Isabella (Lorena, Joseph Phillbrick Webster)

"I think I just realized that I wanna live."
 - Richard, The End

Here's a reflection from a newly aging Richard as he takes off from the Island in The End, to the tune of the Irish Rovers' Lorena. (Like most of the Irish Rovers songs I can't find online, this is from The Boys Come Rollin' Home; the version below is similar, but missing the repeated lines at the end.)

Isabella

Oh, the years crept slowly, Isabella,
Since I became an ageless man.
It was my penance, Isabella.
I earned that lengthy, lonely span.
Yet my quest for wisdom was sincere.
I let you be my guiding light.
And since I’ve seen the end is near,
I’m feeling grateful for this flight.

A hundred eighty, Isabella.
Yes, that’s what I am pushing now.
But I have waited, Isabella.
I never broke our wedding vow.
A hundred forty years away
From the night that brought me so much pain,
I love you more with every day,
And my devotion will not wane.

I wear your cross now, Isabella.
It may be another year or ten
Or half a cent’ry, Isabella,
Till at last I'm with you once again.
But I am free, and so to live
Is no longer such a drudgery.
I think I still have more to give
Even though the Island’s done with me.

Oh, the years crept slowly, Isabella,
Since I became an ageless man.
A hundred eighty, Isabella.
Yes, that’s what I am pushing now.
It was my penance, Isabella.
I earned that lengthy, lonely span.
For years, I’ve waited, Isabella.
I never broke our wedding vow.

Oh, the years crept slowly, Isabella,
Since I became an ageless man...


Lorena

She'll Fly Away (I'll Fly Away, Albert E. Brumley)

"Wow, Alex! Any higher, and you're gonna fly right off the Island."
 - Richard, Dead Is Dead

Here's a little song recollecting the sweet but somehow ominous swing set moment in Dead Is Dead. It's from Richard's perspective, first addressing Alex then Ben, to the tune of the Gospel song I'll Fly Away.

She’ll Fly Away

Alex, wow! What buoyancy you've shown! You’ll fly away.
What a time to treasure when you’ve grown! You’ll fly away.
You’ll fly away from this place. You’ll fly away.
Swing so high that you almost touch the sky. You’ll fly away.

Listen, we are realistic men. She’ll fly away.
One day, he may try to take her, Ben. She’ll fly away.
She’ll fly away from this place. She’ll fly away.
Push her high so she’ll almost touch the sky. She’ll fly away.

Yes, push her high so she’ll almost touch the sky. She’ll fly away.

Alex's Grave (The Minstrel of Cranberry Lane, Michael and Judy Callahan)

"It's Alex... It's your daughter... After you left, I buried her."
- Richard, What They Died For


One of my favorite parts of What They Died For was the small scene in which Richard tells Ben that he buried Alex. It was such a testament to his decency and his long friendship with Ben. Additionally, I've been thinking a lot about Jacob as an Obi-Wan figure and his brother as akin to Anakin, and I've decided that Richard is like Yoda: old, wise, spending most of his life as an adviser. He's certainly acted as a mentor to Ben, and here I see him using this as one last teaching moment as he differentiates between violence for the sake of vengeance and for the sake of eradicating evil. Here's Richard, to the tune of the Irish Rovers' The Minstrel of Cranberry Lane.

Alex’s Grave

I have a confession to make.
I hope it helps ease your ache.
See, our friend here has found
Where I laid her in the ground.
We’re standing on Alex’s grave.

I heard the news, and I grieved
To think of your being bereaved
And remembered her wings
When she soared on these swings.
We’re standing on Alex’s grave.

Though I have felt the weight of grief
And the wrath that enticed me to kill,
It’s best to restrain every urge to cause pain,
To exert our virtue and will.

Ben, I know that has never been easy for you.
I’ve been trying to teach you for years.
Yes, I’ve told you that hate is a deadly drug
That only will lead to more tears.

But foiling the Devil could free us from Hell,
So let’s collect some C-4.
Although violence is wrong, it is time for the end.
It’s time we concluded the war.

We’ve gone through our ups and our downs,
With our laughs less abundant than frowns.
But you always will be important to me.
We’re standing on Alex’s grave.

Yes, you always will be important to me.
We’re standing on Alex’s grave.

The Minstrel of Cranberry Lane

Have a Rock (At the Hop, Arthur Singer / John Medora / David White)

Jacob: I see you got my present.
Smokey: Don't gloat, Jacob. It doesn't become you.
- Ab Aeterno

Here's a little ditty about Jacob giving Smokey the white rock at the end of Ab Aeterno, to the tune of Danny and the Juniors' At the Hop.

Have a Rock

Jacob: Have a white rock.  Have a white rock.
Have a white rock.  Have a white rock.
Have a rock.

Well, I am overcome with glee now
Since Ricardo is with me now.
Have a rock.
See the bright alabaster
And recall who is the master.
Have a rock.
With a new adviser,
Those I bring will be wiser.
Have a rock.

Do you like your rock?
Do you like your rock?
Do you like your rock?
Smokey: Stop gloating!
Jacob: Do you like your rock?
Tell me, do you like your rock?

Smokey: Well, now you got yourself a steward.
What a happy day for you!
I got a rock.
Since he helped you win this wager,
Alpert doesn’t have to age.
I got a rock.
Now he never will die.
In the meantime,
I got a rock.

And so...
Do I like my rock?
Do I like my rock?
Do I like my rock?
Jacob: Well, do you?
Smokey: Do I like my rock?
Let’s see, do I like my rock?
Jacob: Well?
Smokey: No!

Jacob: Well, I am overcome with glee now
Since Ricardo is with me now.
Have a rock.
See the bright alabaster
And recall who is the master.
Have a rock.
With a new adviser,
Those I bring will be wiser.
Have a rock.

Smokey: Well, you got yourself a steward.
What a happy day for you!
I got a rock.
Since he helped you win this wager,
Alpert doesn’t have to age.
I got a rock.
Now he never will die,
And meanwhile,
I got a rock.

And so...
Do I like my rock?
Do I like my rock?
Jacob: Well, do you?
Smokey: Do I like my rock?
Jacob: Well, do you?
Smokey: Do I like my rock?
Let’s see, do I like my rock?

Stupid white rock.  Stupid white rock.
Stupid white rock.  Stupid white rock.
Stupid rock!

John Locke's Body (John Brown's Body, Traditional)

"I don't understand. If this is Locke... who's in there?" 
- Sun, The Incident


John Locke has suffered a great many indignities on LOST, not the least of which involves his imitation by a nefarious entity. Here's a ditty to the tune of Pete Seeger's version of John Brown's Body in which various folks outside contemplate the mystery before them. In the last verse, "John Locke" confronts Jacob and offers an answer.

John Locke’s Body

Sun: John Locke’s body lies a-sprawlin’ in the sand.
John Locke’s body lies a-sprawlin’ in the sand.
John Locke’s body lies a-sprawlin’ in the sand.
So who’s in there with Ben?

Ilana: In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
Will evil rise again?

Frank: They knocked me out and brought me with the dead guy in the box.
They knocked me out and brought me with the dead guy in the box.
They knocked me out and brought me with the dead guy in the box.
So who’s in there with Ben?

Ilana: In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
Will evil rise again?

Richard: When John walked into camp, he seemed a little off to me,
But I had waited fifty years to follow his decree,
And so I overlooked the artificiality.
So who’s in there with Ben?

Ilana: In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
Will evil rise again?

Bram: Well, that crate was really heavy, and we carried it all day.
That crate was really heavy, and we carried it all day.
That crate was really heavy, and we carried it all day.
So who’s in there with Ben?

Ilana: In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
Will evil rise again?

Smokey: Remember when I told you that I’d find a loophole, friend?
Since the two of us showed up here, you must know what we intend.
Forget your talk of progress; now at last we’re at the end.
It’s me in here with Ben.

Ilana: In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
In the shadow of the Statue,
Will evil rise again?

Still Think You're Dead? (A Hard Day's Night, John Lennon / Paul McCartney)

"Still think you're dead?"
- Jacob, Ab Aeterno

When Jacob first met Richard, poor Ricardo was in an awful state. It took a dramatic demonstration to convince the future Ageless Other that he was, in fact, still alive. Here's Jacob, to the tune of the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night.

Still Think You’re Dead?

You really think you’re dead
And you are in the afterlife?
You really think you’re dead
And you were talking to your wife?

What you’ve been told is a lie.
I know you don’t wanna die,
So do you still think you’re dead?

I’m gonna drag you down
And make you flounder under a wave.
Well, it looks like you’re afraid to drown;
That’s how the living would behave.

If you don't answer me, then
I’m gonna dunk you again,
So do you still think you’re dead?

Talk some sense. Never give in to despair.
Talk some sense. Look at you gasping for air, air!

So you really think you’re dead
And you are in the afterlife?
You really think you’re dead
And you were talking to your wife?

What you’ve been told is a lie.
I know you don’t wanna die,
So do you still think you’re dead?

If you don't answer me, then
I’m gonna dunk you again,
So do you still think you’re dead?

Talk some sense. Never give in to despair.
Talk some sense. Look at you gasping for air, air!

So you really think you’re dead
And you are in the afterlife?
You really think you’re dead
And you were talking to your wife?

What you’ve been told is a lie.
I know you don’t wanna die,
So do you still think you’re dead?
So do you still think you’re dead?
So do you think you’re dead?

Jughead (Whispering Jesse, John Denver)

Richard: How do I know you weren't sent here on some suicide mission? That I'll take you out to the bomb, and you'll just detonate it?
Daniel: Because... I'm in love with the woman sitting next to me. And I would never... I would never do anything to hurt her.
- Jughead

After Ab Aeterno, that scene in Jughead in which Daniel's love for Charlotte wins Richard over seems even more meaningful. At the time, I took it as a mark in Richard's favor, that he's noble enough to recognize the value of true love, but it goes deeper than that. Like Daniel, he has loved deeply, so he empathizes, and I think he senses Daniel's sincerity. Daniel, who I have come to think of as "the little prince" referred to in the episode that followed and who never has seemed more authoritative than in this brief stay in 1954. Here's a recreation of their conversation to the tune of John Denver's Whispering Jesse.

Jughead

Richard: So you are the leader, and I hear from Ellie
You don’t want to tell me where your comrades have gone.
Daniel: And why would I do that? You just want to kill them.
Richard: We didn’t start this, friend. The battle lines have been drawn.
Your people came calling with evil intentions.
Did Ellie here mention that they fired first?
Daniel: We weren’t with those soldiers. We’re on a mission.
Let me disarm that bomb before it can burst.

I think the device is in need of new casing,
Which I am basing on these burns on this man.
If you send me over there, I know I can fix it.
Richard: I wish I could trust you; don’t know how I can.
I ought to fear you because you might be here to
Detonate Jughead and blow us away.
Daniel: I love this woman who’s sitting beside me.
I never would hurt her. Believe what I say.

Richard: Detonate Jughead?
You won’t, you’ve convinced me.
Your manner is princely.
You’re guided by love.

Whispering Jesse

I Am With You (All My Loving, Paul McCartney)

"My love. We are already together."
- Isabella, Ab Aeterno


I loved the tender moment in Ab Aeterno between Isabella and Richard, facilitated by Hurley. Here's Isabella, to the tune of the Beatles' All My Loving.

I Am With You

Close your eyes now, Ricardo.
I know this is hard, so
It’s best if you hear and don’t see.
It was my time to leave,
And you don’t need to grieve,
For Ricardo, you’ll always have me.

Let this man be our buffer.
You don’t have to suffer.
I hope that you won’t disagree.
It was my time to leave,
And you don’t need to grieve,
For Ricardo, you’ll always have me.

I am with you. I was with you then.
I am with you. Take my cross again.

Close your eyes now, Ricardo.
I know this is hard, so
It’s best if you hear and don’t see.
It was my time to leave,
And you don’t need to grieve,
For Ricardo, you’ll always have me.

I am with you. I was with you then.
I am with you. Take my cross again.
I am with you. I am here with you.
I am with you. Take my cross again.

Cork in the Wine (Bottle of Wine, Tom Paxton)

"Think of this wine as what you keep calling Hell. There's many other names for it too: malevolence, evil, darkness. And here it is, swirling around in the bottle, unable to get out because if it did, it would spread. The cork is this Island, and it's the only thing keeping the darkness where it belongs."
- Jacob, Ab Aeterno

Jacob provided an intriguing metaphor for the relationship between him, the Island and Smokey in Ab Aeterno. Here I have him ruminate to Richard about the wine bottle to the tune of the Irish Rovers' Bottle of Wine.

Cork in the Wine

Cork in the wine helps to confine,
Helps to keep the evil from spreading.
If he should go, surely he’ll sow
Doom and despair where he’s heading.

This thing you call Hell, I know it well.
Yes, it’s a problem of mine.
How I have strained to keep darkness contained!
I must keep the cork in the wine.

Cork in the wine helps to confine,
Helps to keep the evil from spreading.
If he should go, surely he’ll sow
Doom and despair where he’s heading.

You come and you fight. You will never choose right.
That’s how he defines humankind.
It’s taking so long, but I will prove him wrong
While I keep the cork in the wine.

Cork in the wine helps to confine,
Helps to keep the evil from spreading.
If he should go, surely he’ll sow
Doom and despair where he’s heading. (2x)

Long as I’m here, my objective is clear.
It’s drudgery, yes, but that’s fine.
Though it’s been rough, I am patient enough,
So I’ll keep the cork in the wine.

Cork in the wine helps to confine,
Helps to keep the evil from spreading.
If he should go, surely he’ll sow
Doom and despair where he’s heading. (2x)

Bottle of Wine

Richard's Penance (Casey's Last Ride, Kris Kristofferson)

"We'll always be together."
- Isabella, Ab Aeterno

Richard: Can you absolve me of my sins so I don't go to Hell?
Jacob: I can't do that either.
Richard: I never want to die. I want to live forever.
Jacob: Now that... I can do.
- Ab Aeterno

Ab Aeterno gave us a whole lot of background on Richard, a fundamentally decent man who accidentally killed a man in the heat of extreme agitation, much like Desmond did with Kelvin. (And y'know, maybe I can go ahead and blame Jacob for that bus accident; he seems especially good at orchestrating crashes for the purposes of bringing people to the Island...) We saw his profound love for his wife and his deep desire for absolution. Scarred by a corrupt priest's statement that he was going to Hell unless he could perform sufficient penance, which would take a long time indeed, he welcomed Jacob's offer of a job that would allow him to do a lot of good. Here's a reflection on his story to the tune of John Denver's Casey's Last Ride.

Richard’s Penance

Richard was a humble man who labored with a lofty plan
Of going with the wife he loved to seek another world.
Stumbling to the table of the doctor who seemed able to
Repair her broken body, Richard’s desperation swirled.
His hands were built for farming, and he had no thought of harming
When he left his little cottage and rode out into the rain.
But Richard made an error at the apex of his terror,
And he heard his love’s last words as he was dragged away in chains.

“Here,” she said. “Take along my only worldly treasure.
Go,” she said, “mindful of the promise that you hold.
Please,” she said, “know that we will always be together.
Yes,” she said, “even if my very life goes cold.”

Richard swapped a prison cell for passage on a ship to Hell,
Or that’s how he perceived it when the vessel came aground.
There he met a Man in Black who told him that he must attack
The Devil; then an angry whack from Jacob turned him ‘round.
That’s when Jacob mentioned his disdain for intervention
With the pawns who earned detention on the Island he controlled.
But his rival’s reach was greater, so perhaps a mediator
Was a fitting compromise who could advise his flustered fold.

“So,” he said, “what will you be paid for this endeavor?
No,” he said, “I cannot absolve your sins for you.
Still,” he said, “you insist you want to live forever.
Now,” he said, “that is something I‘ll be glad to do.”

“Here,” she said. “Take along my only worldly treasure.
Go,” she said, “mindful of the promise that you hold.
Please,” she said, “know that we will always be together.
Yes,” she said, “even if my very life goes cold.
Yes,” she said, “even if my very life goes cold.”

Cursing His Protection (Losing My Religion, R. E. M.)

"I devoted my life, longer than you can possibly imagine, in service of a man who told me that everything was happening for a reason, that he had a plan, a plan that I was a part of, and when the time was right that he'd share it with me, and now that man's gone so...why do I want to die? Because I just found out my entire life had no purpose."
- Richard, Dr. Linus

My dad is always on the lookout for songs to suggest to me for LOSTification. His most recent offering was REM's Losing My Religion. I've always found that song quite the downer, so my reaction wasn't too enthusiastic, but then I realized that it really was fitting for Dr. Linus, an episode in which so many characters express profound doubts about the man to whom they have looked as a godlike entity. Particularly striking is Richard Alpert, who, after well over a century as Jacob's faithful follower, hits rock bottom as he believes all of his service was in vain. Here's a rant from him.

Cursing His Protection

My life is longer,
It’s longer than you
Could ever guess, Jack.
It’s all because of Jacob.
He said it was a gift.
Oh, no. He steered me wrong
For far too long.

I’m here on the Black Rock.
I’m back where I started and
Cursing his protection.
He said he had a plan,
And he said he would share it with me.
Oh, no. He steered me wrong.
He just strung me along.
I thought that I had a purpose.
I thought that he told the truth.
But now I think I want to die.

Every leader
And every bad decision moved us
In the right direction,
Or so I told myself back then
As the cycle began again but
Oh, no. He steered me wrong
For far too long.

Remember this.
Remember this,
And make sure your friend does too.
Remember this.
Do not believe what he told you.  Now, 
Jack, I’m decades overdue
To leave this old life,
For he steered me wrong.
I thought that I had a purpose.
I thought that he told the truth.
But now I think I want to die.

It was all a lie.
It was all a lie.

I’m here on the Black Rock.
I’m back where I started and
Cursing his protection.
He said he had a plan,
And he said he would share it with me.
Oh, no. He steered me wrong.
He just strung me along.
I thought that I had a purpose.
I thought that he told the truth.
But now I think I want to die.

Yes, it was all a lie,
So why not die?
It was all a lie.
All a lie, all a lie.
Lie.

Eloise (Edelweiss, Richard Rodgers / Oscar Hammerstein)

"This man walked into camp and put a gun to my head, and Eloise... reacted."
 - Richard, Follow the Leader

One of the moments on LOST that has stuck with me the most is the death of Daniel Faraday. I've written about it from two different perspectives. Here's a third, the sage Richard's, which is later echoed by Jack, to the tune of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Edelweiss, from The Sound of Music.

Eloise

Richard: Eloise, Eloise.
Must you be such a hothead?
Look at me. Do you see
Who it was that you shot dead?
That was your son, so what you have done
Brings no satisfaction.
Eloise, Eloise.
What a fatal reaction!

Richard: Eloise,
Jack: Eloise,
Richard: Eloise.
Jack: Eloise.
Richard and Jack: Must you be such a hothead?
Richard: Look at me.
Jack: Look at me.
Richard: Do you see
Jack: Do you see
Richard and Jack: Who it was that you shot dead?
Jack: That was your son, so what you have done
Brings no satisfaction.
Eloise, Eloise.
What a fatal reaction!

Hey There, Richardus (Hey There, Delilah, Tom Higgenson)

We still have a lot to learn about Ilana, the only major character to emerge from season five of LOST who wasn't at least hinted at in earlier seasons. But my initial impression of her is that she's very brash and condescending. One of "the good guys"? Probably. But if I were Richard, I might be a little annoyed with the way she just barges in and tries to takes charge. She, on the other hand, must be feeling frustrated that Richard allowed the unthinkable to happen. Here's a spiel from her to him, to the tune of the Plain White Ts' Hey There, Delilah.

Hey There, Richardus

Hey there, Richardus,
With your tongue as smooth as satin,
Won’t you prove that you‘re my ally?
Just five little words in Latin
Are my due.
If you are truly Number Two,
Then he told you.

Hey there, Richardus -
Or should I just call you Ricky?
Can you see through that eyeliner
That our situation’s sticky?
Here’s a box.
Hope you will forgive me if this shocks:
We have two Lockes.

Oh, don’t know how you could be
Fooled by Jacob’s Enemy.
Oh, don’t know how you could be
Fooled by Jacob’s Enemy.
Jacob’s Enemy.

Hey there, Richardus,
I suppose he had his charms,
But still I thought someone who knows
As much as you would hear alarms
When “John” appeared.
You must admit, the guy is weird.
It’s as I feared.

Hey there, Richardus,
Jacob wanted me to come.
He must have known that you would drop the ball,
But hey, don’t feel too dumb. You’re getting old,
Tarnished after years of gleaming gold.
Does that sound cold?

Oh, don’t know how you could be
Fooled by Jacob’s Enemy.
Oh, don’t know how you could be
Fooled by Jacob’s Enemy.

The Island’s in the balance now.
From castaways to cats and cows,
Each living thing is under this new threat.
I won’t pretend the outlook’s good,
But I don’t think that Jacob would
Have sent me here if hope had vanished yet.

Richardus, bow out gracefully
And leave the leading up to me.
I know you think you’re Jacob’s right-hand man,
But heed my plan.

Hey there, Richardus.
See, the statue marks the spot.
We’ll barge inside; you just stay here
And build your slave ship in a bottle
For a while.

Excuse my commandeering style.
We‘re the good guys too, so it‘s not guile.
Hey there, Richardus, crack a smile.
We’ll save this isle.

Oh, don’t know how you could be
Fooled by Jacob’s Enemy.
Oh, don’t know how you could be
Fooled by Jacob’s Enemy.
Jacob’s Enemy.

Resurrected Man (Ordinary Man, Peter Hames)

Richard is one of the most fascinating characters on LOST, and season five gave us a lot to contemplate about him, particularly in the last couple of episodes. He strikes me as very wise and probably fairly benevolent, though not above resorting to violence in threatening situations. On the other hand, I was surprised to find how seldom he seemed in the know this season. So clearly he doesn't possess some kind of Island omniscience. I'm hoping for a full-blown Richard flashback episode or two next season, but until then I have to do a bit of guessing. Here I try to get into his head as he starts to grow suspicious of his supposed new leader, to the tune of Peter Hames' Ordinary Man.

Resurrected Man

"I'm a resurrected man, and I'm claiming my command.
I trust that's not a problem," murmured John.
Well, I reassured him but the misgivings within my gut
Were grumbling to me grimly, "It's a con."
Though he's told me that he's blessed, that he's different from the rest
And destined for a quest that Jacob planned,
My intuition knows beneath his princely clothes,
A serpent slithers softly through the sand.
Yes, I understand.

I've served my master well, and oh, the stories I could tell,
The miracles and intrigues I have known!
Yes, I have seen amazing things, but not the mightiest of kings
Cheated death to reclaim his flesh and bone.
Countless years have made me wise, and I have come to realize
That I've fallen a victim to John's trickery.
He dropped Jacob's name the first time he came,
And that's how he manipulated me
For half a century.

Crossing Earth seemed worth it to glimpse him at birth;
I'd saved the date he gave me in '54.
Infant, child and youth brought me closer to the truth;
I thought the boy was nothing but a bore.
How long could I wait to find the proof he was great?
I weathered Eloise and Charles and Ben
And I tried to hide my doubt this John had any clout.
I feared I would just be let down again.
When, Jacob, when?

I wish that I could banish this resurrected man;
He isn't the John I thought I knew.
We soon will pay the price for my heeding Jack's advice:
"I'd not give up on him if I were you."
It may be too late now to change our fate.
My duty to follow him is clear.
But I'm sure, as I grope for feeble strands of hope,
That Jacob's not the one who brought him here.
The end draws near.
The end draws near.
The end draws near.