Love Me Like You Used To

**"Love Me Like You Used To"** is a song on *Long Lost* which is likely originally recorded by Quentin King based on his performance of it in the music video. It was described by Tubbs Tarbell as "one of those classic lovelorn country ballads, like one sung by Handsome Scott or even ol’ Roy Casey himself." Since Tarbell is quite familiar with their work, it seems likely it is a different performer, though it remains possible that Tarbell's memory is not fully reliable and it is one of those artist's songs.

The song tells the tale of a person who has wandered far and wide, away from their lover, but finds they regret leaving. They plead "love me like you used to and I'll praise you like I should" and promise that they have changed and will stay this time. They also wonder if their former lover even still remembers them, while claiming they only dream of that lover.

## Music Video

The music video for "Love Me Like You Used To" shows a woman visiting the Whispering Pines Museum in Silver Mine City. The woman wears pink heart shaped sunglasses, a denim vest, and a blouse with sequins on the sleeves, and pink lipstick, and has white hair in a short bob with bangs.

She drives from the Ranch Inn where she is staying to the museum, which she enters despite the "closed" sign on the door. She takes off her sunglasses and wanders the museum, looking at the items in the cases and smiling, then sits and watches a performance by Quentin King on a television, mouthing along to the lyrics "I curse the goddamn day that I went and left you" before her face slightly blurs temporarily. She then approaches a case displaying the same jacket King is wearing on the television, and reaches up to touch the glass before stepping back and gesturing with both hands. She appears to look at her reflection aligned with the jacket and smiles before lighting a match and dropping it on the floor. The women then happily blows a kiss in the direction of the glass and an exterior shot shows the museum on fire.

The YouTube visual and Spotify canvas for "Love Me Like You Used To" feature footage of Tarbell's chair spinning in the control booth of Whispering Pines Studios, with his uneaten sandwich and The Daily Trail on the desk in front of the chair.

### Characters

The name of the woman in the video has not been revealed by the band, however director Adam Willis  credited her as "Linda." Since she is named in quotation, it is unclear if this is her actual name or simply a codename used during filming. See Questions and fan theories below for possibilities if this is not her true identity.

### Trivia

The music video shows various memorabilia and items from the studio, including bolo ties, photographs, a tambourine, Roy Casey's arrow-riddled guitar from Gun Thunder, a cardboard cutout of Tubbs Tarbell, a pair of cowboy boots, film reels, a violin, a model ship named "Huron," a tiny guitar, the Cosmic Selector, a blond curly wig, a ventriloquist puppet, and a stack of books by George Ranger Johnson.

## Annotated lyrics

I been lost before and I'm lost again, I guess

But I never lost this feeling or this pounding in my chest

I have travelled many miles, I don't want to walk no more

Every road and every highway, led me right back to your door

Love me like you used to, and I'll praise you like I should

Love me if you choose to, though you say that I'm no good

I dream most every night that I never left you

Do you love me anymore? Does my memory remain?

Lord, I know I made mistakes but I am different now, I've changed

When I open up your door, will you know me from the rest?

Will you let me lie beside you? Will you grant me my request?

Love me like you used to, and I'll praise you like I should

Love me if you choose to, though you say that I'm no good

I swear this time around I'm gonna stay

And when I dream I'll only dream of you

I curse the goddamn day that I went and left you

## 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. ↑  Could this be a response to the line "Come and open up my door" in Frankie Lou's song The Silence of the Moon?
2. ↑ Many songs in Lord Huron's discography reference the theme of a lover who has left, is leaving, absent, or missing. This includes "The Night We Met," "Love Like Ghosts," "Lost in Time and Space," "Never Ever," "Wait by the River," "When the Night is Over," "**Love Me Like You Used To**," and "Drops in the Lake." These are attributed to various characters - including Buck Vernon and Frankie Lou - and cover a variety of heartaches. This song is instead from the perspective of a lover who has left and now regrets their actions, and is pleading to be taken back.

## Questions and fan theories

* Quentin King's performance of "Love Me Like You Used To" on the television in the Whispering Pines Museum seems to indicate it is a song written by him, as he is the only character known to have this distinctive curly blond hair. The presence of the wig suggests that the blond hair is part of a stage persona, which opens the possibility King may also be another character.

* King also wears distinctive two-tone cowboy boots in a photograph displayed in the museum, and a ring in the performance, both of which resemble those worn by Hauser Godwin in the Long Lost music video. This could also simply be explained away by prop reuse.

* Who exactly is the woman in the music video? She seems to know Quentin King intimately. Is she a former lover? Someone he knew during his professional career, such as Leigh Green? Or is she an obsessed fan? Could she have been King in her former life?

## Sources

1. ↑ An Open Letter From Tubbs Tarbell
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"