mitchco a go go!

Remember back in February, when I told you about Let the Right One In? I think I’ve watched it a dozen times since then, and I still love it every bit as much. I watched it again a few nights ago, in fact, and was struck by how right the tone felt with the sense of coming autumn that’s in the air.

In particular, there’s a scene where young Oskar drops the needle on a 60s sounding 45, trying to look cool in front of Eli, and it really conveys so much of the raw feeling of adolescence-- the gawky need to appear cool without being sure what that really is; the way the feeling of rock music resonates with your rushing hormones though the content of the lyrics is still distant and indecipherable; and for me at least, the way that the bite of chilled air and dark winter nights hook into the melancholy and maladjustment of puberty.

This song is in fact a recent one, by Swedish rock star Per Gessle, titled “Kvar i min bil,” or “Left in my car” in English. It’s as of yet unreleased, so the only way to hear it is this scene in the film. A translation of the lyrics, done by me, with help from google translator:

Kvar i min bil Kvar från igår Din mörka parfym Din doft av ditt hår Jag vill inte höra Men du ekar kvar Allt som du sa “Du måste ge dej av” Kvar i min bil På sätet där bak En sönderläst tidning En torr bit choklad Hela mitt hjärta Krossat som glas Slängt när du sa “Du måste ge dej av” Vart ska jag köra? Var ska jag bli av? Gatorna fylls Mänskor par om par Kvar i min bil Finns bara jag Och allt som du sa “Du måste ge dej av”

Left in my car Left over from yesterday Your dark perfume Your scent of your hair I don’t want to hear it But it still echoes All that you said: “You’ve got to leave” Left in my car On the seat in the back A tattered diary A dry piece of chocolate All of my heart Crushed like glass Trashed when you said “You’ve got to leave” Where should I run? What will I come to? The streets are filled People two by two Left in my car Is just me And all that you said: “You’ve got to leave”

It’s perhaps the perfect song for this moment, the danger and sorrow of future heartbreak resonating back down to young Oskar, who can only register the excitement of their potential. It’s so appropriate that Let the Right One In actually takes its name from a song by Morrissey, “Let the Right One Slip In,” as Morrissey’s songs have long been the touchstone of this genre for adolescents everywhere. Morrissey himself, famously celibate for years, has (co)written hundreds of songs about yearning for the prospect of romance, unknown consequences be damned (“How Soon is Now?”, “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want,” “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me,” “Please Help the Cause Against Loneliness,” etc etc etc).

Morrissey -- “Let the Right One Slip In”

“Let The Right One Slip In” is especially appropriate, as John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of the novel & screenplay and an inveterate Smiths/Mozzer fan, well knows:

Let the right one in
Let the old dreams die
Let the wrong ones go
They cannot, they cannot
They cannot do what you want them to
…
Let the right one slip in, slip in, slip in
And when at last it does
I’d say you were within your rights
To bite the right one and say
“What kept you so long?”

The first time I listened to this song after viewing the film, I think I screamed with giddiness after hearing that line. There’s nothing quite like the convergence of two things you love, and one of Morrissey’s hottest lines being appropriated as the title of one of my favorite vampire movies is about as good as it gets.

Tags: john ajvide lindqvist, let the right one in, morrissey, per gessle, the smiths

This entry was posted on Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 6:30 am and is filed under film, music. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.