Frozen Pines

***This page contains spoilers for the newly-released Vide Noir film. It is highly recommended to watch the movie before reading.***

## Real world

### Lord Huron album

*Strange Trails*

**"Frozen Pines"** is a song by H.W. Justine. In an interview with NPR, Ben Schneider explained that the song is from the perspective of "a young girl named Danielle." In the song, the narrator "wanders the pines" looking for someone and calling their name into the dark. She explains that on the night her friend disappeared, she couldn't see what happened clearly because there was "a strange light in the sky was shining right into my eyes." She expresses the desire to be with her missing friend and that she "will find a way through."

## Background and influences

Postcard XVIII contains music that became "Frozen Pines" and includes footage of waves breaking and lyrics from Until the Night Turns - "I had a vision that the world was ending. The sky was falling, time was bending" - in the caption. It is unclear if this links the two songs in some way.

This song is associated with UFO imagery. There is a Daily Trail newspaper in the World Ender music video which covers the story of missing local teens and mentions strange lights in the sky, which could be related to the missing person Danielle is looking for.

The song is likely associated with the Frozen Pines Motel, which is depicted in various media, including *Vide Noir*.

## Annotated lyrics

The lyrics for *Strange Trails* were never officially released, these lyrics are a transcript:

Deep into the night

With the moonlight as my guide

I go wander through the pines and make my way to nature's shrine

And I look up to the sky

And I know you're still alive

But I wonder where you are, I call your name into the dark

I wake up in the morning, oh, and I don't know where I've been

All alone on a mountainside and I'm huddled in the wind

And it feels like I've been away for an era but nothing has changed at all

And it feels like I've been with you, oh, but what did we do and where have you gone

On the night you disappeared

Oh if I had seen it clear

But a strange light in the sky was shining right into my eyes

There was no one else in sight

Just the endless frozen pines

But I wonder all they know 'cause they don't die and they don't grow

I am ready to follow you even though I don't know where

I will wait in the night until you decide to take me there

'Cause I know I don't wanna stay here forever, it's time to be moving on

Oh I don't want to be the only one living when all of my friends are gone

I will be waiting for you, on the other side of the frozen pines

I'm gonna find a way through, there's another life beyond the line

I will be waiting for you, on the other side of the frozen pines

I'm gonna find a way through, there's another life beyond the line

## Potential lyrical references

1. ↑ Frankie Lou and Claude Fox's "Meet Me in the Woods" - "How long baby have I been away? Oh, it feels like ages, though you say it's only days"
2. ↑ A noted effect of Vide Noir is that it obliterates the boundaries of space and time

## Questions and fan theories

* Does the Frozen Pines motel relate to the events of people disappearing in "Frozen Pines"? How? The song is associated with UFO imagery but perhaps it is possible that Frozen Pines in the song is just a seedy motel where local teenagers are acquiring Vide Noir and subsequently disappearing when they overdose. This might seem like a leap so it's worth noting here that Lord Huron has an affinity for David Lynch's Twin Peaks, and that both supernatural abductions and teenagers caught up in dangerous life choices are themes on that show, so "Frozen Pines" could be a Lynchian subplot.
	+ In *Vide Noir*, Z'Oiseau's men force Johnnie Redmayne to overdose on Vide Noir in order to kill him, and dump his body in the desert near the Frozen Pines Motel. Considering the potential link to Johnnie's song "Until the Night Turns" via the caption of Postcard XVIII, it is possible that Danielle knew Johnnie and the song is about him also.

## Sources

1. ↑ Strange Trails album label
2. ↑ NPR interview

"Love Like Ghosts" (Francine Lu)
"Until the Night Turns" (The Phantom Riders)
"Dead Man's Hand" (Buck Vernon)
"Hurricane (Johnnie's Theme)" (The Phantom Riders)

"La Belle Fleur Sauvage" (Remy Fusil)
"**Fool for Love**" (Buck Vernon)
"**The World Ender**" (The Phantom Riders)
"Meet Me in the Woods" (Francine Lu and Claude Fox)
"The Yawning Grave"

"**Frozen Pines**" (H.W. Justine)
"Cursed" (Buck Vernon)
"Way Out There"
"Louisa" (Buck Vernon)
"**The Night We Met**" (Francine Lu)