once was in Jack’s place,
But not his state of being.
He drank, but he didn’t have a choice.
Now brimming with affection,
Jacob’s gentle eyes
Look upon Jack, the long-awaited son.

“Now, Jack, at last you are like me.
I know we’re nearing the end.
You will be the one to make it cease.
But I hope you remember
That you must work together.
Please don’t try to be invincible alone. No...

Now you’re like, but more equipped than, me.
Don’t be afraid to count on your friends.
All of them will help you make it cease.
I hope you remember
That you must all work together.
Please don’t try to be invincible alone. No...”

Now That I've Held Him In My Arms

Creepy Kid (Oh You Mucky Kid, Stan Kelly)

Little Jacob: You know the rules. You can't kill him.
Smokey: Don't tell me what I can't do!
- The Substitute

When that mysterious boy showed up in the jungle in The Substitute, it was a strange thing indeed. We now know that this was Jacob as a boy, so I presume that he is a ghost, which Smokey can see but Richard can't (though it's surprising to think that Desmond and Sawyer can). Here's a little reflection about little ghostly Jacob, to the tune of the Irish Rovers' Oh You Mucky Kid.

Creepy Kid

Oh, you are a creepy kid.
Smokey knows just what you did.
Are you merely his ego or id?
Are you a ghost, jungle lad?

You look so spooky standing there
Under your shock of golden hair,
And Richard claims to be unaware,
So is Smokey going crazy?

Your arms and hands are limply spread,
Augmented now with trails of red.
So are you a vision or are you dead?
Are you a ghost, jungle lad?

Oh, you are a creepy kid.
Smokey knows just what you did.
Are you merely his ego or id?
Are you a ghost, jungle lad?

You’ve cleaned up nicely now for James.
Is this another of your games?
When you warn your rival not to kill,
He doesn’t like rules, so he’s angry.

Perhaps it is your youthful plight
That’s reminded James to bear the light.
He’ll follow “John,” but it’s a con.
You’re counting upon his trickery.

Oh, you are a creepy kid.
Smokey knows just what you did.
Are you merely his ego or id?
Are you a ghost, jungle lad?

You really have an impish face,
But it could be his saving grace.
Yes, maybe the Smoke can be erased,
And you’ll be left with your brother.

Oh You Mucky Kid

I'll Never Leave You (Yankee Bayonet, Colin Meloy)

Sun: Go!  Please... go!
Jin: I won't leave you. I will never leave you again...  I love you, Sun.
- The Candidate

I've been casting about for a fitting tribute to Sun and Jin ever since The Candidate, but it wasn't until my brother Nathan mentioned that I ought to dip into the Decemberists that I realized the perfect song for LOST's doomed couple was lurking just out of earshot. I tried to incorporate several elements of their journey - Sun's naive girlhood dreams, Jacob's blessing, the difficulties they worked through together and Ji Yeon, the "flower of wisdom". Here's Jin and Sun to the tune of the Decemberists' Yankee Bayonet.

I’ll Never Leave You

Jin: Captured glimpses of my unknown treasure -
Such a sweet surprise!
Sun: Far from this sub that I’ve no hope of escaping,
That’s where our daughter lies.

Go, Jin, go, please, go, Jin, go.
Please, go, Jin, go, please go.

Jin: Look at me. Can you see the love
That has sustained me through these years?
Sun: I carried it with me as our young flower blossomed
In the midst of my anguished tears.

Go, Jin, go, please, go, Jin, go.
Please, go, Jin, go, please go.

Jin: No, Sun, no, Sun, no, Sun.
No, Sun. No, Sun. No, Sun. No.

Our love is so blessed.
I’ll never take it for granted, Sun.
Together, we will rest,
For I’ll never leave you. I’ll never leave you.
I’ll never leave you. I’ll never leave you. No.

Sun: When I was a girl, I believed when I found my love,
My world would have no pain.
Jin: But oh, for a moment within your sunshine,
I would face a lifetime of rain.

Sun and Jin: Oh, you know I love you so.
You know I love you so.

Jin: We’ve come to the end, but we leave here together,
And we’ll only be apart for a while.
Sun: But Jin, you can live. You can save yourself
And you can go and be with our child.

Go, Jin, go, please, go, Jin, go.
Please, go, Jin, go, please go.

Jin: No, Sun, no, Sun, no, Sun.
No, Sun. No, Sun. No, Sun. No.

Our love is so blessed.
I’ll never take it for granted, Sun.
Together, we will rest,
For I’ll never leave you. I’ll never leave you.
I’ll never leave you. I’ll never leave you.

Jin: You have my heart, so take my hand.
Jin and Sun: I’ll always love you.
Sun: A love as vast as stars and sand.
Jin and Sun: I’ll always love you.

Jin: It’s time, my love, for our fingers to be parted.
Let our last embrace begin.
Sun: Let my lips speak the only language
That we need as we drift away, Jin.

Sun and Jin: Oh, you know I love you so.
You know I love you so.
Oh, you know I love you so.
You know I love you so.

This Island Is My Home (Castles in the Air, Don McLean)

Smokey: Come with me, Jacob. Please... What are you gonna do when she dies?
Jacob: She's never gonna die.
Smokey: Jacob, everything dies.
Jacob: Well, I don't wanna leave this island. It's my home.
- Across the Sea

Here's a conversation between Smokey and Jacob as the former tries to convince the latter to leave the Island, to the tune of Don McLean's Castles in the Air.

This Island Is My Home

Smokey: What do you plan to do when she dies?
Jacob: I don't believe she ever will.
This Island is my home.
I don’t know why you’re so inclined to roam.
Smokey: Why should you stay? You’ll just be left alone.

Living here with men, I have watched them steal and lie,
And I have learned that everyone must die.
The tide has turned, and Mother’s end is nigh.
How I have yearned to bid this place goodbye!

Jacob, can’t I convince you to join in?
How I have missed our times together, gentle twin.
Jacob: Brother, you know how lonely I have been,
But if I left her now, I would shudder in chagrin.

Remember long ago, back when she led us to the water
Where we saw the ever-glowing light?
She said, “One day, I’m going to incite
One of you boys to protect it, day and night.”

Smokey: Look, I do not belong on this God-forsaken Island.
Can’t you see we’re in a foreign land?
What must I say to make you understand?
Don’t go along with what that woman’s planned.

Jacob, can’t I convince you to join in?
How I have missed our times together, gentle twin.
Jacob: Brother, you know how lonely I have been,
But if I left her now, I would shudder in chagrin.

Smokey: What do you plan to do when she dies?
Jacob: I don't believe she ever will.
This Island is my home.
I don’t know why you’re so inclined to roam.
Smokey: Why should you stay? You’ll just be left alone.

The Back-Up Plan (Superman's Ghost, Don McLean)

Mother: It has to be you, Jacob.
Jacob: No, it doesn't. You wanted it to be him. But now I'm all you have.
- Across the Sea

When I set myself a goal of finishing 200 LOST songs before the finale, I didn't really expect to achieve it. I was sure that the strange writing streak that began on my birthday would peter out soon. But it didn't, and here I am, a week before the finale, posting number 200. I decided to go with Don McLean's Superman's Ghost for this one; I'd had it on the back burner since season three, always intending it to be from Ben's perspective, sulking about John's favored status, but I always felt like I needed more of the story. Across the Sea showed me that Ben and John were just perpetuating a long pattern. After the episode ended, I announced that it was probably my second-favorite episode of the season. The more I think about it, the more sure I am of that. Though I thoroughly expect the last three and a half hours to blow even Dr. Linus out of the water. Here's Jacob, wondering along with us what's coming next.

The Back-Up Plan

“I don’t want the cup to pass to me.
He was your favorite son.
I never questioned. I never disobeyed.
The best one grew restless, and he strayed,
So I had to be your back-up plan.”

We came from another place over the sea,
Though I didn’t know that as a boy.
I lived with my brother harmoniously;
Our companionship brought me such joy!
But I was contented and he was a rover,
And Mother encouraged the rift.
So when she insisted her time here was over,
I snapped at the sight of her gift.

“I don’t want the cup to pass to me.
He was your favorite son.
I never questioned. I never disobeyed.
The best one grew restless, and he strayed,
So I had to be your back-up plan.”

He claimed she would die, and I yelled, “It’s a lie!”
But her weariness weighed on my mind,
And I was in fear of my solitude here
If he succeeded and he left me behind.
No, I never asked to take on the task
That she had intended him for,
But when I tried to protest, she wasn’t impressed
And said, “You have no choice anymore.”

“I don’t want the cup to pass to me.
He was your favorite son.
I never questioned. I never disobeyed.
The best one grew restless, and he strayed,
So I had to be your back-up plan.”

She damaged us both, but I still took the oath,
And her death sent me into a rage,
So I perverted my twin with the source of all sin,
And my penance has lasted an age.
I’d proven him right that between dark and light,
People always will choose the wrong course.
But I dreamed of one day discerning a way
To reap good from the seeds of remorse.

“I don’t want the cup to pass to me.
He was your favorite son.
I never questioned. I never disobeyed.
The best one grew restless, and he strayed,
So I had to be your back-up plan.”

Well, I’ve watched from above and witnessed the love
That humanity strives to embrace.
But the women and men, down to little lost Ben,
Have succumbed, although some have sought grace.
I can’t be sure how it all will end now,
But children, acknowledge my plea:
You have shown, through this test, that you’re special and blessed,
And so don’t mess it up just like me.

“I don’t want the cup to pass to me.
He was your favorite son.
I never questioned. I never disobeyed.
The best one grew restless, and he strayed,
So I had to be your back-up plan.

I never questioned. I never disobeyed.
The best one grew restless, and he strayed,
So I had to be your back-up plan.”

Superman's Ghost

Brothers (Partners, Traditional)

Here's a song from Jacob and Smokey set during one of their clandestine meetings prior to their adoptive mother's death, to the tune of the cowboy song Partners. (And I know his brother isn't "Smokey" yet, but I'm set in my ways...)

Brothers

Jacob: You want to leave; I want to stay.
You rebel, while I obey.
Although you now live far away,
We’ll always be brothers.

You’re insolent, and I’m polite.
You dress in black, and I dress in white.
We still will meet; we have that right.
We’ll always be brothers.

How I miss when we could spend
Days together, from start to end.
I never will forget that, friend,
‘Cause we’ll always be brothers.

Smokey: I love the sea; you love the land.
I crave adventure; you like things bland.
But here’s what we both understand:
We’ll always be brothers.

I’ve grown mature; you’re still a child.
I’m in the village; you’re in the wild.
If Mother knew, she might be riled,
But we’ll always be brothers.

How I miss when we could spend
Days together, from start to end.
I never will forget that, friend,
‘Cause we’ll always be brothers.

Partners

Brother in Black (Little Boy Blue, Eugene Field)

Jacob: Can you show me how to play?
Smokey: If you promise not to tell Mother.
Jacob: Why can't we tell her?
Smokey: Because she'll take it away.
- Across the Sea

How do such good friends become such mortal enemies? Destructive parenting doesn't help... Here's a song about Smokey and Jacob to the tune of the Irish Rovers' Little Boy Blue.

Brother in Black

The curious game washed up on the shore,
Half-buried within the sand.
So the brother in white asked, “What is it for?”
As he held a piece in his hand.

That was long before the days of Jack
And of Hurley and all the rest.
Oh, and that was when the brother in black
Stated his small request.

“Don’t you tell Mother what I found.
You know she won‘t let us play.”
But Jacob, so honest and honor-bound,
Reported it right away.

“You’re special,” said Mother, who took a seat
Right next to the brother in black.
“You are quick and cunning. You'll lie and cheat,
Skills that Jacob will always lack.”

“Don’t you tell Mother what I found.
You know she won‘t let us play.”
But Jacob, so honest and honor-bound,
Reported it right away.

Mother assured him she understood
And urged him to keep the game,
While Jacob was told he was very good
And she loved each of them the same.

She was laying the rails of a tragic track
That would lead to an epic fight.
Oh, how she damaged the brother in black
And the brother who dressed in white!

“Don’t you tell Mother what I found.
You know she won‘t let us play.”
But Jacob, so honest and honor-bound,
Reported it right away.

Little Boy Blue

The Island He Ruled (The Village of Brambleshire Wood, George and Will Millar)

"At some point in your life, James, probably when you were young and miserable and vulnerable. he came to you, he manipulated you, pulled your strings like you were a puppet. And as a result, choices you thought were made, were never really choices at all. He was pushing you, James. Pushing you.. to the Island."- Smokey, The Substitute

Jacob and Smokey have very different perspectives on their ongoing battle. Here's Smokey addressing Sawyer in the cliffside cave, to the tune of the Irish Rovers' The Village of Brambleshire Wood.

The Island He Ruled

Written here on this wall are the numbers and names
Of the people he brought to the Island he ruled.
I’ve freed us at last from his tedious games
And his endless insistence on preserving the light.

Goodbye to his silly white stone!
See the names of the chumps who have died?
He carelessly crossed out the names and the numbers
Of people he brought to the Island he ruled.

Goodbye to his games and his silly white stone
And the names in this cave on the Island he ruled!

You’ll notice, I think, not all of the names here
Are split and obscured with a chalk line of white.
They're potential replacements who somehow aren't dead,
Who've survived their ordeal on the Island he ruled.

There’s Shephard and Reyes and Kwon,
And Jarrah, and I think both of us recall John.
His time here is through, so I’ll cross him out too,
Just a pawn Jacob brought to the Island he ruled.

Goodbye to his games and his silly white stone
And the names in this cave on the Island he ruled!

Now you’re number 15. Don’t look so astonished.
Yes, you met Jacob a long time ago.
He gave you a push, James, and look where it led you.
It brought you, like the rest, to the Island he ruled.

Since he’s dead, three choices are yours:
Do nothing, and stay on these infernal shores;
Take on the position of pointless protector;
Or you join me, and we leave the Island he ruled.

Goodbye to his games and his silly white stone
And the names in this cave on the Island he ruled!

The Village of Brambleshire Wood

The Guardian (Penny Whistle Peddler, George and Will Millar)

Here's an ode to Jacob taking Across the Sea into account, to the tune of the Irish Rovers' Penny Whistle Peddler.

The Guardian

I hope you meet the guardian chosen to protect the light,
A sage and ancient man who prefers to dress in white.
Set on disproving his brother’s fatalistic view,
He’ll bless you with his touch if he believes in you.

In a distant, distant land across the sea,
The guardian took on his role, but sadly and reluctantly.
He had given in to violence, hurt his brother in his wrath,
Shown again that people always pick the evil path.

I hope you meet the guardian chosen to protect the light,
A sage and ancient man who prefers to dress in white.
Set on disproving his brother’s fatalistic view,
He’ll bless you with his touch if he believes in you.

But goodness was his goal, for himself and all.
He slowly gained wisdom as ships began to heed his call.
When he met Ricardo, also steeped in penitence,
Jacob saw that intervening made a lot of sense.

I hope you meet the guardian chosen to protect the light,
A sage and ancient man who prefers to dress in white.
Set on disproving his brother’s fatalistic view,
He’ll bless you with his touch if he believes in you.

So lately, Jacob wanders within the world at large.
He seeks the flawed but virtuous, entrusting each one with a charge.
As he thinks about his brother, the one he wronged so viciously,
He wonders, “If I win, will it set him free?”

I hope you meet the guardian chosen to protect the light,
A sage and ancient man who prefers to dress in white.
Set on disproving his brother’s fatalistic view,
He’ll bless you with his touch if he believes in you.

Penny Whistle Peddler