
The Wonder Years are a six-piece band out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2015 they released their first top ten album, No Closer to Heaven, which featured the second single “Cigarettes & Saints.” The song is played out in two parts: The first being about a friend who lost his or her life to prescription drugs, and the second being about not giving up when life throws a wrench in your plans. The music video to “Cigarettes & Saints” depicts a teenage girl lost in a world she doesn’t recognize anymore without her friend there. Throughout the story she goes through a soul seeking journey to find herself. During the music video a constant haze of light peers through the background, which is important because it shows that no matter how badly this girl is broken there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel to fight for.

The first time the girl is shown she is on her bed looking up at the ceiling. There is pain in her eyes and the tone set is a depressing one. Her curtains are closed but the entire time she is in her room light peers through. The director uses this motif of light to show that, yes this girl is lost, but she’s on her way to finding herself. If it was not for the light it would seem as if the girl has given up, and that these tears we see rolling down her face will never disappear. Once the girl finds the strength to get up from her bed, she grabs a picture off her wall. It is one of many pictures of the same person. Using lines from the song like; “Twice a week / I pass by / the church that held your funeral,” (Campbell 1st verse) and “Well I’m sure there ain’t a heaven / but that don’t mean I don’t like to picture you there,” (2nd verse) it’s clear that the friend in the pictures has passed away and the reason the girl is so distraught is because of this. Finally, in this scene we see the girl grab her back pack and start writing a letter to her parents. The contents of the letter are vague, so it makes the viewer start to guess. Is she running away from home? Or worse: Is she planning to join her friend in the very afterlife she questions?  The entire time this is happening light continues to fight through despite all the struggles this girl is facing. This motif is used so the audience realized it doesn’t have to guess the fate of the girl. The light acts as a north star, and as it continues to shine, the girl has a guiding light that will save her from her thoughts.

When the second scene begins we are now in the second part of the song. The singing is soft and slow and it fits the tone because the girl begins to fill her empty back pack with heavy rocks. Once the cliff is shown in the background the audience begins to second guess themselves. Is she really is going to kill herself? All the while this is happening there is no light. The constant light that has been peering through the entire song has suddenly gone away. When this happens it seems as if all is lost, and that there really is no happy ending or new beginning for this girl. It strikes that sense of giving up in the viewer that everyone gets from time to time. When your test is too hard or your run is too long, everyone thinks about giving up at some point. When the girl is shown standing on the edge of the cliff ready to jump, when it seems she has finally given up, the light shines more than ever before. The song picks up and the phrase “You can’t have our friends, you can’t have our brothers” is repeated over and over. Suddenly, the girl throws her back pack off the cliff and jumps in after it. The over powering light caused her to have a complete change of heart. The light here represented so many different things. It was hope that although things aren’t great now they will get better. It was the courage to fight and move on from this tragedy. Most importantly it was her friend, always there with her, and showing up the brightest when she needed it the most. When the girl emerges from the water and begins to swim downstream we hear the words “you can’t have me, no you can’t have me,” and it seems like it might take a while for the girl to recover from her loss, but she will never take life granted and she will live it to the fullest to honor her lost friend.

This director aimed this video at large audience. Almost everyone has lost someone important to them so watching this video hits home to a lot of people. Feeling lost after you lose someone you love, not knowing if you have the strength to go on. This video serves as a public service announcement to all those who question themselves after a loss. It says, “You are strong, you can make it through this.” Although it never physically says this you see those words in the light. The light is not just for the girl, it is for everyone watching. The director had the intention of taking a song and making it personal for everyone, giving viewers the light at the end of the tunnel as well. Listening to this song without the video is a very un-relatable journey. Hearing the singer belt a gut wrenchingly specific song about his late friend makes one feel bad for the singer, sure, but it doesn’t feel personal. When throwing the video in the mix it becomes a whole different story. The viewer now can see the pain in the girl, can feel the light in the back creeping up. The visual element of this song ads a personal element to it that anyone watching can relate to, especially with regards to the light at the end of the tunnel.

The music video for “Cigarettes & Saints” is an emotional journey through the day of a heartbroken girl. She has lost her friend and lost her purpose to live. Throughout the video all signs seem to point to suicide, but there is one thing holding her back. The entire day a haze of light appears in the background. The director uses this visual motif to symbolize a light at the end of a tunnel. This gives the girl, and viewers of the girl, hope when the going gets tough. It shows that no matter what life throws at you, you can never give up and the only way to beat these things are to fight through them. The first time this song was ever played live the lead singer briskly walked off stage after choking through the final words. It means a lot to a lot of people in a lot of different ways. The director uses the visual aid of the music video to get this relatability across. Without this, the lead singer would be the only one crying. But with it, we all are. We are all seeking the light at the end of the tunnel.

