Vinyl album cover
This Road is a multi-part song co-written by Poe and Sam Lake and performed by Poe. It was created specifically for Alan Wake 2 and plays at the end of multiple parts of Initiation.
Lyrics[]
The Mirror[]
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I lose you on every time
And some say that it loops forever
This road (road road road road road road road road)
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I lose you on every time
And some say that it loops forever this road (huh)
I can see you there
But you don’t see me anywhere
I’m right in front of you I’m right here
On this winding road
What are you looking at
Is it your face on a pane of glass
Somehow this window becomes a trap
On this winding road
Will it ever let me go
Forever I am
Fading to black
Forever I am
Circling back
Just to fall into this trap
This winding road
The Dark Chamber[]
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I lose you on every time
And some say that it loops forever this road
(loops forever loops forever)
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I lose you on every time
And some say that it loops forever this road
Your words aren’t meant for me
They are meant only for you I see
Wake up wake up it’s only a dream
On a winding road
Now you’re in my bed
In the dark chamber of my head
I flip you over until you bend
This winding road
Don’t you ever let me go
Forever I am (forever never)
Playing pretend
Forever I’m never (forever never)
Wanting it to end
This message that you send
To this winding road
It’s just the beginning
Only the ending
Winding through me now
Only the end
It’s just the beginning
Only the ending
Winding through me now
Just the beginning
Only the end
The beginning
Winding through me now
It’s only the end
Only the end
Beginning
Winding through me now
Only the end
Forever forever
Winding through me now
Forever forever
Winding through me now
Beginning
(road road road road road road road road)
(loops forever loops forever loops forever)
Falling Apart[]
(forever forever forever)
Now you’re falling apart
The light is a poisonous, poisonous dart
Forever seeking out the darkest part
Forever (forever forever forever)
Your
Heart
AW[]
I’m getting off this time (forever forever forever)
(road road road road)
(forever forever forever)
I’m getting off this time
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I lose you on every time
And some say that it loops forever
This road (road road road road road road road road)
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I lose you on every time
And some say that it loops forever this road (huh)
I can see you there
But you don’t see me anywhere
I’m right in front of you I’m right here
On this winding road
What are you looking at
Is it your face on a pane of glass
Somehow this window becomes a trap
On this winding road
Will it ever let me go
Forever I am
Fading to black
Forever I am
Circling back
Just to fall into this trap
This winding road
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I lose you on every time
And some say that it loops forever this road (loops forever loops forever loops forever)
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I lose you on every time
And some say that it loops forever this road (your words your words)
Your words aren’t meant for me
They are meant only for you I see
Wake up wake up it’s only a dream
On a winding road
Now you’re in my bed
In the dark chamber of my head
I flip you over until you bend
This winding road
Don’t you ever let me go
Forever I am (forever never)
Playing pretend
Forever I’m never (forever never)
Wanting it to end
This message that you send
To this winding road
It’s just the beginning
Only the ending
Winding through me now
Only the end
It’s just the beginning
Only the ending
Winding through me now
Just the beginning
Only the end
The beginning
Winding through me now
It’s only the end
Only the end
Beginning
Winding through me now
Only the end
Forever forever
Winding through me now
Forever forever
Winding through me now
Beginning (road road road road road road road road)
(loops forever loops forever loops forever)
Now you're falling apart
The light is a poisonous
Poisonous dart
Forever seeking out the darkest part
Forever (forever forever)
Forever your
Heart
And some say that it loops forever
This road that I
Find you on
Forever
And ever (forever)
And some say
That it loops forever
This road that I find you on
Every time I
Forever
And ever
It’s a spiral
And some say
I find you
I find you
Forever
It’s a spiral
And ever (forever)
It’s a spiral
I find you
It’s a spiral
I find you
Behind the Scenes[]
The seeds of "This Road" were laid in October of 2012 when Poe shared a short 53 second song/video titled "September 30, 1955",[1][2][3] Described by Poe as "about a road and a story that loops forever and the only way to get off that road and escape that story is to get off of time,”[4] and featuring the now familiar beat and lyrics "And some say that it loops forever, this road that I lose you on every time. And some say that it loops forever this road." repeated four times before concluding with "I'm getting off this time."
During the process of re-licensing music for Alan Wake: Remastered in summer of 2020, Lake reached out to Poe about collaborating on “original tracks that would be tailor-made to fit the mood and for lyrics to be about the story, an extension to the story,”[4] During this period they spoke on Twitter and Zoom to riff until things were placed on hold for the game to get further into production. They linked back up in May of 2023 and things really got underway.
Lake was interested in "September 30, 1955" as a jumping off point and wrote a short story, poem, and document for Poe to expand it.
"The Dark Place Song, a story from Alice’s POV, as she watches her husband struggle and fail to escape the Dark Place. Dreamy, hazy, haunting, beautiful, intimate, dark. Can also be a bit creepy and threatening, as there is a voyeuristic and manipulative aspect to the setup. The story loops around three times, getting progressively darker. Optimal would be three verses plus a chorus, the full song also cut to three different, short versions. The first verse plus the chorus for the first loop, the second for the second, the third for the third." - from the document Lake provided Poe
From there Poe wrote "This Road", describing the sound and creation of the song as the "feeling when a plane lands and the whole cabin starts shaking". Further adding
"I usually get this momentary sense of panic and excitement when that happens because there’s always that split second when it feels like it could go one of two ways: either the shaking is going to mellow out and you’ll land safely; or it’s going to do the opposite and just keep escalating until…. something unimaginable happens. Pondering that unimaginable thing that could happen led to a few decisions about how to approach the recording: the new road needed to start with the original vocal samples from ‘September 30th, 1955’ (because those samples were residue from the exact moment in time when an important part of this journey took place); the music needed to start on the grid, submissive to an external clock, and then it needed to let go of that imposed sense of time, fall off the grid, and slow down over a long period of time; and finally, the slow down section of ‘This Road’ had to be recorded live in one take." - Poe to Destructoid[4]
She gather a group of collaborators she's worked with for the past 15 years and they successfully recorded the slow down in one take.
Trivia[]
- In the first Alan Wake game, Poe's song "Haunted" was featured as the song at the end of Episode 2. Furthermore, the song was part of an album that served as was a companion piece to the book "House of Leaves" - which was written by her brother Mark Z. Danielewski. The book in particular was a source of inspiration to both Sam Lake and Remedy, which drove them to directly collaborate with Poe on an original song for the sequel.
Gallery[]
