I was going to start this posting off with a long explanation of what an Earworm is but I think we’ve all experinced having a song stuck in your head. My current earworm are the End Credits from the movie Coraline, no doubt caused by the constant rewatching of the film do the Halloween season. So this is my nonsensical tangent about this song.
So fun story about this song. Up until 3 days ago I fully thought that it was sung in another language. I was so prepared to do a deep dive and connect the lyrics and instrumental back to the story of the movie only to find out the lyrics are just gibberish! But that led to some more interesting things about the song.
Some background: The End Credits song was made by Bruno Coulais with the vocals being done by The Childrens Choir of Nice. I personally think the childrens voices (especially in context of the film) make the song quite unsettling. Coulais did the score for the film and included instruments such as the harp, string quarter, ethnic instruments and synthesizers. He also used a variety of objects such as toys to create the score. I also learned while looking into what was used for the score is that the thing that has terrorized me in a variety of horror films is called a waterphone.
Back to End Credits, it is hard for me to pinpoint why this song is so addicting. The vocals and bell noises in the song just scratch an itch in my brain, I want to use the word eclectic or sparkly to describe it. There’s just something about it and the entire soundtrack for that matter that draws you in, it’s unsettling but you want to listen to more. It reminds me of the other world from the film, a lovely place with something sinster going on.
Interestingly though, there have been a number of attempts to decipher what this song that is gibberish is saying based on the few english words in the song. The main interpretation of the lyrics in English is:
Creaking is the door so gently
Side to side, calling your name
Never ever ever ever open that door
Things won’t be the same
Crawling is the spider’s hand
Searching for it’s prey
Soon you’ll be next
Trapped in the spider’s web!
Run!
Save us!
Please save our souls!
Find our eyes before the full moon
Make sure the other mother doesn’t find you
A button in the eye will surely curse you
The witch will eat you too
Creaking is the door so gently
Side to side, calling your name
Never ever ever ever open that door
Things won’t be the same
Crawling is the spider’s hand
Searching for it’s prey
Soon you’ll be next
Trapped in the spider’s web!
This interpretation comes from viewing the song as a warning about the Other Mother. I think theres a discussion to be had on if it matters if the real english lyrics are out there somewhere. I feel that the song being ambigous in it’s meaning is perfect for the movie Coraline. If there were real lyrics, what would they add? It’s the end of the movie after all, we already know how it ends and who the bad guy is.
I really just wanted to get my random thoughts about a song and movie I love out there. Some other songs from the soundtrack that I adore are Other Father Song and Mice Circus. But the sountrack for the film really stands on its own and tells the story and mood of Coraline quite well. So, if your ever looking for some background noise, give it a listen!