Songs from the Barricade Playlist

This is a playlist created by me and is made out of songs that remind me of Friends of the ABC and the barricade scene. Each song is linked with the lyrics and an explanation as to why I chose this song and how it relates to Les Miserables is next to each song. You can listen to the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0hPwLRlE20b0c3V_ePBge88P2F8cHFV0

Some Nights by Fun. - The very first two lines of this song“This is it, boys, this is war - what are we waiting for?/Why don't we break the rules already?” relate to Friends of the ABC because as far as the reader knows they have not participated in any revolts or anything and this is it, this is what they’ve been waiting for, to take an active part in changing society because their religion is “progress” (247). The line “I miss my mom and dad for this?” relates to Marius because he did leave his grandfather, the only living paternal figure he has, for France, for the revolution (241). And he does miss him (539).

Ready Aim Fire by Imagine Dragons - The lines “With our backs to the wall, the darkness will fall/We never quite thought we could lose it all” relates to the barricades because towards the end they are losing it all and they are backed up against the wall (for Enjolras this is literal) with no exit (504) “Off in the distance, there is resistance/Bubbling up and festering” relates to Friends of the ABC because they are a resistance organization rising slowly and secretly (243). The line “A man on a mission, changing the vision” relates to Enjolras because he is the leader of Friends of the ABC, trying to change things in society (247). Lastly, the line “We don't have a choice to stay/We'd rather die than do it your way” relates to the barricade because people are willing to die to change things (500).

Uprising by Muse - One stanza of this song that really relates to Les Mis and the power dynamics in French society at the time of the setting is “Rise up and take the power back/It's time the fat cats had a heart attack/You know that their time's coming to an end/We have to unify and watch our flag ascend”. This is because of several reasons. The revolutionaries in the barricade are trying to rise up and take some power back but they are also protesting the inequalities of French society at the time that this book was written which was the long term reason that they are revolting. The lines that connect with this protest of social inequalities is “It's time the fat cats had a heart attack/You know that their time's coming to an end”, the fat cat symbolizing the bourgeois and the heart attack being death of the rule of the bourgeois because their time is coming to an end. The last line, “We have to unify and watch our flag ascend” also refers to when Enjolras gets together people to execute his plan for uprising and when he jumps on Jean Lamarque’s coffin and waves the flag of the revolution around.

Can’t Fight Against the Youth by Panic! at the Disco - In this song the main line “Can't fight against the youth!” from the chorus really relates to Les Mis and especially the barricade scene. This is because, as with most uprisings and riots, the barricade was started by young people, mostly students (414). Also the lines “Never gonna take us, never gonna break us.” and “You'll never take us alive!” relate to the people in the barricades, most of whom which die there fighting, never being taken alive or broken by the French army (500).

Run Boy Run by Woodkid - This song reminds me a lot of Gavroche because of the chorus “Tomorrow is another day/And you won’t have to hide away/You’ll be a man, boy!/But for now it’s time to run, it’s time to run!” because of what he tells the criminals that he helps escape from prison on page 378 (“A child like me is a man, and men like you are children.”). Also the line “Run boy run! Break out from society.” reminds me of Gavroche because Marius sends him to run and deliver a letter but also because they are revolting ultimately because of the way society treats lower class people (powder keg) the death of Jean Lamarque was only a spark that set off the powder keg. (407)

Warriors by Imagine Dragons - Theres one line in this song that reminds me of Enjolras, the leader of Friends of the ABC and the barricade, is “And you, you'd lay awake at night and scheme/Of all the things that you would change but it was just a dream!” because I imagine him doing this, lying awake at night and thinking of all the things he wants to change and scheming about it with the Friends of the ABC (247). Also the line “We are the warriors that built this town/From Dust” relate because French revolutionaries like the Friends of the ABC and the people in the barricade really did build Paris up and created a stronger history and therefore sense of identity as French which built up French nationalism and created unity. (For this source I will have to direct you here and here)

Paris is Burning by St. Vincent - The line “Send my cinders home to mother” relates to Les Mis, specifically when Marius writes in his notebook to take his dead body back to his grandfather (514). The lines to the chorus are “We have taken to the streets/In open rejoice revolting/We are dancing a black waltz/Fair Paris is burning after all” and this relates to Les Mis because the people in the barricade have taken to the streets and revolted because Paris is , metaphorically, burning in their eyes. To them they think it’s being burned down and destroyed by the bourgeois (244). In the bridge Anne Clark sings ”Dance poor people, dance and drown/Dance fair Paris to the ground” which is pertinent to Les Mis because most of the people who are revolting are poor, on page 414 Victor Hugo describes the people in the barricade as workers, students, and artists, all people with very little money.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Lorde - The lines “Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down/When they do, I'll be right behind you/So glad we've almost made it” reminds me of page 504 where Enjolras and Grantaire are both shot by the French army while holding hands. The metaphorical walls were tumbling around them as the barricade fell, they were holding hands right beside each other (“I’ll be right behind you”) and they almost had made it before the barricade was invaded.

Seven Nation Army by the White Stripes - In this song the lines “I'm gonna fight 'em off/A seven nation army couldn't hold me back” relate to the barricade because they're trying to fight off the French army and they're giving it their all, letting nothing hold them back, not even death (500).

Centuries by Fall Out Boy - The lines “We'll go down in history/Remember me for centuries” relate to the barricade because they are trying to change things, changes which will be taught in history classes and remembered as brave and valiant efforts against the oppressive bourgeois (244). The lines “And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name/'Cause I was only born inside my dreams” relate to the people in the barricade for the same reason. They want to be known and remembered for their efforts that they only dreamed of doing (248).