‘Favor’ by Gigi Perez - Lyrics & Meaning

Following the arrival of Noah Kahan's ‘Draw You Out’ and Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘Black Stars’, Gigi Perez's ‘Favor’ became the latest song to join The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping soundtrack. The ‘Sailor Song’ singer-songwriter helps to maintain the folk-driven feel that so often permeates The Hunger Games.

Speaking ahead of the release, the ‘Fable’ hitmaker took to socials to underline how excited she was to be included on this project, “For as long as i can remember, I’ve loved the Hunger Games. I’m so incredibly honored to be a part of this next chapter”.

Opening with some haunting, ethereal strings, ‘Favor’ carries a sense of foreboding from the outset. The orchestral introduction is suddenly replaced by the gentle strum of an acoustic guitar, with Perez's enchanting vocals then entering the fray.

In the hook, Perez's vocals are layered while the instrumental builds out, helping to give the evocative chorus an extra feeling of intensity. Perez's intricate delivery combines with the swelling composition to create an undulating earworm.

We get a return of the otherworldly strings towards the end of the hook - and given how dramatic this song is, we can't wait to see which scene it corresponds to in the film. As the song approaches its conclusion, you can hear some muffled conversation in the background, assumably between Haymitch and Lenore.

Given how The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping pivots around Haymitch and Lenore's tragic love-story, it's perhaps unsurprising that both ‘Favor’ and ‘Draw You Out’ are deeply bittersweet. ‘Favor’ seemingly captures the moment Haymitch and Lenore are parted in the Hunger Games, with the heartbreaking second verse painting a visceral picture of two lovers separated as one travels away.

Perez sings, “Moments were stolen, put in the frame / Your voice rips through the window pane”, conveying how they were still enjoying their time together, but those moments were cruelly taken. Now, these moments only live in a picture frame as a memory.

The tormented line ‘Your voice rips through the window pane’ shows the shared anguish as Haymitch and Lenore are separated, with one reluctantly leaving on a train.

There's a recurring motif of a song the lovers used to sing, with Lenore seemingly encouraging Haymitch to keep listening out for it whenever he's missing her (“When you are only half of the way / I'll get therе no matter how long it takes / When you arе lonely, know I’m awake / Listen for me and the song that we sang”).

It conveys that feeling of knowing we keep our lost loved ones in our hearts, through the words they used to say, the songs they used to sing and the things they used to do. This song, which one lover frantically looks for throughout ‘Favor’, is a thread that binds them forever, and one they can always return to when they are lonely.

Although written with Haymitch and Lenore in mind, ‘Favor’ captures that universal feeling of pain when a lover leaves - either simply for a period of time in a long-distance relationship, perhaps, or more permanently, as is the case in The Hunger Games.

Before ‘Favor’ was released, Perez shared a heartfelt social media post stressing her pride at being included on this record, “For as long as i can remember, I’ve loved the Hunger Games. I’m so incredibly honored to be a part of this next chapter”.

“There was no reason, reason to cry
I search for answers in the sky
Silt in the meadow, salt in your eyes
You sing your song, I'll sing you mine
-
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
-
Moments were stolen, put in the frame
Your voice rips through the window pane
Moments of silence, hold your disdain
Be still and listen out for the rain
-
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
-
I asked for a favor, you showed me more
I dig my fingers through the floor
I asked for a favor, you gave me yours
You know the song I’m lookin' for
-
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
-
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
-
When you are only half of the way
I'll get therе no matter how long it takes
When you arе lonely, know I’m awake
Listen for me and the song that we sang
-
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da
La-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da”

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