Death Of The Troubadour

**Death Of The Troubadour** is a song by Stephen Sanchez and is the twelfth track on his debut album *Angel Face*.

The song is notable for sounding inspired by a triumphant showdown in a Western film.

## Background

It has been described as belonging on a Western soundtrack and was praised for its "killer guitar work" and "Marty Robbins-vibe".

Ellie Schofield of *Wildcats Wired* reviewed the song as "The apparent focus of this song is not of Sanchez's vocals, but of the dynamic that can be created through different instruments. Sanchez sings a mere three lines before the music leads into a dramatic build and releases to a solemn piano solo. The song has a vintage wild west sound, and reminds listeners of the scoring to classic films. This leads to the end of the 1950's love story".

It received a visualiser/lyric video upon the day of the album's release, it was directed by Charlie Rees in London, UK on 9 September 2023. It is connected to the "High" video and should succeed it.

### Connection to Album Storyline

*For context and more information, please read: The Story of Angel Face*.

"Death Of The Troubadour" plays a part in the album's larger love story arc, as the album tells the love stories of many different characters between two distinct years. Here, it's about *The Troubadour Sanchez*, *Evangeline*, and *Hunter* in 1964.

## Gallery

### Behind The Scenes

Behind the scenes photography by Connor Petersen.

HQ CroppedStephen trying on the *Evangeline* wigDirector Charlie Rees (left) and Choreographer Isky Fay (right)
## Meaning

This song is about *The Troubadour Sanchez* getting gunned down by *Hunter* at his club where he has a residency, "The Angel Club", as he stole *Evangeline* away from him because they planned to run away together.

The piano instrumental outro signifies a reflective and sombre tone, enhancing the emotional weight of the song's narrative, leaving the listener with a sense of tragedy and the eternal nature of true love.

The song is from the perspective of *The Troubadour Sanchez* to *Evangeline*, and signifies the end of their love story.

## Lyrics

[Dialogue]

"Oh, my love they've come for me

They've one bullet saved to gun me down

Though in the ground, my heart for you will stay"

## Music Videos

* Visualiser/Lyric Video
* Live Visual Music Video

#### Additional Credits

* Starring: Stephen Sanchez, Frances O’Sullivan, Joe Maskall, Danny Darwin, Quentin Clear-Savoyen, Elliot Drummond, Mike Ashurst, Lavinia Dorobantu, Alice Rosano, and Marc Wesley-Dehaney
* PM: Cheyenne Enninful
* DP: Billy Kendall
* 1AC: Owen Diplock
* 2AC: Tom Orr
* Steadicam: Lee Brown
* Runner: Claudia Celeste
* Designer: Laura Littl
* Design Assist: Greg McLaren, Canavan Conolly
* Stylist: Lucy James
* Assist: Pili Mateos, Victor Leon
* Casting: Anna Lydon at Emma Garrett Casting CDG
* Gaffer: Matt Bohun
* Spark: Eliot Morris, Jasper Clarkson
* Grade: Jonny Tulley

*For the full article, please view: Angel Face: The Live Visual Album.*

#### Additional Credits

* Director of Photography: Aaron Seldon
* VFX & Virtual Production Designer: Ryan Trommer
* Head of Production: Jen Lewis
* Production Designer: Tracie Prichard
* Production Manager: Kayla Fantozzi
* Post Supervisor: Melissa Floreth
* Assistant Editor: Justin Coupe
* Colorist: Kendall Rittenour
* Virtual Production: Vū Network
* Virtual Producers: Megan Hill, Grant Sutton, Jonathan Kindle, Alvin Renz Teves, Tim Moore
* Virtual VFX Design: Tower 33
* Virtual VFX Producers: Kyle Gordon, Elle Sassenrath
* Virtual VFX Artists: Garrett Wycoff, Alex Luloff
* Virtual VFX Coordinator: Lukas Salazar
* Live Audio Capture: Vanguard Recording
* Live Audio Mix & Master: Konrad Snyder

## Trivia

* Interestingly, a similarly named song did not make it onto the album, "Blame It On The Troubadour".

* Originally, the story was meant to end with *The Troubadour Sanchez* and *Evangeline* running off into the sunset together, happily in love. Once Sanchez got in the studio with collaborator Ben Schneider, he started feeling like its finale was "lame".
	+ He recalls Schneider telling him, "Devastation is what makes love worth it. It makes the story true. This doesn't sound true". So, they decided the album's narrative should conclude with *The Troubadour* getting murdered by *Hunter* with a shot to the chest.

* For the visualiser/lyric video, director Charlie Rees revealed that they blocked and rehearsed the fighting scene in the morning as the budget couldn’t stretch for a full rehearsal day; they then had only three attempts to get the shot due to the limited amount of breakaway props.

* "Death Of The Troubadour" is one of three *Angel Face* songs that does not have a traditional chorus.
	+ The other songs are: "I Need You Most Of All" and "Send My Heart With A Kiss".

* It is one of only four songs on the album in Minor chord.
	+ Alongside, "Doesn't Do Me Any Good", "High", and "Only Girl".

* "Death Of The Troubadour" was first briefly showcased via Instagram Stories on 12 April 2023, and was captioned "Triumphant end".

## Navigation

 *Angel Face* Tracklist
 1958

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://talkshop.live/watch/72uneQZ0fjJW
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://wildcatswired.net/1342/opinion/stephen-sanchez-releases-album-angel-face-transports-listeners-back-to-the-1950s/
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3801PlPSlA
4. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CxnRAOyob-\_/
5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbAFmBIY6DQ
6. ↑ https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/stephen-sanchez-elton-john-glastonbury-radar-3472629
7. ↑ The Story of Angel Face
8. ↑ https://www.songtell.com/stephen-sanchez/death-of-the-troubadour
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 https://people.com/stephen-sanchez-angel-face-album-exclusive-interview-7973721
10. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxpjbkDIdy7/