The secret of life

Cobb Avery returning from the grave

*This article is on a phenomenon, for the* Vide Noir *song see: Secret of Life.*

There are numerous references to **living forever**, **never dying**, or **coming back from the dead** in the Lord Huron universe, across various albums. For the sake of cataloging them, this article refers to these themes of immortality or resurrection as "**the secret of life**" though they may have different significance, meaning or mechanics depending on their context.

Whether this theme is simply about legacy or something supernatural, or both is open to context specific interpretation.

## Appearances

### *Into the Sun*

On the *Into the Sun* EP, "We Went Wild" contains the lyric "But for thirteen days of sun and her I thought I'd never die" and later "After thirteen days of loving her I felt like I could die."

This appears to refer to a burgeoning awareness of the narrator's mortality after an experience with a woman.

### *Lonesome Dreams*

On *Lonesome Dreams*, "The Man Who Lives Forever" is a song about a man who wants to live forever. He proclaims "I ain't never gonna die and I want you to come" but ends the song with "and all those days and all those nights, together forever, forever alive, and all those days and all those nights, together forever, forever's a lie," suggesting he actually acknowledges the inevitably of death.

In the song "Brother (Last Ride)" the singer asks "How long have I known you, brother? Hundreds of lives, thousands of years, how many miles have we wandered, under the sky, chasing our fear?" This lends an epic quality to the relationship in the song, like it transcends a normal human lifetime.

### *Strange Trails*

On the album *Strange Trails*, The World Ender claims that he never bleeds and won't ever age, suggesting he is now invulnerable and immortal. The Daily Trail also indicates he cannot be harmed.

In *The World Ender* comic book, Lee Avery asks her father if the grass gets "hurt when you cut it, Pa?" as he is mowing the lawn. He explains to her "No, sweet thing. Those clippings'll fall down into the soil and grow right back up again, and in some ways it's like **they never die**." This is true of some grass varieties that have runners.

In Dead Man's Hand, one character proclaims:

"I know I'm dead, but I don't wanna lie

In a grave out here where the coyotes cry

I stared right into the endless void

And I ain't going back if I got any choice

I know how to live, I don't know how to die

And there ain't no thrills in the afterlife

So lift me up out of here, my friend

And I'll wander the night till the ages end"

This associates a second member of the World Enders with the concept of either being undead or returning from death.

### *Vide Noir*

On *Vide Noir*, this theme is explored in the song "Secret of Life." The song deals with curses or paranormal influences and mentions some unnamed character "cheated death." Critically, it contains lyrics suggesting that character believes they are immortal:

You told me you're never gonna die

How am I supposed to sleep through the night?

You showed me the secret of life

I can't forget that look in your eye

### *Long Lost*

On *Long Lost,* "What Do It Mean" addresses the existential question: "what does it mean if it all means nothing." The lyrics "I’m gonna get it together and live forever" and "I’ll make a deal with the devil and live forever" juxtaposed with "gonna fly through my life 'til I crash into the ending" seem to indicate that while King knows he isn't immortal, perhaps he hopes his fame or notoriety will give him something similar.