Soundtrack for 1984 by George Orwell

Track #1
Song: Satellite
Artist: Guster

Album: Ganging Up On the Sun
Shining like a work of art
Hanging on a wall of stars
Are you what I think you are?
You’re my satellite
You’re riding with me tonight
Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You’re my satellite
Elevator to the moon
Whistling our favorite tune
Trying to get a closer view
You’re my satellite
You’re riding with me tonight
Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You’re my satellite
Maybe you will always be
Just a little out of reach
You’re my satellite
You’re riding with me tonight
Passenger side, lighting the sky (cont.)
Always the first star that I find
You’re my satellite
You’re my satellite
“Satellite” significance: One of the main concepts of this song is wanting something unattainable, as seen in the lines “Maybe you will always be,
just a little out of reach,
you’re my satellite”.
The same occurs in 1984 with how Winston (the main character) regards Julia (his love interest), because he loves her even though it’s difficult for them to be together under the strict rules and regulations of Big Brother.
Track #2
Song: Holocene
Artist: Bon Iver
Album: Bon Iver, Bon Iver
Someway, baby, it’s part of me, apart from me
You’re laying waste to Halloween
You messed it, friend, it’s on its head, it struck the street You’re in Milwaukee, off your feet
And at once I knew I was not magnificent
Strayed above the highway aisle
(Jagged vacance, thick with ice)
I could see for miles, miles, miles
3rd and Lake, it burnt away, the hallway
Was where we learned to celebrate
Automatic bought the years you’d talk for me
That night you played me ‘Lip Parade’
Not the needle, nor the thread, the lost decree
Saying nothing, that’s enough for me
And at once I knew I was not magnificent
Hulled far from the highway aisle
(Jagged vacance, thick with ice)
I could see for miles, miles, miles
Christmas night, it clutched the light, the hallow bright
Above my brother, I and tangled spines
We smoked the screen to make it what it was to be
Now to know it in my memory
And at once I knew I was not magnificent
High above the highway aisle
(Jagged vacance, thick with ice)
I could see for miles, miles, miles
“Holocene” significance: Winston is often self-deprecating, analytical and pessimistic. He believes it’s crucial to hold on to memories of the past, because if the truth is forgotten, the supposed evil would win. The lines “Not to know it in my memory, and at once I knew I was not magnificent.” mimic Winston’s thought process.
Track #3
Song: Waiting…
Artist: City and Colour
Album: Bring Me Your Love
A coma might feel better than this
Attempting to discover where to begin
You’re weighed down, you’re full of something
Of sickness and desertion
You’re weighed down, you’re full of something
You’re underneath it all
So say goodbye to love
And hold your head up high
There’s no need to rush
We’re all just waiting, waiting to die
Hope and better place is all I need
With moments of innocence and mystery
Oh, it’s the little things you miss
Like waking up all alone
Oh, it’s the little things you miss
When you’re underneath it all
So say goodbye to love
And hold your head up high
There’s no need to rush
We’re all just waiting, waiting to die
All your friends seem like enemies
When you’re broken down and empty, oh
All your friends seem like enemies
When you’re broken down and empty, oh
So say goodbye to love
And hold your head up high
There’s no need to rush
We’re all just waiting, waiting to die
“Waiting…” significance: Winston regularly makes references to Big Brother and the Thought Police catching him breaking rules and he’s waiting for them to “vaporize” him, which is being murdered and all personal records being destroyed. Winston is also paranoid that any person he comes into contact with is an associate with Big Brother or the Thought Police because people in his life are very conniving and deceitful. So the lyrics “We’re all just waiting, waiting to die/all your friends seem like enemies when you’re broken down and empty” match his situation.
Track #4
Song: The World At Large
Artist: Modest Mouse
Album: Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Ice-age heat wave can’t complain
If the world’s at large, why should I remain? (cont.)
Walked away to another plane
Gonna find another place, maybe one I can stand
I move on to another day
To a whole new town with a whole new way
Went to the porch to have a thought
Got to the door and again, I couldn’t stop
You don’t know where and you don’t know when
But you still got your words and you got your friends
Walk along to another day
Work a little harder, work another way
Well uh uh baby I ain’t got no plan
We’ll float on maybe would you understand?
Gonna float on maybe would you understand?
We’ll float on maybe would you understand?
The days get shorter and the nights get cold
I like the autumn but this place is getting old
I pack up my belongings and I head for the coast
It might not be a lot but I feel like I’m making the most
The days get longer and the nights smell green
I guess it’s not surprising but it’s spring and I should leave I like songs about drifters, books about the same
They both seem to make me feel a little less insane
Walked on off to another spot
I still haven’t gotten anywhere that I want
Did I want love? Did I need to know?
Why does it always feel like I’m caught in an undertow?
The moths beat themselves to death against the lights
Adding their breeze to the summer nights
Outside, water like air was great
I didn’t know what I had that day
Walk a little farther to another plane
You said that you did, but you didn’t understand
I know that starting over is not what life’s about
But my thoughts were so loud, I couldn’t hear my mouth
My thoughts were so loud, I couldn’t hear my mouth
My thoughts were so loud
“The World At Large” significance: Throughout the book, Winston reflects on why he’s still alive even though the world is in turmoil from corrupt politics and mass murder. He attempts to find a purpose to keep surviving day-to-day even though at the beginning of the story he had no family or friends. The line “If the world’s at large, why should I remain?” represents his self-doubt about survival and questioning his existence.
Track #5
Song: My Silhouette (Acoustic)
Artist: Arms Like Yours
Album: Inhale Exhale
Sleep has become my escape from reality, she’s in my dreams
Someone wake me up because this isn’t real, and it’s just a game that I can’t escape Over again, this cruel cycle repeats and repeats
I grabbed her hand but it slowly slipped away
Someone wake me up, can someone wake me up
She moves with me in my dreams, but I’m foolish to believe that this is the way it ends I see her silhouette, but it’s just a test for me to leave the past with the past She moves with me now but it’s just a test
I must stop this cycle and cut out my silhouette
I smile as her lips brush my neck but I know that this is just a vision in my head Kiss me in my dreams if you’re really done with me
It’s too fitting to disrupt, oh can someone wake me up
But you can’t change me, but she’s pulling me back
“My Silhouette” significance: While Winston was held prisoner by the Thought Police, he frequently had dreams of Julia. He would wake up disturbed from these dreams because he was worried about her, because she was captured at the same time he was and he assumed she was suffering as well. He missed her until doctors at the facility managed to brainwash him and Winston was left void of feelings for her.
Track #6
Song: Two Weeks
Artist: Grizzly Bear
Album: Veckatimest
Save up all the days
A routine malaise
Just like yesterday
I told you I would stay
Would you always
Maybe sometimes
Make it easy?
Take your time
Think of all the ways
Momentary phase
Just like yesterday
I told you I would stay
Every time you try
Quarter half the mile
Just like yesterday
I told you I would stay
Would you always
Maybe sometimes
Make it easy?
Take your time
Would you always
Maybe sometimes
Make it easy?
Take your time
Always, sometimes
Easy, time
“Two Weeks” significance: Though Winston and Julia have a secret relationship; they seem to care about each other and try to make time for each other whenever they can. There were a few instances where Winston was scared Julia was going to ditch plans with him and not show up to where they were supposed to meet, but she always stuck around with him even when he would doubt her. The lyric “Just like yesterday, I told you I would stay” symbolizes Julia having to remind Winston of her good intentions.
Track #7
Song: Wake Up
Artist: Arcade Fire
Album: Funeral
Somethin’ filled up
My heart with nothin’
Someone told me not to cry
Now that I’m older
My heart’s colder (cont.)
And I can see that it’s a lie
Children wake up
Hold your mistake up
Before they turn the summer into dust
If the children don’t grow up
Our bodies get bigger
But our hearts get torn up
We’re just a million
Little God’s causin’ rainstorms
Turnin’ every good thing to rust
I guess we’ll just have to adjust
With my lighnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am goin’ to be
When the reaper, reaches
And touches my hand
With my lighnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am goin’
With my lighnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am go, goin’
You’d better look out below
“Wake Up” significance: Winston often reminisces about his past and how different it is from his current circumstances. He misses the innocence of childhood and how the world was a much better place during that time, so the lyrics “Turnin’ every good thing to rust, I guess we’ll just have to adjust” signifies him trying to cope with his new environment even though it’s an awful place.
Track #8
Song: Viola Lion
Artist: Isles & Glaciers
Album: The Hearts of Lonely People
I am a million pieces of the sky
I found a way to be alone
I’m gonna wait until you want me
Until you finally decide to go home
Diamonds, diamonds are you all in the sky?
I can’t believe all of these beautiful lies
As they surround me I will take a photograph of the sky
Bury me, bury me
Come on, bury me alone in the light
I am, I’m gonna run this like a lion
Another way to be alone
And I will wait until you find me
Until you finally decide to go home
(Don’t go home! Don’t go home!)
Diamonds, diamonds are you all in the sky?
I can’t believe all of these beautiful lies
As they surround me I will take a photograph of the sky
Bury me, bury me
Come on, bury me alone in the light
I’ve never had a reason to take me away
I want it to be over
But I sit here and wait [x2]
I saw her smiling from the top of the world
I saw her sleeping on, amazing I know
If you lower, lower, lower me down
You lower me clearly, so come and lower me
Diamonds, diamonds are you all in the sky?
I can’t believe all of these beautiful lies
As they surround me I will take a photograph of the sky
Bury me, bury me
Diamonds, diamonds are you all in the sky?
I can’t believe all of these beautiful lies
As they surround me I will take a photograph of the sky
Bury me, bury me
Bury me, bury me
“Viola Lion” significance: Throughout the course of the novel, Winston is convinced that the government is lying to the people, so he meets up with a leader of an underground revolt organization to uncover these top-secret lies, which he never actually ends up doing. By the end he’s brainwashed and believes anything the Party does is right and they can do no wrong, so the line “I can’t believe all of these beautiful lies” really becomes true in the most literal sense.
Track #9
Song: Midnight City
Artist: M83
Album: Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
Waiting in a car
Waiting for a ride in the dark
The night city grows
Look and see her eyes, they glow
Waiting in a car
Waiting for a ride in the dark
Drinking in the lounge
Following the neon signs
Waiting for a roar
Looking at the mutating skyline
The city is my church
It wraps me in the sparkling twilight
Waiting in a car
Waiting for the right time
Waiting in a car
Waiting for the right time
Waiting in a car
Waiting for the right time
Waiting in a car
Waiting for the right time
Waiting in a car
“Midnight City” significance: The novel and this song don’t relate merely on lyrics, but are relevant to each other because of the high-energy vibe this song has, which is mirrored by the Party’s constant tenacity to make Big Brother as powerful as it can be, and to crush all opposing forces. They seem to know no bounds, and their energy is always extremely high whenever they’re volunteering for their government.
Track #10
Song: July
Artist: Youth Lagoon
Album: The Year of Hibernation
Explosions pillaging the night
From the fireworks on the Fourth of July
It’s just my lady, our friends, and I
Smoking cigars and yelling at cars as they drive by
We scaled a ladder ascending to the roof
While five years ago I wept and no one knew
Holding my guitar, I strummed a tune
I sang “I love you but I have to cut you loose”
As the neighbor lights off the small bombs we watch
from the rooftop… safely, so safely
If I had never let go, then only God knows where I would be know I made a bridge between us then I slowly burned it
Five years ago, in my backyard I sang love away (cont.)
Little did I know that real love had not quite yet found me
“July” significance: While Winston was incarcerated, tortured and brainwashed at the Thought Police facility, he was thinking about his true feelings for Julia. He realized he would never see her again, and that to stay alive as long as possible he needed to direct his mind elsewhere. After all the emotional and physical pain he was experienced there, he lost the ability to feel emotions. He only thought about the instinct for survival, all the while doctors were hurting him more by claiming that he was insane. The line “I love you but I have to cut you loose” relates Winston forgetting about Julia, because he did love her when he got arrested, but those feelings ended up fading.