Reading Playlist: Safe & Sound

  

“Safe & Sound” – Capital Cities:
I truly had never heard of this song until after I had already sent my book to the publisher. At first I was like ‘oh no’ I don’t want a song that is the same as my book. But the more I listened to it and the more I liked the song and felt it was a good fit for my novel, so maybe it was meant to be!

“One More Day” – Diamond Rio:
I listened to this song while writing and I think it speaks to Jill. I envision this song playing while Jill is in the hospital with Jay. This represents her thoughts and emotions as she is struggling to find the words to say good-bye.

“Hear You Me” – Jimmy Eat World:
Again, this song was a song of recovery and journey. This falls in line with Diamond Rio and Garth Brooks. Safe & Sound is so emotional that I felt that the songs needed to reflect that and take you on the same journey as the story did.

“The Dance” – Garth Brooks: Sadly Garth Brooks doesn’t have his music on Spotify at the moment. But I wanted to include it on my list, anyway. This song always makes me tear up. This song combined with the Diamond Rio song are the perfect way to describe musically how Jill takes the reader through her short journey with Jay. To me this song would be playing while she talks about their wedding day, honeymoon and future together. It gets me sappy just thinking about it.

“Have You Ever” – Brandy: 
I listened to this song a lot during the writing process. It conveys a specific feeling and emotion that helped me get into the zone when writing about Jill and Jay.

“Jar of Hearts” – Christina Perri:
This a song that when you put your headphones on and turn it up loud, you can just get lost in it. The lyrics don’t exactly fit Jill, but the feeling and emotions of the song do. I imagine Jill at her lowest point and this song playing in the background because it’s just so filled with raw emotion.

“I Knew I Loved You” – Savage Garden: 
Okay, so at heart I love 90’s music. This was a great song that I added to my list for two reasons. The first being that the title said exactly what I thought Ross was thinking when he met Jill. Secondly if there had to be a song playing in the background during specific scenes, this would be it.

“A Little Stronger” – Sara Evans: 
This makes me think of Jill and her entire journey. It’s a journey in which she thought she was strong. But after this tragic event, it strips away her feelings of strength. So she has to spend the length of the novel growing stronger and redefining herself.

“Stronger” – Kelly Clarkson: 
This is the next song because Jill goes from growing stronger to being stronger. It’s so important for her to stand on her own two feet and embrace her new circumstances without letting them overcome her.

“New York, New York” – Frank Sinatra: 
This was the song on the beach Jill requested of Ross. To me this is one of my favorite Sinatra songs and I love to listen to it when I am in a specific mood.

“Please Remember Me” – Tim McGraw:
This was a song I felt would be playing while Jill said goodbye to Jay on the boat. It’s such a reflective song about loss. Jill wasn’t near healing but spreading Jay’s ashes was the first step in the right direction.

“Fallin’ for You” – Colbie Caillat:
This is such a sweet song. In my mind this was playing with Jill and Ross during the beginning of their relationship. Specifically that night they had dinner and ice cream and he drove her to the airport. It was the perfect theme song music for these two.

“You and Me” – Lifehouse:
This is such a great love song, it’s one of my favorites. It was something that spoke to the relationship that Jill and Ross were building together and how easy it came together. Also the tone and melody fit with the music I listened to while writing.

“Brighter Side” – OPM:
One of the quirkier songs on the list. I didn’t really know about this song until my husband made me listen to it. The words and lyrics are very spot on to where I think Jill was at the end of the book. They describe both her journey and her feelings about Jay. It was a happy find that rounded out my list.