It”s a cold, cold world out there, but Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars will be there to protect us. In the video for “Safe & Sound,” from “The Hunger Games,” the threesome vow that “no one can hurt you now,” but it looks like our odds aren”t good.
The video, which has a bleak, winter chill feel to it, even though Swift is dressed in a billowy white summery dress, opens with The Civil Wars” Joy Mitchell and John Paul White in a cabin with a roaring fire. So they”re fine, but what about Swift, who seems destined to roam the plains with no shelter? Even the trees are barren. She seems slightly bothered, but mainly she”s looking beatific as she walks the land as if she”s the last person left on earth. She does see a deer, but the deer comes to an untoward end.
[More after the jump…]
There”s no movie footage interspersed with the clip, and, in fact, the only obvious reference to the book/movie is when Swift makes her way into another cabin(seemingly not the one with The Civil Wars in it ) and she fleetingly picks up a Mockingjay pin.
In an interview with Swift that aired around MTV”s world premiere today, she said that it was her favorite video that she”s made and it gave her “chills” to watch it. As for if she were in her own version of “Hunger Games,” she thinks “I think I would just be the person who runs and hides,” no hunting or gathering for her. “There are a few ways that Katniss has to kill people, but she does it in an indirect way. That”s something I would try to do.”
After the studio approached Swift about making music for the movie, she read the book in two days and was “immersed” in it. She ended up writing a “death lullaby,” which was very different from what she had expected to pen.
There was plenty of other “Hunger Games” news released today, including the March 20 soundtrack album”s full line up. The Decemberists” contribution, the driving, urgent “One Engine” also appeared on Hypable today. Swift’s video is below the track listing.
1. “Safe & Sound” (feat. The Civil Wars) by Taylor Swift
2. “Eyes Wide Open” by Taylor Swift
3. “Abraham’s Daughter” by Arcade Fire
4. “The Ruler & The Killer” by Kid Cudi
5. “Run Daddy Run” (feat. Pistol Annies) by Miranda Lambert
6. “Kingdom Come” by The Civil Wars
7. “One Engine” by The Decemberists
8. “Take The Heartland” by Glen Hansard
9. “Lover Is Childlike” by The Low Anthem
10. “Dark Days” by Punch Brothers
11. “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder” by The Secret Sisters
12. “Just a Game” by Birdy
13. “Oh Come & Sing” by Ella Mae Bowen
14. “Rules” by Jayme Dee
15. “Reaping Day” by Carolina Chocolate Drops
16. “Give Me Something” I’ll Remember by Neko Case
17. Video “Safe & Sound” (Bonus Video) by Taylor Swift
What do you think of the video and song?
Follow Melinda Newman on Twitter @HitFixMelinda