Ellie sings "Take On Me" | The Last Of Us Part 2
71Watch my full gameplay here:
JOEL MEETS ABBY!! 😧 | THE LAST OF US PART II - Episode 3
https://youtu.be/vIOYiMBsG7c
Wonderful cover by Ashley Johnson (Ellie) on The Last of Us part 2.
Original Song performed by A-HA
One of the most widely-lauded scenes of “The Last of Us Part II” among fans takes place in a dilapidated record store early in the game, where Ellie plays a cover of “Take On Me” for her girlfriend, Dina. Naughty Dog wanted this moment to occur early on, as it was a powerful way of highlighting the bond between Ellie and Dina before the dark and heavy story that follows.
Druckmann was concerned that Naughty Dog wouldn’t be able to land the rights to “Take On Me,” given the song’s popularity. “I said it in passing, thinking we’d have to find something else, and then Halley, my co-writer, her best friend is Lauren Savoy, whose husband is the guitarist for A-Ha, and she was like, ‘Wait, I think I could get that song!’” Druckmann said. “She made some phone calls and like a week later we had the rights.”
In Druckmann’s eyes, the lyrics speak to the game’s themes in a more lighthearted way. It’s not quite as upbeat as the original version, and is played in a far more somber and suppressed tone. But it succeeds in creating a quiet moment between two people who love each other in a world where love is difficult to find.
There was one problem: Ashley Johnson’s singing was too good. After spending time working with vocal coach Melissa Reese — a member of Guns N’ Roses — it was decided she would have to consciously sing worse to achieve a less refined sound.
Although the scene is emotionally-charged, and connects two characters in a real and powerful way, there’s a lot going on under the hood.
“In that scene, Ellie starts playing ‘Future Days’ to herself. ‘Future Days’ has come to be this very tender, raw part of who she is, and when Dina shows up she doesn’t play that song anymore. The fact she won’t play it in front of Dina tells you she’s letting Dina in to a point,” Druckmann said. “There are certain things that feel too vulnerable even for her.”
“And then she goes to a song that feels a bit lighter, and it tells you a little bit more about their history,” Druckmann said. “Like, ‘hey, remember that time at the campfire?’ That’s all she has to say [for the player] to know she’s played music in front of Dina, and you start imagining what that could look like.” Druckmann specifically notes that Shannon Woodward, who plays Dina, was able to convey an incredible amount of unspoken emotion here as she switched between smiling and looking off into the distance, making the viewer invested in what she could potentially be thinking about, or reminiscing on.
-By Cian Maher
Cian Maher is a freelance writer from Dublin, Ireland.
Full article here:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/08/20/last-us-part-ii-music/
LYRICS:
We're talking away
I don't know what
I'm to say I'll say it anyway
Today's another day to find you
Shying away
I'll be coming for your love, okay?
Take on me
Take me on
I'll be gone
In a day or two
So needless to say
I'm odds and ends
But I'll be stumbling away
Slowly learning that life is okay
Say after me
It's no better to be safe than sorry
Take on me
Take me on
I'll be gone
In a day or two
_______________________________
Get Kozy, Stay Kozy!
All my socials and more!
https://linktr.ee/kozyknight
Intro:
100 Seconds by Punch Deck | https://soundcloud.com/punch-deck
Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US
#thelastofuspart2
Other Videos By Kozy Knight
Other Statistics
The Last of Us Part II Statistics For Kozy Knight
Kozy Knight currently has 4,340 views spread across 7 videos for The Last of Us Part II. There's close to 4 hours worth of content for The Last of Us Part II published on his channel, or 2.43% of the total watchable video on Kozy Knight's YouTube channel.