If Only I Could Let Go and Cry

OnALegendsArticle

"If Only I Could Let Go and Cry" was a popular single released by the all-Bith band The Vortices during the Galactic Civil War. It was the only charting single released by the group, who disbanded not long afterwards, amidst the backdrop of rampant anti-alien sentiment promoted by the Galactic Empire's New Order.[1]

Warning: The following section is non-canon within the Star Wars Legends continuity. It contains information explicitly released under the Infinities brand and/or confirmed to be non-canon by the author or Lucasfilm. Information exclusive to this section did not happen in the "proper" Star Wars Legends continuity.

Description

The song, which could also be read in the form of sheet music, was written from the point of view of an alien being who nostalgically recalled moments with a partner while also pondering on the passing of time. The song dealt with themes including sadness, nostalgia, the pain of rejection, a relationship breakup and the difficulty of one's expression of emotions.[2]

Lyrics

Attribution: "If Only I Could Let Go and Cry"[2]
It's amazing how sad I get
Remembering the past
And all the things you said and did
To make that happiness last
But it's getting hard to talk to you
Keep up the disguise
There's so much pain
In this green heart
If only I could let go and cry
I know you did the best you could
You struggled and you saved
Surrounded me with jelly blocks
Fluorescent plankton filled our cave
But now that you're not around
The walls are cracked and dry
The mercury is gone
From this eight-valve heart
If only I could break down and cry
If only I could let it go
Really say what's on my mind
Of love and pain and phylum rubs
The sad, sad oozing of time
My mouths, oh, they would open up
A fern would break on through
The tears I'd cry
Would be tears of joy
And I'd come slidin' back to you
It's amazing how sad I get
Remembering the past
And all the things you said and did
To scramble my chloroplasts
So tell me now what I know is true
It was moist and love was a lie
Admit to me please
The truth I know
So I can finally let go and cry
Non-canon information ends here.

Behind the scenes

The background image used in Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas

The background image used in Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas

The song "If Only I Could Let Go and Cry" was first featured in a segment written by Bob Carrau for the 1993 book Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas, a publication that combines creature designs and photographs from various projects of George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars franchise, with original text by Carrau. In it, sheet music and its lyrics are provided with a background image[2] of the all-Bith band Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes from the film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.[3] Lucasfilm employee Leland Chee, who maintains the Holocron continuity database, has indicated that information contained in the book is non-canonical.[4]

The song was later made canonical in the second part of a series of posts on The Official Star Wars Blog called Slugthrowers: An Overview of Popular Music and Musicians in a Galaxy Far, Far Away, written by Ed Erdelac. In it, it was revealed that the song was released as a single by the Bith trio The Vortices. The blog post misspelt the song name as "If I Could Only Let Go And Cry."[1]

Sources

Non-canon sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 StarWars.com Slugthrowers: An Overview of Popular Music and Musicians in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Part 2 on StarWars.com (original link is obsolete)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas
  3. ↑ Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
  4. ↑ StarWars.com Holocron continuity database questions on the StarWars.com Message Boards (May 3, 2006): "And is information from Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas canon? Unless referred to by a source that is in-continuity, the information is non-continuity." (original site is defunct)