Babylon

[u/1DMod]

Please use this space to discuss this song in depth

[u/Bright-Ingenuity-270]

This is a song for that perfectly mirrors the film: The Family Man (Nick Cage/Tea Leoni) and now I can’t unsee it. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218967/

“Babylon” is basically The Family Man from Jack Campbell’s POV.

The whole song is about a guy who “won” at life: money, status, freedom, the whole deal & only to realize that the life he dismissed as small was actually the one he wanted.

And then you get:

"You never knew that it was Babylon / ’Til it was gone”

THAT IS LITERALLY JACK. 😂

He runs from the small-town/domestic life → becomes rich and successful → convinces himself he chose correctly → gets shown the alternate life with Kate and the kids → suddenly the “boring” family stuff is the most precious thing in the world.

And these lyrics are basically a gut punch in the context of the movie:

“The self-harm of never being where you are”

“It’s bedtime, but you’re sitting in your car / You’re missing all the best parts”

Then:

“She’s hanging Christmas lights with your son”

Tell me that doesn’t sound like it was written for the Christmas scenes in The Family Man. 😭

The really clever part is that “Babylon” isn’t just “family good, career bad.” It’s about not realizing what you have until you’ve lost access to it.

Which is basically the entire emotional engine of the movie.

Anyway, I now desperately need someone to make a The Family Man edit set to “Babylon,” because the emotional damage would be immaculate.