Morgan Betony: Force of Nature with Anxiety
The exact words I was given when Nicole gave me Morgan’s playlist was “I would be curious as to your interpretation of my song choices.” So here we go.
Below is the playlist Nicole made to represent Morgan, at least the Morgan that you would all know at this point in the journey. I actually looked at this list and didn’t recognize a single song, though I am sure I’ve listened to them before (executive dysfunction for the win!). So, in order to do this properly, I sat down and gave each song a listen.
Federkleid by Faun
The Voice by Celtic Woman
See the World by Caamp
Force of Nature by Bea Miller
Everything at Once by Lenka
Mountain Sound by Of Monsters and Men
Sunlight by Hozier
Show Yourself by Gabi DiMartino and Collin Vogt
Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron
Would You Be So Kind by dodie
Federkleid was clearly German from the first lyric I heard. Now, I don’t speak German, though I’m German by blood, so I can recognize the language when I hear it. And it was very much an upbeat, almost celtic sounding song, definitely gave me druid vibes, almost the vibes of someone who is happy in their home, close to nature. Because I didn’t know what was being said, I looked up the lyrics, and found they kind of supported that idea. The refrain repeating: “Come and fly away with us / Let the wind carry you / Far away from this place / Come and fly as high as you can / Let us chase the skies/ In our dance.”
The Voice seemed to double down on this feeling, as Morgan and all the others from the other world weren’t able to reach into their memories of home, but something else was able to speak to her. The Voice inside, from something deeper than just memory. Her ancestry, her clan, nature itself, all were able to give her clues and hints at the world she was in and the world she left unknowingly behind.
Much in the proper Druid fashion, especially a younger druid, finding herself in a world so different from her home, she wanted to see it. Especially with no memories available to her, she was excited to make new ones. See the World has an upbeat and excited view on the adventure that lies before her. A world where she gets to do what none of us really get to in today’s day and age: she gets to experience it completely fresh, without any prejudices in place.
The opening of Force of Nature slows down a bit, almost as if the excitement of the previous song is getting dulled. As though the experience of this new world is starting to overwhelm her, and she needs to put up some kind of means of protecting herself. Now, the “force of nature” and “danger” that Miller refers to in the song can mean several things, though my belief is that Morgan would see that force of nature being herself. A powerful woman, literally tapping into the power of the earth. However, the powers that be also have a powerful effect on her own anxieties, for better and for worse. The stress and fears of the dangers that seek to harm her from the unknown corners of this world could be another interpretation, and of course, the young wildling’s first experience with a crush, and the force of that attraction on her own personal self and vision of herself. With so many interpretations, I think this song does represent Morgan best, so far at least.
Playing more into the anxiety and shifting power of Morgan, Everything At Once does reflect Morgan’s need to be a people pleaser and keep peace between the other players. What I really loved about this song being part of the list was almost the circus-sounding harmonies in the background. It makes me feel like I’m at a carnival slowly watching Lenka devolve into the madness of all these forces pulling her in different directions. Morgan feels a lot like that at times when I’m writing her. She wants to pursue the things she wants, while still making sure the mission is accomplished, but not hurt anyone in the process, but also ripping apart anyone who dares threaten the people she cares about… to balance all of that would be maddening.
Mountain Sound by Of Monsters and Men, keeps the upbeat theme, which in itself is starting to paint a picture of Morgan as a person, and seems to be pushing a message of balancing impulses and wisdom. Wanting to run and play, collect scars and memories, while being told to hold their horses, rest, and then when the sun goes down, or when age begins to provide wisdom, then one can run about and take action. However, waiting to take action until you’re old enough may leave you without the opportunity to run at all. Or at the very least, make it so you can’t run with those you wish to have the chance to. Granted, the English teacher in me may be digging too deep into this particular one.
Sunlight takes on more of an R&B feel to me, taking on a heavier feeling than the other songs, moving away from the upbeat feel of the other songs. This song focuses on the idea of love, which the singer is willing to, like Icarus, fly too close to and risk crashing and burning. What’s fun about this, is how Timm worships a Sun God, Belanus, and is pursuing her, but Morgan herself seems drawn to another, like a moth to a flame herself. The somber melody seems to almost make the idea of love as sad as it is irresistible.
Show Yourself was a full departure from what I was expecting from this list, especially since this felt more like someone singing to Morgan rather than Morgan expressing this towards someone else. As though this was the first time there was nothing keeping her from pursuing her own personal self. No baggage, no hangups, the build up to the opportunity to allow someone to see her for who she is rather than what she is expected to provide. Also, it has been years since I’ve seen Frozen II, so I didn’t recognize it as a cover until way too late in the song.
Nearly at the end, Meet Me in the Woods by Lord Huron brought us back to a more upbeat song, though still with a bit of the melancholy tied in. This song seems to be a bit of a foil to Sunlight, where she was willing to risk disaster for the chance to experience something she wanted. Now, she’s returning, changed from the experience. She sees the change in herself, feels that perhaps due to the effect it has on others, she should feel some kind of remorse, however, she doesn’t. Not because she’s okay with hurting someone, but because she has finally accepted that each of us will experience darkness in our lives, and it can’t be her responsibility to be everyone’s light. Now, forever changed, she still needs to work on developing herself into the person she wants to be, but she can do so without as many holdups about the person she thought she needed to be.
Finally, we’ve reached our last song, Would You Be So Kind, which really returns to that upbeat rhythm. Here, we see a woman going out on a limb and asking the one she loves to fall in love with her too. Regardless of whether this is Morgan asking the person she loves to love her back, it shows a great growth in Morgan overall as it is Morgan asking something of someone else. Morgan has a nasty habit of not going after what she wants because she doesn’t want to inconvenience others. Here, we see our druid coming out of her cocoon and making strides in her life to have the things she wants. No longer people pleasing, but going after the things that please her, or that she hopes will. Taking the risk alone is the great accomplishment here.
This made for an interesting experiment. Nicole didn’t tell me why she chose these songs, leaving it to me to try and determine the reason for myself. Hopefully I was able to channel Morgan in a way that was satisfactory to her, and if not, perhaps she’d be so kind as to offer a rebuttal, cleaning up whatever mess I made of things. Until then, hopefully this has given you a better idea of who Morgan is as a person, and you’ll understand her better as you continue to read through the novels! Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the playlist and go support the artists if you enjoyed them!
