Inspired by Lian's short, destructive fling with a woman named Rose while living in Berlin, the song crystalizes the whole concept behind the album, as a loose homage to the ultra-French sounding Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg.
Rose disappeared rather quickly, but left the broken songwriter a muse - one that took on mythological proportions. While the song reads as an imaginary dialog between the writer and his muse, summarizing the album’s narrative, It’s also a eulogy to innocence, filled with regrets.
This is where it all went south for Lian, with hints at the substance abuse (“your eyes are powder blue”) and destructive behavior that followed this short relationship.
The muse certainly did her work, providing a dark, honest story of catastrophic love.
(photo credits: Maarten Boswijk & Lionel Samain)