Today I took a look at my digital music collection to find something I hadn’t listened to in a long time.
I landed on “Breathe Me” by Australian singer, songwriter, vocal actor and director Sia (Sia Kate Isobelle Furler). I first heard it around ten years ago when my sweety and I watched the TV series Six Feet Under. The show centres on a family that runs a funeral home in Los Angeles, California, USA; it follows their lives and those of their friends and lovers. It is a brilliant drama.
In the closing scene of the last episode, “Breathe Me” played during a nearly seven-minute montage telling the future stories of the show’s remaining living characters. The series creator, American producer, director, and writer Alan Ball tells in a December 2013 interview with Vulture, the entertainment and culture website of New York magazine, how he wrote the scene to work specifically with the music.
The song, which runs four minutes, thirty-five seconds, was extended in an edited version to accompany the entire scene. The combination of the sound and the visuals is a compelling one that I remember clearly whenever I hear the track.
I recall that Sweety and I watched the five seasons of the show very quickly over our Christmas holidays. One day, we probably watched seven or eight episodes, as the series drew us in so deeply. (Neither of us can remember if we rented or borrowed the DVDs, or watched the show on Netflix.) At the end of that final episode, we just sat there, stunned, with the concluding scene and the song reverberating in our minds.
“Breathe Me” comes from Sia’s 2004 album, Colour the Small One. Of course, I ordered the CD right after watching the show.
Help, I have done it again
I have been here many times before
Hurt myself again today
And the worst part is there’s no one else to blame
Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me
Ouch, I have lost myself again
Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,
Yeah, I think that I might break
Lost myself again and I feel unsafe
Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me
Be my friend
Hold me, wrap me up
Unfold me
I am small and needy
Warm me up
And breathe me
(“Breathe Me,” by Sia Furler, Dan Carey. Unofficial lyrics courtesy of AZLyrics.com.)
Now you know a little about why this is my Song of the Day for Today. Thanks for joining me here, and please enjoy.
Here’s the audio for the song from Sia’s official YouTube channel:
Song of the Day for Today 