Disclaimer: Neither me or Louisa are Susan Collins or a member of The Script. We just borrow their created world and music.
It's in the eyes of our children
As they leave for the very first time
Children filed in for the Reaping. The twelve year olds looked terrified, the eighteen year olds looked a little less nervous. All of the children of the District knew what was happening. It had been happening before. Even those who didn't look nervous had fear in their eyes; nothing they could do would disguise it.
And it's in the heart of the soldier
As he takes a bullet on the front line
A tiny boy is called. He must only be twelve. A shout rips through the air. An older boy, about fifteen calls that he volunteers, that he'll take the place of the small child. The desperation shows on his face, the terror that comes from the thought of losing the little boy seen in his shaking hands. The understanding of what he is doing weighs on his heart.
It's in the face of a mother
As she takes the force of a blow
There's a public beating in the square again. Most people would normally walk by, head down trying not to get involved in case they are next to suffer. But today is different, today the Peacekeepers are beating a child. She is only eight; she looks underfed, as though she is from one of the larger families where food is sometimes short. Her cries echo through the square. A woman rushes forwards and throws herself between the child and the stick. The resemblance between the two is unmistakable; this is the child's mother. Her determination to protect her daughter is clear in her face.
And it's in the hands of the father yeah
As he works his fingers to the bone yeah
A man comes home, long after dark. The cold of the night has set in. His children rush to meet him at the door, his wife smiles from behind them. He's been working long, hard hours today, just as he has for many years. He provides for his family, no matter how hard he must work. The calluses and scars on his hands, and the aching joints are the price he pays.
I'm standing under a white flag oh
Can you see me oh, can you see me oh
A white peace banner flutters in the breeze above a group of ragged people. They look they have been dragged through hell. They face another group of people. The second group is far larger, they look well presented and like they have not faced the hardship of the war. They all have guns. Do they see the white banner of the small group?
I'm standing for everything we have oh
Can you hear me oh, can you hear me
A lone soldier stands on the hill. They wear the colours of a rebel force. The rest of the army was behind the hill, waiting to come to the aid of the lone soldier if they needed to. The soldier yelled at the government forces, stating what the rebels wanted and the wind was catching the words, carrying them away. Does the government know what the rebels really want?
This is why we do it this is worth the pain
No matter how much it hurts, seeing the children smile is worth it. It doesn't matter how much my hands hurt. If my fingers break, or my nails are ripped out, as long as I can provide for my family, it's worth the pain. The man twirled his smallest child above his head, his thoughts loud in his mind.
This is why we fall down and get back up again
She'll be ok now, they can't hit her now. Get back up and endure it because it's keeping her safe, teaching her how to be brave and strong. The woman stumbled but stood up each time a blow knocked her down.
This is where the heart lies, this is from above
They're the heart of the District. They're the future. Adults watched the children in the Reaping areas, older ones holding onto younger ones hands until the last minute. They looked to the sky.
Love is this, this is love
In the Capitol, the citizens watched films about people in the Districts and didn't understand why people did all the seemingly crazy things, why the sacrificed themselves for family. The Districts knew they didn't under love the way they did. Love is why we do it love is worth the pain
The little ones are hungry, the old woman is sick. They need help. The people picked the banner up, two young adults carried small children who looked underfed, and another two supported a woman who couldn't stop coughing. The pain of surrendering was worth looking after the people.
Love is why we fall down, get back up again
Twisted ankle hurts. Need to tell the Capitol what we want and then we can stop fighting. The lone soldier limped slowly towards the Capitol army. She fell for a moment, but was back up before she had been down for a second.
Love is where the heart lies love is from above
I'll probably die in the Games. As long as he lives it doesn't matter. He's too little to have to fight. The volunteer tribute hugged his little brother, the little boy cried but knew that only love had caused his brother to do it.
Love is this, this is love
The Capitol children didn't know why other people would volunteer to die for someone else. When they read stories of the war they didn't understand why people had surrendered or kept fighting when they knew they were injured. Love in the Districts was weird, they concluded. This is love
This is love
This is love
Love for others in the same situation, love for siblings, love for your daughter, love for your family, love that lets you surrender to the enemy, love that keeps you going when you are hurt. Love the Capitol doesn't understand. It's in the soul of a city
What it does after it crumbles and burns
Although the District seemed to have been destroyed, the people of 13 continued to live their lives. Below the battle scarred ground, safe from the radiation and Capitol bombs. They survived and their way of life changed and adapted. The heart and soul of the rebellion continued to live on in District 13.
And it's in the blood of a hero
To know where he goes he may never return yeah
She was a career tribute from 2. She had jumped at the chance to be a tribute. Her father had been in the Games, as had her brother. Her father had evidently won; her brother had been the last to die. He had fallen to a girl from 6. No one could believe it. Participating in the Games was in her blood, she knew there was a chance that she might not make it back but she had trained to hard for that.
I'm standing under a white flag oh
Can you see me oh, can you see me oooh
In District 8 they had an old marriage tradition. Today it was on show. On three doors in a sub-area there was white cloth draped over the frames. A man walked out of one of the houses and to the next one, where a young woman in a white dress was standing. Together, hand in hand, they walked and danced through the street s to the third house. The white banner was larger and together they stood under it, for all the world to see.
I'm standing for everything we have oh
Can you hear me oh, can you hear me
The President stood in front of the lectern, all the cameras trained on him. His image, his words broadcast all over Panem. He announced the Hunger Games, a new way of punishing the districts for their act of defiance that had caused for some many deaths. He spoke of how the Games would bring peace and unity, the things that Panem stood for.
This is why we do it this is worth the pain
I will win, that cut is nothing. Winning is going to be amazing. Those injuries are nothing. The tribute from 2 kept fighting, even though she was bleeding in more than one place.
This is why we fall down, get back up again
Get back up or they'll kill you were you lie. She took a blow and fell. She kicked and screamed, fighting for her life. She got back up and kept going.
This is where the heart lies this is from above
I love him more than anything. The young woman smiled. I love her, I will love her forever. The man squeezed her hand. Together they looked to the sky, to the white banner, to the house where their hearts were.
Love is this, this is love
The Capitol understood a love for winning, a love for victory. That was why they loved strong, ruthless tributes and victors. That was why they didn't understand tributes and victors who didn't want to believe they had killed.
Love is why we do it love is worth the pain
This will help our nation heal; it will be worth the pain. While The Hunger Games may cause hurt to begin with, they will bring our great nation together. The words echoed in everyone's minds, all with different meanings.
Love is why we fall down, get back up again
It doesn't matter that we have to hide, it doesn't matter that we can't go outside. One day we'll go back up. A young woman whispered to a small child, deep underground where they were safe from the bombs.
Love is where the heart lies love is from above
I remember grass, I remember fields, I remember trees. I remember being outside. A youth, who was old enough to have lived through the bombing, looked at the screen. It showed a picture of a forest, a picture a plain followed. All the pictures were of the outdoors. He didn't feel like he belonged here, he knew he belonged outside, he knew it was where he was free.
Love is this, this is love
The Capitol people always looked forwards to the Games. They loved them, they found them entertaining. They loved watching battles from the wars, especially the ones of the bombing of District 13. They didn't think of the people as similar to them, they didn't understand them.
This is love If you could be anywhere that you wanted to be
This is love
This is love
The boy from 5 looks almost thoughtful at the question. Anywhere, anywhere is the world. Where would he be? Somewhere that the Hunger Games don't exist. He knows he can't say that so he replies with home, where he grew up.
With anyone that you wanted to be with
Anyone he wanted to be with? The Victor from 7 knew exactly who he would choose for anyone. The girl he had been best friends with since their fathers had met at work. Over the years they had fallen in love, he had never wanted to leave her on the day of the Reaping.
Doing anything that you wanted to do
Doing anything? I can do anything? The girl looked at her interviewer and said she wants to be able to play with the children of her District again. That's what she wants to do.
What would it be, man, who would it be with you
Horse riding, like I did as a child, with my older brother. She was from 10 after all, but she didn't want to tell the Capitol about her personal life. She just made something up. Some things were meant to be private, love was one of them.
Time flies but you're the pilot
They were meant to be chasing runaways down; the craft was built for that. She didn't want to chase them, they were children, they didn't need to be up for the Reaping, they had done nothing wrong. The fate waiting for them in the Capitol was dreadful. She turned the hovercraft around, she was the pilot.
It moves real fast but you're the driver
The man drove the same route every year. Most people thought the high speed trains drove themselves. They didn't, men and women from 6 drove the trains. No matter how fast they went, they were the drivers, they were in control of the high speed vehicles.
You may crash and burn sometimes
The motto of the rebellion rang in the ears of the soldiers. The pilots of the hovercrafts checked their parachutes one last time. They had to time this perfectly. The Capitol buildings appear on the horizon. A boom sounded in the air, flames engulfing the buildings as the line of hovercraft hit them. This is why we do it this is worth the pain
Ignore the beeping sounds, you eject in 5, 4, 3, 2... The pilots flew in and crashed their craft because they believed in a free Panem, no matter what happened to them, it would be worth it.
This is where we fall down get back up again
One of those kids always falls over; you always tell them to be brave. Even though she had fallen in the Games she kept getting up so her little friends remembered to do the same. So she kept going with the interview.
This is where the heart lies this is from above
You've won, you can go home to her and you can have a happily ever after. Every time he felt awful in the Games, in the interviews, on the tour of Panem, he would close his eyes and see her smiling and laughing. He couldn't wait to get home to the girl who held his heart.
Love is this, this is love
How many Capitol people were willing to risk their lives to stop the rebellion, how many truly cared for children, how many knew true love? The Capitol seemed so far removed from the lives of the District people that they were another species.
Love is why we do it, love is worth the pain
If you get caught, it's going to hurt, keep driving. Almost at 13 now. The train driver was smuggling families and children out of the Capitol run districts to the relative safety of 13. If they caught him he'd become an avox, or worse. He kept driving.
Love is why we fall down and get back up again
That was too close. The boy from 5 had almost spoken his mind, he couldn't imagine what would if he had slipped up. Imagine the fall from grace, from adoration by the Capitol if he had said it. It wouldn't be that bad really.
Love is where the heart lies love is from above
He's your brother, he'll know you're lying to the Capitol. She grins at the Capitol audience and flicks her hand, something that most people would forget in a few seconds. Her brother would know what it meant it.
Love is this, this is love
There was more than one type of love in the world. There always had been, there always would be. Love for other people, for friends, for family. Love for fame, love for glory, love for winning. All had something in common, the love for something. The feeling that nothing else can give you, something that cannot be taken away. Not matter if they were a Capitol citizen or a member of a District, love would be there, no matter how faintly it shone.
A/N: Hi, I'm Louise. My friend Louisa and I are writing this fic together. It's based on the Hunger Games and The Script's first two albums. I write half of the songfics and she writes the other half. Let us know what you think!