I'll Follow You Into the Dark

I wrote this for a friend's blog, http://www.mixtapeanthems.blogspot.com/

It's a little corny, but it reveals a moment I've not told anyone up until this point. The only people that know are me and the hippy girl, but I don't think she even knows that I remember it.

I was going through an emo-kid phase for the first few years of college. It had been a while since my last girlfriend because I was convinced I was in love with one person for about six years. She was dating someone else. Obviously, I blogged a lot, felt lonely, hated girls, essentially I listened to a lot of Brand New and Taking Back Sunday.

Then a little hippy girl started working at the restaurant I was at. I had no intentions of even attempting to date her. I wasn’t really attracted to her… initially.

I was that guy that used to pull out my guitar at parties. I didn’t rip into cry fest songs or Dave Matthews Band covers like most. I would take request. I was there to get people singing together.

Well, long story short, hippy girl witnessed one of these impromptu jam sessions. She asked me for guitar lessons. I went to her house a few times over two weeks. I showed her how to string a guitar, play basic chords, and got her to the point where we could start learning songs.

The first song she wanted to learn was Death Cab for Cuties “I’ll Follow you into the Dark.” I learned this song and spent several hours trying to teach it. She just mastered the chorus when she looked me in the eye and planted one on me.

Eventually straining our necks to kiss over the guitars and repeating song weren’t working. I removed the guitars and she turned off repeat and we started kissing again. I was lost in the moment. I managed to recapture that room spinning, stomach churning excitement. I had forgotten about the girl I thought I loved. I had found the peace I was looking for, for years.

We continued laying in her bed listening to all of Death Cab for Cuties “Plans” album over and over again. We stopped talking about guitar chords and actually got to know each other.

Obviously I didn’t marry this girl. We didn’t fall in love. We didn’t even fall into lust, but it was the push I had been waiting for for six years. It was the first time I realized there were other women. If it wasn’t for that album and that hippy chick I would’ve never started dating Sallie. I would’ve continued drinking five nights out of the week. I would’ve stayed in that dark place. I think of “I’ll Follow you into the Dark” because that was the song that brought me back into the light, so I could follow someone into the dark.

If you want to hear the song click below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syr_KBAR3qQ