At my first post-college, real adult party in Brooklyn, the host put on the Death Cab For Cutie album Plans and declared "Soul Meets Body" as the most romantic song of all time in 2005. The whole group argued the claim over jello shots, because adulthood. Ten years later, I can't say that I agree with him, but Death Cab For Cutie album Plans has so many romantic lyrics. It's hard not to be seduced by the gentle melodies and the emotional, poetic lyrics of the album, which was the band's first on a major label, Atlantic Records.
My personal pick for the most romantic song on Plans has to be "I Will Follow You Into The Dark," an acoustic ballad with just lead singer Ben Gibbard, a guitar, and so much heart and soul. The song was nominated for a Grammy and is actually the top-selling off the album, despite not charting too well in the beginning. "Gibbard's voice holds Plans together," wrote Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield in his review of the album. "As always, he indulges his boyish romanticism, more than ever now that he's contemplating mortality and shedding his 'Summer Skin.'"
As Plans celebrates its 10th anniversary, let's take a look back at the most romantic lyrics on the album.
1. "Marching Bands Of Manhattan"
Sorrow drips into your heart through a pinholeJust like a faucet that leaks and there is comfort in the soundBut while you debate half empty or half fullIt slowly rises, your love is gonna drown
This triumphant tune contains these poetic lyrics, which convey so much emotion through words beautifully describing vivid images. Amazing.
2. "I Will Follow You Into The Dark"
Love of mine, some day you will dieBut I'll be close behindI'll follow you into the darkNo blinding light or tunnels to gates of whiteJust our hands clasped so tightWaiting for the hint of a sparkIf Heaven and Hell decideThat they both are satisfiedIlluminate the No's on their vacancy signsIf there's no one beside youWhen your soul embarksThen I'll follow you into the dark
This whole track is gorgeous and romantic, but not much can top the opening lines, which pretty much declares to a lover, "When you die, I'll go with you. I'll follow your soul." Powerful stuff.
3. "Crooked Teeth"
Cause I built you a home in my heart,With rotten wood, it decayed from the start.
These lines sum up this song about a relationship that didn't have much substance to begin with. The words provoke such incredibly beautiful and romantic images. A "home in my heart" sounds so nice, well, until you get to the next line.
4. "Soul Meets Body"
And I do believe it’s trueThat there are roads left in both of our shoesBut if the silence takes youThen I hope it takes me tooSo brown eyes I hold you nearCause you’re the only song I want to hearA melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
There's a lot of talk about souls and death and following each other into the afterlife on this album. In fact, this track includes it in the title, as well as the lyrics. This is another pledge of love throughout eternity and it doesn't get any better.
5. "Summer Skin"
On the night you left I came over And we peeled the freckles from our shoulders Our brand new coats so flushed and pinkAnd I knew your heart I couldn't winCause the seasons change was a conduit And we left our love in our summer skin
Has a summer fling ever been summed up as sweetly and sadly as this? What a way to capture the fleeting-ness of summer love and youth.
6. "Someday You Will Be Loved"
You may feel alone when you're falling asleepAnd every time tears roll down your cheeksBut I know your heart belongs to someone you've yet to meetSomeday you will be lovedYou'll be loved you'll be lovedLike you never have knownThe memories of meWill seem more like bad dreamsJust a series of blursLike I never occurredSomeday you will be loved
Even in songs about heartbreak, Death Cab seems to bring out the romantic. This song is about that and finding a love in the future and the lyrics inspire so much home. Yes, you will be loved someday and it'll be wonderful.
