Your Other Life

**"Your Other Life"** is a bonus track on Long Lost. It is also released in French as "Ton Autre Vie" with Sarah Dugas as the vocalist. It is likely a song originally written and performed by Donny and Midge as they are featured on the single artwork and in a painting in the video, although this has not been fully confirmed.

The singer addresses someone they are no longer in a relationship with, claiming that person has wronged them, lied, and led a double life. The singer does not believe their lover will return to them, and seems resentful that they are "young and wild and in love." At the end of the song, it is implied that the singer has come to take the life of their ex-lover because they cannot forgive their perceived infidelity, with the words "what I say today will be the very last words you hear, you don’t get to live your other life." In "Ton Autre Vie," the lyrical meaning shifts subtly, conveying a more sorrowful and heartbroken tone, and suggesting that they will see each other again in another life.

## Background and influences

There are multiple references to many worlds or alternate dimensions in Lord Huron's work. This song plays on this theme by using the concept of living a double life. The music video depicts the same moments in a bar, but with tonal differences, particularly around the behavior of the woman. One perspective suggests she is happy to flirt with other men, the other shows she is sad and needs comfort. In this way, the song illustrates the two sides to a story that may often be missing when only told from one perspective, and demonstrates how we all live in dimensions of our own.

"Mine Forever" also contains references to "another life" and French spoken by a woman. "Setting Sun" explores similar themes to "Your Other Life," about a man murderously enraged by his lover's perceived cheating. However, through the music video and French version, "Your Other Life" offers the woman's perspective, unlike "Setting Sun."

## Music Video

             The music video is interactive, with a fader that allows the viewer to "slide between dimensions." The dimensions appear to represent two perspectives of the same event, with the English version of the song from the male vocalist's point of view, and the French from the woman's.

With the fader on the left, "Your Other Life" is sung by Ben Schneider. The camera pans across a hazy bar where the television plays an abstract visual from Alive From Whispering Pines. A portrait of Donny and Midge hangs over the jukebox, which is switched to a neon sign for Boot Heel Whiskey in subsequent shots. A couple enters, clinging to each other, while the man carries a duffel bag. The woman wears a blonde wig and a short white dress with red ankle boots. The man looks disheveled and wears an unbuttoned shirt over a tank top with a blazer and matching pants, white shoes and two chains, one with a cross. The woman helps the man to a table, tosses keys onto it, and walks to the bar where she downs two shots. She then struts to the dance floor under a disco ball and dances seductively, tossing her wig aside to reveal her dark hair. The woman beckons for a different man to join her and they dance until the man she enters with intervenes and aggressively pulls him away by his lapels. The couple then dance together passionately but the second man retrieves a strange and futuristic looking gun from their bag, and shoots the first man with a green laser. He collapses into a small glowing orb, which the woman picks up while smiling subtly. She places it in the bag, which contains many other orbs of different shifting colors. She then leaves the bar with the gun and the bag.

            With the fader on the right, or when visiting its respective website, "Ton Autre Vie" is sung by Sarah Dugas. The camera pans across a bar that is considerably less hazy than the other perspective. Tubbs Tarbell and the Drifter are on the television. The woman in the blonde wig and the disheveled man enter, clinging to each other. The woman helps the man with his duffel bag to a table and tosses some keys on it. She walks to the bar and downs two shots, then begins to sadly move to the music. She walks to the dance floor under the disco ball and sways while the second man watches her. She hangs her head and despondently pulls off her wig, revealing her dark hair. The second man approaches her as if to comfort her. The woman throws her arms around the second man and they dance slowly until the disheveled man pulls him away by his lapels. The couple then dance, at one point placing their foreheads together, but the second man retrieves the strange gun from the duffel and shoots the disheveled man with a green laser, turning him into a small glowing orb. The woman smiles subtly while picking up the orb and places it in the bag, which contains many other glowing orbs. She exits the bar with the bag and gun.

In "Your Other Life" the disheveled man sings along to the words "forget you dear" while dancing with the woman. The other man sings along to "the very last words you hear" as he aims the gun. In "Ton Autre Vie," the woman sings along to part of the chorus, but the second man does not sing along to any words when he aims the gun. In addition to these differences, several scenes are filmed from noticeably different angles, most notably the dance scenes and the moment when the disheveled man is hit by the laser beam; he is on opposite sides of the screen in each version. As well, in an establishing shot near the beginning, "Your Other Life" shows singer Sarah Dugas and another man with glasses and they are later seen performing, while in "Ton Autre Vie" a different woman is shown by herself instead. It is unknown if these people are meant to represent characters or if they are simply cameos for the artists involved in making the song and video. The choreography and acting also differ between versions significantly, especially for the woman, imparting a different tone and implied narrative to the events depicted.

### Characters

The names of the main characters in the video have not been revealed by the band, however director Adam Willis  credited the two male characters as "Doc" and "Bill," in order of appearance. Since they are named in quotation, it is unclear if these are the actual character names or simply codenames used during filming. The woman has not yet been identified; see Questions and fan theories below for possibilities.

## Annotated lyrics

*These lyrics are a transcript and may be incorrect or incomplete.*

### "Your Other Life" lyrics

I won’t be the one to say

You’ll never come back again

Though I don’t think you will

I won’t be the reason why you

Stay until you’re dead

Although I hoped you would

I know what you’ve done

And I know who you’ve been dreaming of

I know where you go in the dead of night

You don’t get to the one who’s young and wild and in love

You don’t get to live your other life

I don’t need to hear you say

You’ll never go wrong again

because I know you will

I don’t need the reasons why

You’ve done the things you did

Because it’s over with

I won’t waste another day on you

I’ve played the fool

I guess that’s part of love

I won’t shed another tear

I’ve nothing left to feel

And now I’ve said enough

You're living in your other life

I’ll leave you in the fading light

I just came to say that I will never forget you, dear

I cannot forgive your awful lies

What I say today will be the very last words you hear

You don’t get to live your other life

## Potential lyrical references

Frequently, Lord Huron's songs explore similar themes, sometimes they have stories that are covered by more than one song. These lyrical connections are merely for reference:

1. ↑ "Were you dreaming of his touch?" - Setting Sun
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Je te verrai dans une autre vie" - Mine Forever
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Je te laisserai dans la lumière déclinante." - Mine Forever
4. ↑ "I'm just waiting for night in the fading light of the setting sun" - Setting Sun
5. ↑ "I know I'll never replace your love and that's as hard as it gets/So I'll be taking a life this evening when the sun sets" - Setting Sun

## Questions and fan theories

* Who performs "Your Other Life"? Is the song based on the singer's lived experiences?
	+ It is likely to be written & performed by Donny and Midge based on the cover art

* Who are the individuals in the bar in the music video?
	+ The woman fits the description of Frankie Lou, with dark hair and sadness in her eyes. The woman also seems caught up in a lifestyle involving substance abuse, and Frankie is reported to have died of an overdose in her car with her boyfriend. If the woman is Frankie, could these events be close to her passing? Is the second man in the bar familiar to her? While he was credited as "Bill" by the video's director, could it just be a codename for Clyde Fox? Who exactly is the man she enters the bar with?

* Is the gun in the duffel bag a Product of the Universe such as a Consciousness Neutralizer?
* What is the nature of the glowing orbs? They appear to change colors over the course of the video, a different hue emanating from the bag each time it is seen. In the final shots, many orbs of different colors are shown.
* What exactly is going on in the video? Is the woman setting up the disheveled man as a plot to rid herself of a possessive lover? Or is she being saved by the other man? What are they doing with the bag of orbs and laser gun?
* Are the performers in the video meant to represent Donny and Midge? It seems unlikely since they are depicted singing in front of a jukebox, karaoke-style, but it's possible their performance scenes are meant to reinforce the idea that the song can be interpreted as a duet.

## Sources

1. ↑ Lee Martin, developer of the webplayer
2. ↑ Adam Willis, director of the video

"The Moon Doesn't Mind" (Roy Casey)
"**Mine Forever**"
"(One Hellava Performer)" (Tubbs Tarbell)
"Love Me Like You Used To"
"Meet Me in the City"
"(Sing for Us Tonight)"(Tubbs Tarbell)

"**Long Lost**" (Leigh Green and Hauser Godwin)
"Twenty Long Years"
"Drops in the Lake" (*Drops in the Lake (film)*)
"Where Did the Time Go"
"**Not Dead Yet**" (The Phantom Riders)
"(Deep Down Inside Ya)"(Tubbs Tarbell)

"I Lied"(with Allison Ponthier) (Donnie and Midge)
"At Sea"(*L’Île Cosmique*)
"What Do It Mean"(Quentin King)
"Time's Blur"
**Bonus tracks:**
"**Your Other Life**" and "**Ton Autre Vie**"