The Desert (a life series song)

Anyone else still not over Desert Duo? Yeah, me neither.

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LYRICS

I left you in the desert, left the rivers, left the sea
Where the desert wind would tear the sand, like swords against the breeze
Where the ghosts of who we left behind, would howl a rhapsody
When I left you in the desert, I thought that you’d leave me

I left you in the desert, like the sun would leave the sky
Left the bridges that we built and burned, the ones we left to die
Left the hungry, left the needy, left the ever-watching eyes
When I left you in the desert, you left your soul behind
As you stayed there in the desert, the sun began to rise

And the desert showed you mercy
And the desert held your hand
And the desert killed you slowly
’Til your heart returned to sand

I left you in the darkness, where the sun can never reach
Where the all-consuming silence hears the words you’d never speak
Where the whispers lead to madness at the heart’s incessant beat
All alone there in the darkness, where no-one heard the screams
When I died down in the darkness, you died along with me

And the darkness bid you pity
And the darkness set you free
And the darkness killed you quickly
When it dragged you down with me

I left you in the desert (in the desert)
I left you in the desert (in the desert)
I left you in the desert (in the desert)
I left you in the desert (in the desert)

Did they ever show you mercy?
Did they ever hold your hand?
Did they kill you so damn slowly?
That you didn’t understand?
Did they look to you with pity?
Did they laugh when you weren’t there?
Did they think that you weren’t listening?
Did they think you wouldn’t care?

I left you midst the sunflowers, with the shadows by your side
Left you safe and warm and sheltered, in a world that never dies
Where the past can’t be forgotten, where the story never ends

[GoldenJayTime]

Good news! This song is available on streaming (will update as releases happen)
Others: check!

[TheSilverEgg]

The idea of Grian considering leaving scar in the sunflower fields as a mercy is so good…omg

[Abyssboo]

Oh I’m absolutely obsessed with how it ends abruptly, contrary to the line “Where the story never ends” the song DOES end, and right there!! It feels like there should be another line or two after it but instead it just. stops. I *love* it
Also damn. We’re all gonne be stuck in the desert forever aren’t we.

[aliased_aryl]

Wait… I just realized the Gem and Pearl song _Red_ includes the line “we were stuff of legends, but stories have to end, ” implying an attitude of acceptance and moving on. But _The Desert_ speaks of a world “where the story never ends, ” which implies an immaturity and either an unwillingness or inability to let go of the past.

Love that little detail, it really reinforces Grian’s characterization as someone who claims to have left the past in the past, when in reality the past still plagues him. In his own metaphor, he’s still in the desert

[NoneSpecal]

I CAN'T LEAVE THE DESERT WHEN YALL ARE DROPPING BANGERS LIKE THIS

[Xenyca]

AHH THIS IS BEAUTIFUL I LOVE IT SO MUCH! Some things I noticed (aka a "quick" analysis of the song bc I love all the little details):
"Where the desert wind would tear the sand..." not only describes the desert but I feel like it describes Grian and how he feels that he is to Scar, only tearing him apart and hurt him

"I thought that you'd leave me, " because Grian killed Scar, but in Double Life, when they're soulmates (and possibly in other seasons as well), Scar is happy to come back to him and be friends again, and Grian feels guilty that he wasn't able to drive scar away from his claws
'"Like the sun would leave the sky" AH BEAUTIFUL REFERENCE I LOVE IT

"Left the bridges..." feels like it refers to both the many alliances they made and broke, and how in order to win, they had to let all of their allies die. Could also refer to Grian "burning the bridge" between his and Scar's friendship, or at least trying to in Double Life

"Left the ever-watching eyes" love me a good Watcher reference >:D

"You left your soul behind" could refer to so many things and I love it! It seems like it could be a reference both to the soulbound thing in Double Life, but maybe also just Grian killing Scar

"Sun began to rise" is such a fantastic way of saying that Grian won (and maybe hinting at a new beginning in later seasons), but it comes at the cost of Scar's life!

"Desert showed you mercy..." I LOVE this repeating chorus and how it shifts each season to show the new circumstances, and how many things have both changed and stayed the same about their relationship/alliance. In this one, I wonder if it refers to Scar making it to the end, despite the odds all stacked against him

"I left you in the darkness, where the sun can never reach" AH YES! I think this means something like Grian's good side, the part of him that was real friends with Scar and helped him, would never be able to reach Scar over all the horrible things he's done and is capable of

"Where the all-consuming silence hears..." It seems like it refers both to Scar not immediately wanting to talk about Grian cheating on him or say how what Grian''s doing is hurting him to Grian's face, but also maybe a Listener reference?

"Where the whispers lead to madness..." while this is obviously talking about the warden, it does remind me a bit of Martyn's Watcher lore in Last Life :D

"And the darkness set you free" this might be one of my favorite lines in terms of how it shows Grian's feelings towards him being soulbound with Scar. He feels like he was a burden or a danger to Scar, and the only way to set Scar "free" from that was for him to die, severing the soul bind and letting Scar find his own path, without Grian.

"I left you in the desert" The harmonies in this part are so pretty and just ear candy :0

"Did they ever show you mercy? ..." I like how this part shows Secret Life and how everyone treated Scar horribly. I think "they" could refer both to the players who saw Scar as a villain and treated him as such, and the Watchers, who gave him all the tasks and encouraged his dark path. They never gave him a chance

"Did they kill you so damn slowly that you didn't understand?" AHH MY HEART YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME how Scar's tasks slowly lead him down the villain rabbithole, how everyone got more and more hating of him, how he didn't realize this was happening until it was too late? Could also refer to the Life Series games as a whole! I feel like there's more that I'm missing but GODS I LOVE THIS LYRIC

"Did they look to you with pity? Did they..." just more showing how everyone turned their backs on Scar, thinking he didn't realize or care, but he felt the pain the whole time and just wanted friends T0T T0T T0T NOOOO IT'S SO GOOD

"...with the shadows by your side" great reference to Scar's Wild Life finale ;D

"Left you safe and warm and sheltered..." NOOOO MY HEART MY DEAR HEART I love this take and I've never really seen it before, that Scar being amongst the sunflowers was a mercy, a chance for him to be happy without the angst and violence and games of death that he'd previously experienced. But at the same time, Grian's still saying "I left you, " implying that he wants Scar to be happy, and believes that if he's there, then Scar will never truly be happy I love this so much

And then the last lines just a reference to how they always remember previous seasons, and how these death games will keep going. But maybe, someday, there will be a chance for forgiveness... (cough Wild Life a bit cough)

You can probably see some of my own interpretations sneaking through XD but fantastic song! Also beautiful art as always by Cocoabats
I never left that desert if you couldn't tell lol

[PsycheArrows]

HI HOW HAVE I WAITED SO LONG TO LISTEN TO THIS!!!! I LOVE "RED" SO MUCH, AND THIS, THE SYMBOLISM
quick rant bout a few lines,
I noticed in the last verse before the ending, it's essentially repeating the ending chorus of "the desert" and "the darkness" (i don't know proper music terms, please forgive me :>) except for the last two lines, "set you free" became "laughed when you weren't there" and "killed you quickly" became "thought you wouldn't care." I love it because essentially it's implying the two lines are opposites of each other, with Scar being unable to free himself from his tasks and others judgement because of them, and Scar not having a quick death because a) he didn't die and b) because he was burdened with the knowledge that everyone died hating him and thinking him a villain.
And it makes the last verse so much more hard hitting, because Grian's trying to help him through it, but he knows just as well they can't forget the past.
aghhhh there's so much more but that was the main thing i noticed because lyric changes through verses bring me so much joy!!! great song as always!!! :DDDD

[Savannah_]

After listening to this on repeat for 3 weeks straight on Spotify, I can safely say this is my favorite Life Series song. Im in love with the attention to detail in the lyrics and how it just gets more desperate the longer it goes on, mirroring how Grian keeps trying to move on but never actually can. He keeps trying to leave Scar but he never could leave the memories, until Secret Life where Scars cannon ending is that he is stuck there forever. I also am in love with how the song just ends, just like how Scars pov ends. We will never know what the end of the song will be just like SLs ending.... its just poetry. (Also the vocals are amazing!!!!❤)

(I also dont know if it was intentional but i love the line "like the sun leaves the sky" in relation to how Grian is normally portrayed as "The Sun" and Scar is "The Earth", its just too perfect!!!)

[lynestarchild]

Found this through a discord server. Really swell song I love the implications of the lyrics and the vocals♥

[songhuy]

THIS IS SO GOOD AHHHH
The harmony is amazing and the lyrics are so so beautiful ! The references are really fun to catch and Grian thinking that leaving Scar in the sunflower field is a mercy ??? That absolutely wreck me

[the_one_and_only_duck]

This is absolutely incredible. I am so amazed at how rich the harmonies and music and lyrics are, the nods to Thirdlife, DoubleLife and SecretLife, the idea of Grian leaving Scar in the world of SecretLife after he won so he can be safe from the pain of the games… I’m going insane over this (/pos). I will be thinking about this for the next 3-5 business days. Amazing work.

[AudreyHolt-yucn]

Immediately subscribe, immediately add to playlist, and IMMEDIATELY TELL OTHER PEOPLE

The lifers NEED to see this!!!
❤💛💚❤💛💚❤💛💚
References I caught:
Sunflowers, obviously,
Ever-watching eyes
In a world that never dies (Scar didn't get killed at the end of secret life)
Whispers lead to madness (Secret life scar being forced evil by secret keeper?)
Sun can never reach (grian celestial symbol being sun, he can't reach there?)
Dragged you down with me (prettty sure this double life)
Hears the words you'd never speak (hoping this is listeners)

VERY sure I missed some, but I loved the song and hopes it gets more recognition for what it is

[kittycatthelildevil]

WHAT?!?!
WHAT??
DUDE-
MY WORDS ARE NOT WORDING-??
This is INCREDIBLE!! The subtle details in the song- especially the buildup towards the end?! AND THE ENDING?! MY FAVORITE HEADCANON IS THAT GRIAN LEFT SCAR IN SECRET LIFE TO KEEP HIM SAFE AND THAT MADE ME LOVE THIS SONG EVEN MORE!! Amazing work! I’m not sure how many times I’ve said this but I LOVE IT!!

[south]

ooh this is beautiful, , we truly never left the desert /silly

this is DEFINITELY the type of song that; if I could animate, I’d cave and make an animatic for within a week because oh my goshhh I love this smm, , ,

[EliSwordStriker]

Man, I had just gotten over my seasonal life series obsession and now you drag me back to the desert with this… Not complaining it’s a beautiful song!

[featherofajay]

So many awesome references while not being obvious, and such a great song melody wise!

[GreyscalePlayz]

I found this rather quickly lol
Actually looking for a different desert duo song, but i stumbled upon something just as great
Thank you :D.

[LizardQueen]

HOW DO YOUR SONGS NOT HAVE MORE VIEWS THEY ARE SO GOOD‼️‼️ I have been listening to them all on LOOP it’s a CRIME that they don’t get the RECOGNITION THEY DESERVE‼️‼️‼️‼️

[autumnwhistles-ycxb]

INCREDIBLEEE I LOVE THE HARMONIES!!

also THE WHOLE SECTION FROM 2:37 ONWARDS AAA (+ minor 7ths) my BELOVEDS)

[Starinthegarden]

OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO GOOD HOW AM I MEANT TO LEAVE THE DESERT WHEN THE FANDOM KEEPS DROPPING BANGERS LIKE THIS???

all jokes aside, this is a really great song!! (oh my gosh i really want to animate this so bad lmao)